Notes:

warning:
homophobia

Chapter 17: Yuno

The Winter Festival came upon Yuno quicker than he thought. After the big loss to the Dark Disciples, the team had been furiously working on planning for their upcoming rematch after their Winter Break. Yuno had also been preoccupied with finishing up his Literature Project with Mimosa. On top of school and basketball, he had been meeting up with Asta regularly on the weekends to play basketball and discuss new strategies to help against the Dark Disciples. As Yuno thought, Asta had some good ideas which he brought to his team.

Thankfully, he managed to get to the Winter Festival without being incessantly asked out and nothing seemed to come up again with the Catherine rumors. His friends weren't so lucky. Mimosa almost fought several girls for trying to steal Langris. Leo had to awkwardly turn down all dates. Noelle obliviously ignored all people as she tried her best to work up the courage to ask Kahono out on a date. Klaus dodged all dates too.

Did Yuno think about asking Asta out as his date? Yes, he did, but he dismissed the thought. He and Asta were just friends and Yuno didn't want to ruin what they had. Besides, Asta didn't completely trust Yuno yet and Yuno wanted to be someone that Asta could trust and turn to when he needed some support and help. And something like that took time.

"Snap out of it," said Leo, nudging him. "Asta's late, but he'll be here soon." Instead of worrying about dates, Yuno and Asta's combined friend groups (which was becoming one big group lately with everyone intersecting more and more, which Yuno liked) decided to tackle the Winter Festival together.

Yuno glared at his best friend.

The Winter Festival had stalls set up by various clubs and sports from the school and even small, local businesses. There were cafes, food stalls, festival games, arts and crafts, and even some rides rented that were placed on the soccer/football field. Honestly, it was all good fun before the winter break and midterms.

"Gauche is bringing Marie, so getting her ready is taking forever," said Finral, looking at his phone.

"Does Gauche really have Marie try on a dozen outfits before they go out somewhere?" Mimosa asked.

"Yes," said Zora, rolling his eyes, hands in his pockets. "He's very strange. A strange jerk."

"Yeah, but he's our jerk," said Magna.

"Oooh, look," said Charmy, grabbing the two closest people to her, which happened to be Zora and Klaus. "They have sticky buns. Let's go get some."

Klaus looked affronted. "Sticky buns? Charmy, you just ate two hamburgers and had an ice cream float!"

Zora snorted and picked up Charmy, which was a thing that Yuno noticed everyone did with Charmy. She never seemed to mind. "Come on, you little gremlin, let's get you stuffed full of food before you try to rob a cotton candy stand like last year."

"Yay! Zora, you're the best," said Charmy, cheering. Zora walked towards the sticky bun stand, leaving the others behind.

Finral grimaced. "I'd better go with them. They're liable to actually commit petty crimes together." Finral ran off after Charmy and Zora.

Yuno was used to his own friend's weirdness, but honestly, Asta's friends really were out there sometimes. They were kind of awesome and he saw why Asta thought highly of them. Yuno and the others slowly continued walking, admiring all the stands. Later, Yuno, Magna, Luck, Leopold, and Langris would have to do a shift at the basketball team's cafe, so Yuno and the other basketball players wanted to get all the sights, sounds, and goodies before then. Yuno took out his phone and took pictures to send to Asta, while he waited for Gauche to finish helping Marie pick out her outfit.

Asta texted back immediately. "Ugh, I want to be there with you all so bad. ^_^ We're on our way now. ETA 20 min."

Yuno grinned at his phone.

"Smitten," Mimosa giggled in a hushed whisper.

"Oh, don't tease him too bad, Mim," said Langris, holding hands with Mimosa. "He's met his soulmate after all. They are on the same frequency."

Yuno rolled his eyes. "You both are completely off base."

"We're not," said Mimosa and Langris, with that weird couple synergy they had.

"You're the ones who are smitten with each other," said Yuno, deadpan. "Don't bring me into it."

"Still in denial a bit, huh," Leo said, sighing heavily.

