#diakkohanbara

…

Shutting the door behind her as she left the room, Akko felt herself nearly jump out of her skin as she turned around only to come face to face with one Diana Cavendish, blue eyes interrogative and serious, leaning down ever closely. Too closely.

Close enough that Akko was finding it a little hard to breathe.

“U-umm… D-Diana?” She squeaked, back hitting the door she had just exited withdrawing from the taller woman in awkwardness from their sudden proximity.

Diana continued to stare her down, lips parting and pulling back into a thin line, Diana seemingly trying to convey something-formulate words- but having difficulty to do so. “A-Atsuko…” She finally got out, swallowing audibly. “I- uh… you… why were you-“

“And…hup!” Hannah suddenly announced her presence by delivering a hard enough chop to Diana’s head, making her bite her tongue accidentally.

Diana turned around quickly, glaring- something that Hannah pointedly ignored as she walked around the taller girl, closer to Akko.

“Hhnnuh-! Whththeheerr!” Diana wanted to berate the girl however, her current speech impediment dampened the effects of her cross aura, rendering it ineffective.

Barbara did her best to keep a straight face, not wanting to laugh at this moment and instead attend to her poor girlfriend, but Diana was making it so hard with her complaints that only flew over Hannah’s head.

Akko, on the other hand, found herself giggling at their antics without reservation.

At her reaction, the trio sighed, Akko finally catching all their attention on her. Their sighs made her worry slightly, panic slowly seeping in as they kept their heads down, expressions all hidden from her sight. “W-what?” She tried asking, if only to ease her anxiety.

“Nothing, we’re just…” Hannah was the first to lift her head, a gentle smile, one that was new to Akko, on her lips. “We’re just relieved.” The girl explained, placing a hand on Akko’s shoulder, rubbing it gently, spreading the warmth of its touch all over Akko’s body as she felt her face heat up from the gesture.

“We heard you got called in by Finnelan.” Barbara piped up, moving closer to take one of Akko’s hands. Akko’s blush only deepened further, before it faded at the next words, her face giving it all away. “We were just wondering what had happened.”

Quick on the uptake, Hannah noticed the shift in Akko’s mood, clasping her other hand and intertwining their fingers, squeezing gently. “Are you alright?” She asked in a near-whisper.

Their eyes, their hands, their voices sweet and tender; Akko felt touched by their genuine concern. With feelings overflowing, she felt a smile tugging at the corners of her lips. With a nod, she replied, “Yeah, I’m good. I’m fine.”.

She saw Barbara search her eyes, a small, “Really?” making her heart feel even warmer than it already was.

“Yeah.”

Soft words and soft smiles, Hannah and Barbara were slowly allowing Akko’s heart to open up to them, and she found that she didn’t mind at all. Leaning her head forward ‘til it lightly bumped against the pair’s, she sighed contentedly, basking in the comfort she was being offered before Hannah piped up to ask another question.

“Have you had lunch yet?” She spoke while rubbing the pad of her thumb along the back of Akko’s hand that she held.

Before she could think to answer, Akko’s stomach rumble. “N-not yet.” She admitted, embarrassed. Hannah and Barbara chuckled at that.

“Perfect!” Barbara clapped. “It’s time for a date then~!” She announced, wiggling her eyebrows up and down, and Akko couldn’t help but allow the grin that teased at her lips to break out.

Hannah faux gasped, pretending to be astounded, features relaying her delight. “My! What a wonderful idea, miss Parker!” She curtsied, engaging Barbara in more of their formal roleplay, pretending they were some aristocratic ladies, preparing for a party.

Their antics drew more giggles from Akko as they offered out their arms to escort her to lunch.

“See? We made our lady smile.” Barbara winked, reaching for a high-five towards her girlfriend and best friend. Akko only rolled her eyes in amusement.

Turning their gazes forward, Akko chuckled behind her hand at the sight of a pouting Diana, looking like an abandoned puppy as she huffed, arms crossed, unwilling to meet their gazes.

