Diana held the neatly wrapped green package out in front of her, her eyes not daring to part from the floor. The gift was a dark, forest green, tied with a golden ribbon. Akko sat on the couch in front of her, her gaze glued to the box, mouth agape.

"For me?" Akko's eyes sparkled.

Diana nodded, taking a breath. Akko gingerly took the present in her hands, practicing a level of care Diana was unfamiliar with. She managed to refocus her gaze forward again to Akko's anticipatory smile. Her cheeks felt warm.

"It's nothing much, really, I just figured you might…" Diana's voice tapered off beneath the frantic sound of Akko tearing away the wrapping paper.

Diana held her breath again, a pang of anxiety hitting her stomach at the thought of Akko not liking the gift for some reason or another. Even though she figured her friend would enjoy any sort of gift from her friends, Diana couldn't shake that ingrained nervousness that came with being a perfectionist. All she could do was watch as Akko peeled away at the paper and opened the box.

Akko gasped.

"Diana…" Akko held up the item. It was a deep red scarf and, in golden letters, read: A believing heart is my magic! It was thick and made of yarn; it looked to be hand-knitted. "Did you… make this?"

Once again, Diana could only nod, her fingers fidgeting, rubbing together as she kept her hands at her sides.

"The stitchwork is a bit messy, I know," Diana began. "Anna was kind enough to teach me how to crochet on such little notice."

"Diana…" Akko repeated her name, staring at the scarf outstretched in her hands. She looked up at her, her eyes wide and full of light. "I love this."

"I'm glad-"

"Eee! Thank you, Diana! I love it, I love it so much!" Akko squealed, wrapping the scarf around her neck before jumping up from the sofa to pull Diana into a tight hug, which made her go stiff with surprise. "I'm going to wear this around school all the time! I don't care what Professor Finnelan says about dress-code! It's just too soft and warm and comfy not to wear every day! Diana! You're wonderful!" She giggled into her shoulder.

A small smile crept over Diana's face from seeing how delighted Akko was. Breaking apart, Akko ran over to the couch and picked up the haphazardly wrapped box that had been sat next to her. She presented the gift with flair, as if to make up for its lack of presentation on its own. Diana pressed her fingers to her lips to hold back her urge to giggle.

"It's okay! I'm not used to wrapping stuff on my own!" Akko rubbed her neck sheepishly. "Usually my parents help me with that!"

"I don't mind," Diana simply said, taking the box in her hands and turning it over for a moment.

"Well? Are ya gonna open it or just judge it?" Akko teased, pouting her lip.

"Right," Diana said, coming to her senses. She sat on the sofa and began to carefully pull apart the paper. Akko sat down and watched, unconsciously biting her lip.

Diana opened the box and was greeted with another pair of eyes. Her mouth opened and a quiet gasp escaped her throat. A stuffed unicorn plush sat in the box and stared up at her, almost expectantly.

"I know it's not hand-made or anything, but I know how much you really love unicorns and stuff and so, I…" Akko steepled her fingers together, turning brighter and brighter red. "Yeah…"

Diana couldn't hold back her wide smile, as if a smaller, more childish part of her had awoken from inside. Without thinking about it, she pulled out the stuffed animal and hugged it tightly to her chest, burying her face into the soft hairs of the unicorn's mane. Closing her eyes for a moment she smiled again to herself until her cheeks began to hurt.

She looked up and noticed Akko staring at her curiously and slightly bemused. Diana's face went scarlet and she cleared her throat.

"Thank you, Akko. I really like this… a lot," she held the plush even closer. "It's cute…"

Akko pushed her hands to her cheeks and let out another excited squeal.

"Really? You like it?" Akko jumped up again. "Yay!"

"Again, thank you," Diana stood up, still hugging the unicorn to her chest. "Although I have one last gift for you."

"Heheh, as do I!" Akko ginned, raising her eyebrows. "Let's reveal at the same time!"

Diana giggled softly.

"If you insist…"

They continued to laugh, even as they both leaned in and kissed, unable to stop smiling. Outside the window, snow began to fall, recoloring the campus into something bright and fresh and new.

A/N: I just wanted to say, this was a really fun challenge to do! It gave me a good excuse to write every day, and of course, reading everyone's feedback was truly delightful as well. I hope you all have a lovely holiday and enjoy the rest of the year!