Yuno pointedly didn't look at his friends and continued to text Asta pictures and tell him what was happening at the Winter Festival. They all decided (meaning that Noelle and Mimosa decided for everyone) to get a funnel cake. Magna and Luck ran off to play a strength game. Gordon, Grey, and Henry stuck behind Secre, the four quietest people Yuno had ever met and he was also a quiet person.

"Oh! Yuno! There you are," said a voice that made Yuno's skin crawl. Walking towards them with her posse of friends/followers was Catherine. Catherine wore some fancy, brand-name clothes and had a grin on her face.

Yuno looked around at his friends, who looked confused at why she was approaching them. Yuno asked with a sigh. "Yes?"

"Are you ready for our date?" Catherine asked.

"What? What date?" Yuno asked, utterly confused.

"The one you asked me on," said Catherine, a matter of factly.

Yuno stared at her indifferently. "I didn't ask you out on a date." He had a bad gut feeling that there was going to be a scene and Yuno didn't like scenes. Yuno nudged Mimosa with his hand. He didn't want to start a fight with anyone.

"Yuno didn't ask you out," Mimosa said, sternly, stepping in front of Yuno. "You shouldn't spread lies like that, Catherine. You think I don't remember what you tried to do to my brother?"

"Ah, yes, Kirsch, what a waste," said Catherine, with a sneer. "Yuno, you won't be a waste either, won't you darling?"

Noelle interjected, standing next to Mimosa. "What the heck is that supposed to mean?"

Catherine and her followers laughed meanly. Catherine said, "I mean, Kirsch and Yuno are handsome, talented, intelligent young men with bright futures ahead of them and they're wasted pining after other men."

"Woah," Leopold said. "That's some homophobic nonsense right there, Catherine."

To Yuno's surprise, Secre spoke up, standing next to Mimosa and Noelle. Secre said in the most deadpan voice. "You do recall what happened last time, Catherine?"

"You! You're the one that gave me the black eye," Catherine snarled. "My beautiful face marred."

"Yeah, I don't regret it," said Secre.

Yuno didn't know whether to be impressed by or scared of Secre. And he knew for certain that Secre was Asta's best friend for a reason. They both had the same righteous fury in them. No wonder they got along so well.

"You need to leave," said Yuno. "I didn't ask you out. And you're just trying to cause problems for me and my team and my friends and I don't appreciate it. Clearly, you haven't learned anything from last time."

Catherine gasped, faking tears. "You're breaking my heart, Yuno. You promised."

Yuno opened his mouth to respond, but someone else did for him.

"You pulled the same thing on me, Catherine," said Kirsch. Bell, Yuno's number one fan, was right behind Kirsch, so it was possible that she had fetched Kirsch from wherever he had been. Kirsch had a red face from his anger. "You leave my friends and family alone, you hear me."

"Kirsch, darling, I told you I'm over you," said Catherine, dismissively.

"Leave Yuno alone. And the rest of the basketball team. They don't have time for your nonsense," said Kirsch, arms crossed and giving his patented disgusted look.

"If you had just taken my father's offer up back then, this wouldn't be happening now," said Catherine.

"What offer?" Yuno, Mimosa, Noelle and Leo asked. The others watched in horror.

Catherine said, "My father offered my hand in marriage to Kirsch via his parents. Kirsch declined, citing that I was the wrong gender for him. Of all the insults, that was the worst."

"Is that what started everything?" Yuno asked Kirsch.

Kirsch said, "I was nearly sixteen. I'd never take a marriage offer seriously, even now. And yes, it's because I won't be marrying a woman." A crowd of onlookers, students and guests alike, as Kirsch said, "I'm a demisexual panromantic man and I've been in love with the same person since I was seven and it'd hadn't changed in years." Yuno, Mimosa, and the others in their friend group and the basketball team knew that fact about Kirsch. Kirsch was a pining mess sometimes. Kirsch continued, "Just because little minded people don't understand, doesn't mean that I'm going to be put in some box and forced to be something I'm not. Catherine, I'm sorry that I hurt you, but it was really nothing against you at the time. Though it would be now, since you're a horrible person."