“Hey. Diana. Why are you still acting all grumpy over there?” Hannah scolded, moving closer to pinch Diana’s cheeks as she scowled deeper. “Say something useful to make our little girlfriend here feel better.”

Akko blushed at the title, still unused to it.

Diana directed her glare on Hannah, bursting out. “YOU MADE ME BITE MY TONGUE. IT HURTS AND IT’S BLEEDING.”

“Oh, don’t be such a baby, sweetheart.” Hannah rolled her eyes. “There’s an easy way to make it all feel much better.” She said, grabbing Diana’s attention and her curiosity. The poor girl clearly missed the mischievous gleam in Hannah’s eyes.

Walking straight into the trap, she asked, “What?”.

“Kissing with tongu-“

Diana’s jaw dropped, face immediately flushing. “Hannah!”

“Kissing Akko, specifically, with tongue-“

“HANNAH.”

Hannah and Barbara descended into laughter at the expense of their uptight girlfriend, Akko unable to stay embarrassed as she laughed along to their teasing.

Diana sighed before wearing a small smile. There was no way she could stay mad when they were all so happy.

And well, she couldn’t say she didn’t want to entertain Hannah’s idea. She felt her heart thump heavily at the thought.

-Just to heal her tongue.

Just for that.

Of course.

//

Sitting about a table in the courtyard for what Hannah and Barbara insisted was a ‘Lunch Date’, the four students peacefully took turns helping each other to their spread of food. Hannah and Barbara would take turns feeding their girlfriends, and consequently making them feed them back, albeit Akko and Diana did so shyly.

As their food disappeared and was replaced by a pile of empty containers, Diana, who was seated next to Akko cleared her throat, nervously glancing forward to her flatmates who subtly nodded in encouragement. They were now going to try to get Akko to tell them what happened.

They would have done so earlier, but it just didn’t feel right at that moment. Asking Akko such a thing when what she needed the most was comfort and a welcome didn’t sit well with them, so they waited. But it was hard to keep waiting, and they believed that if she told them, they might be able to help her through it.

After all,

They were girlfriends, weren’t they?

Popping the question, Akko immediately tensed, her usual peppy demeanor quickly dimming as she directed her gaze to her lap, hands bunching up the ends of her jacket. The other three couldn’t help but frown as well, a sting in their hearts settling.

It took a few moments before Akko’s quivering voice replied, cracking all the while. “I…  just… I left class a little early. It was dumb of me.” Akko chuckled, wanting to end the conversation right there without having to explain much or accidentally expose too much.

She didn’t want them to know of the harassment. She didn’t want them to know why she was going through with it. She… wasn’t ready for them to know why. Not yet, lest their impressions of her plummet and they realize that… she wasn’t worth it. Not one bit.

Diana, on the other hand, didn’t seem to be having it.

“Why did you leave?” She carefully asked another question. She tried her best to not make it sound probing or pushing. They wanted Akko to feel comfortable enough to tell them on her own accord. It was simply just them asking.

“I… well…” Akko was still hesitant, thoughts running rampant as she tried to come up with something to say.

“Akko? Please tell us? If you’re troubled, we’d really love to help you.” Diana murmured, taking Akko’s hands into her own and pressing a timid kiss to each. “We… we care about you. A lot.” She said, looking up to meet Akko’s eyes pleadingly.

“It’s…” Akko’s throat felt dry. Deep down, she wanted to tell them. Really she did. But at the same time, she wasn’t ready. She was still afraid. “M-Maybe next time, okay?” She managed to say. “I… I just want to enjoy my lunchbreak… with my… g-girlfriends.” Akko bashfully followed up.

She saw Hannah and Barbara beaming, their worried expressions shifting to awe and joy at Akko’s acknowledgement as they scooted a little closer to her from across the table, hands reaching out to rest over her and Diana’s. Diana practically emitted sparkles and glowed, radiating an aura of joy that anyone could see from miles away.

“But of course.”