Catherine sneered. "Oh, how gross. What man do you think is so much better than me?"

Kirsch resignedly smiled. "I love Zora."

Catherine looked horrified.

Mimosa snorted. "We've been knowing that, Big Brother."

Yuno grinned a little. "Like we didn't know, Kirsch."

"Yeah," said Kirsch, smiling. "But now everyone does."

"You love me?" a red-faced Zora asked, who just returned from wherever he, Charmy, and Finral went for snacks.

Turning bright red, Kirsch yelped, "Um, oh, you're here, um you see, well, yeah. I mean, it's...well, since I met you and you saved me from some bullies when we were seven."

Yuno watched as Zora put Charmy on the ground. Good luck, Captain, you're going to need it. Zora wasn't known for his overt kindness and for dating anyone, avoiding Valentines' Day, and not being a people person.

"You never said," said Zora, mildly, far more mildly than Yuno imagined. "You...all this time. I thought you, um. Crap, I wish this was easier. I love you too, Kirsch!"

"Really?" Kirsch asked, eyes wide.

"You're my favorite person," Zora confirmed, awkwardly.

Kirsch gasped. "You're my favorite person! Do you, uh, want to go out to dinner sometime?"

"I'd like that," said Zora.

"Holy shit," said Mimosa, grabbing Yuno and Langris by their arms in excitement. "About time."

"Praise the Lord," Leopold said, rolling his eyes.

"Good, maybe he'll stop talking about Zora all the time," said Noelle, with a flip of her hair.

"Finally," said Finral.

"Good Lord, they really didn't know," said Charmy.

"Honestly," said Secre, scoffing.

"I'm in agreement with you, Secre," said Klaus, pushing up his glasses.

"Good for friend Zora," said Gordon.

Grey squeaked.

"That's...so...cute," said Henry.

Yuno smiled to himself.

He almost forgot about Catherine.

"You like him?!" Catherine shrieked at Kirsch, gesturing to Zora. "He's the resident delinquent and the only reason he's in this school is because his dad is the basketball coach. And he's another boy."

"Is that so?" Father Orsi said, appearing out of the crowd, arms crossed. Frowning, Sister Theresa and Miss Acier followed him. Adults had arrived just in time. "Catherine, we spoke about this behavior. I didn't want to believe that you were doing the same thing again with our rumors and manipulations and blatant homophobia, but it appears that we need to have a chat with your parents. Again."

Catherine paled. "You can't do anything to me! My father is a wealthy patron!"

"Catherine," said Miss Acier, Noelle's mom. "To my office, immediately. Honestly, harassing my nephew and his handsome boyfriend who is one of the top students in the school and on the science scholarship by his own hard work." No one crossed Miss Acier Silva.

"Yes, ma'am." Catherine said meekly.

"The rest of you, go back to your business," said Sister Theresa. "Now!" The crowd dispersed like ordered. "All of you." She said that to Yuno and his group.

Once the adults and Catherine and her followers were gone, Yuno breathed a sigh of relief. He turned to thank Kirsch, but Kirsch was too busy staring into Zora's eyes. Shaking his head, Yuno figured it was time to get to his shift at the basketball team's stall.

"Hey! What did we miss?" Gauche asked, holding Marie and Asta's hands as they walked to the group.

Asta scowled up at Gauche, while Marie looked cute in a little pink dress.

"Oh, ew, Zora finally asked Kirsch out," said Gauche, making a face. "About time."

Zora gave Gauche the middle finger but didn't look away from Kirsch. Gauche gasped and covered Marie's eyes.

Yuno smiled at Asta, who grinned back.

Leo shoved Yuno a bit towards Asta. "Hey, so Yuno, why don't you take Asta around the festival?"

"What?" Yuno asked. "I have-"

"Don't worry about that, as your Captain, I insist," said Langris, smirking.

Yuno glared at Leo and Langris for a second before returning his attention to Asta. "What do you want to do?"

Asta signed. "That would be fun. If you want?"

Yuno said, "Alright, let's go."

~to be continued