At the back of their minds, the topic still weighed on all of them. As for the roommates, they knew they would have to give Akko some more time. She did seem extremely uncomfortable about the topic, and they did not wish to bring her unease.

Akko knew she would have to tell them a lot of things eventually, but she just wanted to get away from it all for a while. Even if it lasted only this one brief moment, peaceful and warm, with her girlfriends.

//

If someone told Akko before that she’d be dating not one, not two, but three girls all at the same time, she’d laugh at the incredibly hilarious joke. It wasn’t the idea of being with a girl that she found far-fetched, it was being with someone in general that was implausible to her.

Because who would date Kagari Atsuko? A rumored class clown and loser all throughout highschool? Someone who fell asleep in her lectures and barely managed to turn in her assignments on time? Surely no one would want such a mediocre person as their significant other. There wasn’t much to brag about her, after all.

But no.

Now, she was slowly starting to come to terms with the fact that she nabbed three incredibly intelligent, beautiful, and talented ladies who made her feel special, who appreciated her, and told her that she… she was enough.

…even though she sometimes doubted it.

It had been a few weeks since their lunch date. They had immediately made it into a regular thing, spending lunches together when they could, and being around one another most times after school and between shared classes when Akko wasn’t with her friends with prior plans.

Friends.

Akko blinked, then slapped her forehead as a thought registered. She realized she hadn’t told Lotte and Sucy yet, though she had plans to. She had been nervous to tell them, putting it off constantly. But she knew them, and she knew how great they were as friends. She knew they would never judge her. Despite that, it didn’t make her any less nervous as she imagined how they would initially react, at least.

As she contemplated this thought and planned for her next attempt to come clean to her friend, someone bumped into her as she walked the halls, making her drop all her books, along with the bento box she had carefully prepared this morning in hopes that she could, for once, try to cook for her girlfriends as appreciation. And also to test if they would be into Japanese cuisine. For future reference.

Akko sighed, pushing away her dismay and slight irritation. She hadn’t been very aware of her own surroundings, so she admitted to herself that it was partially her fault, and just an accident. Gathering her things and turning to address the other party, she froze as she came face to face with none other than Chloe and Avery’s squad, displeasure painted across their features.

Akko cursed inwardly. She wasn’t in the mindset to want- or even manage- to handle this alone right now, but she was sure no one in this hall would step up for her, and Sucy and lotte had just split off to get something before their next class, leaving Akko by herself momentarily.

But she could already see this moment dragging on for far too long than she’d like. She really should have gone with them instead.

“Hey, Kagari.” Chloe smirked as she felt the shiver from Akko’s body as she placed her hand around her shoulders. “I see you’ve found yourself a few bodyguards lately, huh? Cavendish and her little bitches?”

Akko instantly felt her anger flare up at the words, but she tried to keep it in. It wouldn’t be good to blow up in Chloe’s face right away. Not now.

“You using them as your shield? Clever little kitten. Expected nothing less from our pet.” Chloe emphasized the word, really popping the t. The girl’s behind her made mocking barking sounds and Akko scowled.

“I’m not your pet.” Akko said indignantly, shifting to get away from Chloe, unwrapping hers arm from around Akko. She didn’t seem to like that action.

“Oh? What do you call yourself then?” Avery chimed. “Always at our feet, at our beck and call.” She smirked, the girls mumbling and nodding their agreement. “Obeying us every time? Hah. If you’re not a pet, then you’re a pathetic little slave.”

Akko didn’t want to answer to that. She knew it wasn’t true. It wasn’t. She just… had to.

Seeing her not fighting back as she usually did, Chloe felt irritation bubbling, having been looking forward to using Akko as her amusement but getting little to no reaction. It was unsatisfying. She needed something.

Grasping Akko’s cheeks with one hand, she squeezed, forcing the girl to look straight into her eyes.

“You’ve made our lives difficult, Akko. We had no one to get us lunch or do our homework.” She said this, sounding sad and disappointed, wiping an invisible tear from her eye, before focusing once more on Akko. “But we still kept up OUR end of the bargain.” She said, reaching into her pocket to flash Akko the photo of the truth she was trying to keep under wraps. “Maybe we should reconsider.”

Akko’s eyes widened, panic flooding in her system as she tried to reach for the image.

“Uh-uh-uh” Chloe tutted, pushing Akko down more.

Commotion began to build in the halls, as more people started to watch, no longer able to play the card of ignorance as things seemed to escalate beyond what normally transpired between Akko and her group of tormenters. Still, they remained fearful of coming between them, and nothing of Akko’s silent begs in her eyes could do much convincing.

Akko felt herself pulled into an awkward sit-up by the collar, Chloe licking her lips as she shook her other hand lightly. “Maybe you need a reminder.” She grinned.

Akko watched her raise a hand, knowing that a slap was coming.

Before Chloe could do anything, Akko watched a tall redhead run forward- someone she realized was one of her classmates, and the person she vaguely remembered to be Sarah, Chloe’s roommate back when they were in high school. Akko watched as she grasped Chloe’s wrist, pulling it away from Akko with anger and disappointment in her eyes.

“Chloe, what are you doing?” She spoke evenly in hopes of calmly diffusing the situation, although Akko knew she’d inevitably fail. Chloe never was one to listen to words, anyway. “Why are you doing this, hey!” Akko watched as she was promptly pulled back by Avery and the other girls, so quickly losing her standing.

“Get out of the way, Bernhardt.” Chloe snarled at her ex-roommate with an odd emotion passing in her eyes- one that only Akko saw- as Avery continued to tug the taller girl away. “You aren’t a part of this.”

Having gotten Sarah away, Chloe returned her attention to Akko who continued to meet her provoked gaze, she repeated her actions, raising her hand up high, prepared to swiftly deal in her ‘reminder’.

Just as her hand was about to come in contact with the skin of Akko’s face, she suddenly felt a forceful push, slamming her head into the nearest locker. Eyes turning redder than they already were, head spinning and confused, Chloe attempted to glower at her assaulter, only to find dark eyes that conveyed emotions that did not match the supposedly amicable smile currently worn. “What the-“

“So, I suppose you don’t mind if we intervene? After all, if Akko is involved, then WE ARE a part of it. Package deal, bitch.” Hannah’s voice rung loud and clear in the corridor, poorly hidden anger underlying her tone as she tilted Chloe’s head up with a long, manicured finger, nails digging slightly into the flesh beneath her chin.

Akko noticed Diana standing next to Hannah, both having probably ran as quick as they could upon seeing her. She watched the girl silently seething as she towered over Chloe’s fallen form. “Wha-“ Diana jabbed a finger to her chest, using it to punctuate her every word that followed.

“Don’t. ever. Touch my girlfriend again.” She growled, pushing Chloe back once more for good measure.

Akko barely registered Barbara gently aiding her up into a proper sitting position                , scanning over her body for any injuries as the other two gathered her belongings. She couldn’t comprehend the conversation her three girlfriends were having, and before she could even try, she felt herself picked up by Diana and carried away, led by Hannah and Barbara to an empty part of the courtyard.

They allowed a few minutes of silence to reign over them as Akko tried to grasp her bearings, head still spinning from the previous occurrences.

As she came to her senses, she felt the awkwardness of their silence heavy. Unsure where she should begin explaining, she waited on them to ask first. She knew they would.

And they did.

"Does this occur frequently?" Diana broke the silence, tone wavering despite her calm appearance. It almost sounded as though she would cry, something Akko would have been surprised to see coming from the one known as ‘the Ice Princess’ had she not been dating her now.

"Huh? Oh, uh... I... n-no. Not really... Just..."

“Please.” Diana cut in, taking both of Akko’s hands into hers and squeezing them gently. “Be honest.”

Her kind eyes, usually like a mirror to the clearest of skies were shrouded with clouds of anxiety and concern that Akko knew wouldn’t leave anytime soon if she continued to hide things from her. With a sigh, she reluctantly confirmed, “…yes”.

“Why?” Diana followed up.

Akko stiffened upon hearing the question, immediately pulling her hands away from Diana’s grasp in discomfort as she felt her heart thump madly once more. “I… I can’t tell you that.” She backed off, creating space between them in hopes that Diana would no longer pry deeper.

“Atsuko-“

Diana felt a hand on her shoulder, grasping firmly. She turned to find Barbara shaking her head no. “If she’s not ready to tell us yet, let’s remain patient and not force it, Diana. Okay?” She whispered, casting a glance over to Akko who eyed them warily. “The poor girl looks troubled enough as it already is”

Diana shifted her attention back to Akko, eyes widening as she berated herself for not realizing sooner that she’d allowed her emotions to get ahead of her and not care for how Akko felt about all this.

“I’m… I’m sorry” She apologized straight-away. Akko nervously lowered her gaze, unable to face the trio. Her hands trembled in her lap, eyes wandering about to the things spread out on their usual table- her books and coursework, some crumpled papers, her girlfriends’ other belongings, and the lunchbox that was sure to be all messed up inside.

She felt her held-back sadness bubble at the base of her throat, eventually spilling out in a whimper that she immediately tried to cover up by clasping both hands over her mouth to no avail.

She felt warmth wrap itself around her, that familiar honeysuckle scent calming her immensely as she leaned into the touch, face buried into the crook of her girlfriend’s neck.

“Is there anything we can do to make you feel better, sweetie?” Hannah whispered, stroking her fingers through long brown tresses. Akko loved how she was always so straight to the point, so perceptive. She didn’t ask needless questions, and always knew how to read the situation.

Hesitantly Akko peered upwards, a struggling shy smile on her lips. “H-hold me?” She replied, loud enough for all of them to hear. Quickly flushing in embarrassment as she realized how needy she must have sounded, she added, “O-only ‘til I calm down”.

Having squeezed her eyes shut for the nth time today, she hadn’t noticed Barbara and Diana coming closer, Diana circling around to wrap her arms around Akko from behind, thumbs rubbing gentle strokes along Akko’s stomach, making the girl gasp in surprise initially. Barbara took the side opposite from Hannah and they embraced the pair in the middle, holding gently, yet firmly.

“Of course.” They all murmured into the group hug, taking turns to pepper fluttering kisses on Akko where they could reach.

Akko sat there, basking in the affectionate glow of her girlfriend’s comfort and love, sinking deeper into their arms, feeling herself drift away-

-drift far enough away that she failed to hear the frantic call of her name from across the courtyard, failed to remember that she had friends that she was supposed to attend class with, failed to hear the footsteps approaching, the loud gasp, “Akko? Akk-woah!” and whistle of astonishment. The only thing that seemed to shake her out to consciousness was the familiar chuckle of a teasing peer that always seemed to rile her up in embarrassment and sometimes irritation.

“Well, I guess we shouldn’t have rushed, huh, Lotte? Even though we searched high and low in worry after hearing about what happened in the halls, our little princess here seems fine and dandy.”

Akko’s head shot up, successfully bringing damage to Diana’s face as she covered her eyes and nose, carefully massaging them as she groaned.

“OH MY GOSH, I’M SO SORRY, DIANA-“

Diana waved her off, Barbara attending to her as Hannah shook her head in bewildered amusement. Glancing over to Akko reassuringly, she managed to convince her to speak with her friends, seeing they needed the conversation.

Akko carefully stood up, watching as Hannah and Barbara attended to Diana for a moment, Hannah shooing Akko if once she caught her gaze. Akko joined Sucy and Lotte a safe distance away, out of earshot, but within sight of her girlfriends, nervously thinking of what to say.

After a few moments of quietly dancing around the subject at hand, Lotte broke first.

“So… umm…this is… a surprise?” She tried to carefully broach the subject, not getting much reaction from Akko. Unlike her partner who simply descended into hysterics, slapping Akko on the shoulder with a wide grin.

“Goddamn, Akko. You getting three pussies all at onc-“ Lotte’s reprimand was swift and on point, the hit to the back of Sucy’s head silencing her. “I was just saying…” She mumbled.

Akko stood there, lips still tightly sealed, but face a blossoming shade of red, not really knowing what else to say other than the obvious that she was now dating three incredibly beautiful women without really knowing how she got to that point.

Lotte huffed a glad little smile, hands reaching over to rest on Akko’s shoulders, squeezing kindly. “Hey,” Akko looked into her soft gaze, nonjudgmental and ever sweet. “If they make you happy, then I’m incredibly happy for you as well. You deserve that much in your life after everything you do for me, for us, for other people just to make us all happy.” Lotte said, pulling Akko into a hug she knew the girl needed.

Sucy lightly pat Akko’s back, humming in her own way of assurance.

“Thank you.” She murmured into Lotte’s shoulder.

“Mm-mm,” Lotte shook her head in slight disagreement. “Thank you for always trying your best for us. I know you don’t tell me about whatever things have been going on and why you’re being bullied sometimes, but I know you’re not enduring this for no reason.”

“Mm.”

“But Akko?”

“Yeah?”

Lotte pushed Akko back slightly to look her dead-serious in the eyes. “If this is anything like high school and you’re taking heat for my sake, or Sucy’s sake, or anyone else’s, you better stop and come clean now.”

Akko regretfully looked away. “But-“

“Akko.” Sucy addressed, demeanor a rare pensive one as she compelled Akko to listen to her. “You’re not doing this alone. Don’t selfishly get hurt like this. We worry. If you have problems, let us help. The more of us, the easier it is to carry a burden, don’t you think?” She spoke her profound thoughts that she usually kept to herself. “You don’t have to tell us everything now,” She sighed as she gazed upon Akko’s slumped figure.

“But you don’t have to keep enduring alone.” Lotte finished for Sucy, squeezing Akko’s shoulders once more. “Okay?”

Akko was crying a lot today, wasn’t she?

“Silly girl.” Lotte commented.

“She’s the class clown, after all.” Sucy jested.

Accompanying her friend’s chuckles with her own tearful laughter, she laid her promise to share her sorrows and her pains with them better in the hug she gave them, hopeful that things would only get better from here on.

Yeah.

With the best friends she could ever imagine having in the world, and the most amazing lovers ever- Akko chanced a glimpse to see them watching over her fondly, warming her heart- she knew she’d get by. If these people were the ones… she might be able to tell them-

“Okay, so now it’s time for the customary interrogation of our daughter’s new lovers.” Sucy just had ruin the moment as she always did.

“Since when were you my parents?!”

“Aw, come on. I always wanted to try it out, making people all nervous and panicky.” Sucy pouted. “I wanna see Cavendish flip the fuck out-“

“Sucy!”

“Just saying!”

A/N: I don’t really know what to say. Hope you enjoyed, haha. So many stuff is just happening and I’m trying to escape to writing. whoop. Anyway, til next time.

Without much say in the situation, Diana found herself dragged down the hall, into the longest elevator ride she'd ever had, by her two girlfriends.

Stepping into the lobby, Diana felt her hands released as the two pranced their way over to an unsuspecting brunette seated with her back to them.

Hmm? There was something... familiar... about that little ponytail.

"Hi~, sorry for the wait!" Hannah tapped the woman on the shoulder. Said woman stood up, and Diana could tell from her body language that she was somewhat nervous.

Who wouldn't be?

Why she hadn't even rejected the two straight up after their bold question, was more of what confused Diana.

"I-it's no problem." She murmured.

Diana could have sworn she'd heard that voice before.

"So? Who did you want to introduce to me?"

"Oh!" Barbara waltzed over back to her side, pushing Diana forward towards their new "friend".

Diana went stiff as the other two girls turned to face her, recognition registering in her blue eyes, and noticeably in her new companion's as well.

Hannah puffed her chest up in pride, arms gesturing in Diana's direction. "Meet our other girlfriend! Her name is-"

"...M-Miss Cavendish..."

"...Miss Kagari."