Chapter 22: Asta & Yuno

Sunday morning came too quickly for Asta's liking. He had asked Yuno out on an impulse (thanks to Liebe and Miss Vanessa for putting it in his head), which was par for the course for him. Yuno was just so handsome and pleased with his win and Asta was far too smitten and asked him out using sign language. He figured that if Yuno didn't get that it was a date question, Asta could just brush it off as a friendly outing.

But to Asta's surprise and shock, Yuno agreed. They had texted all throughout Saturday about their date. They decided that morning was the best and Yuno asked how Asta felt about animals. Asta loved animals. If the house was bigger, Asta would like a dog or cat. His therapist had been considering a support animal for Asta's anxiety, but there was just no room in the house. Asta and Yuno planned their meetup (Yuno would pick up Asta with help from William driving them to wherever Yuno had planned).

Of course, Asta spent all Saturday with Secre, trying to come up with something to wear. Despite protesting, Secre bought Asta a new outfit with Lumiere's black credit card. Miss Vanessa trimmed his hair and Gauche sulked about Asta going on a date. Even Yami and Charlotte stopped by and Charlotte gave Asta "pocket money." He really had good friends and family.

Asta also texted Liebe, who was back in the Heart Kingdom, with a "You were right about Yuno. Don't be smug about it." Liebe sent back many laughing emojis and an "I told you so." They were fitting into a nice brotherly dynamic.

The knock on the door startled Asta out of his thoughts.

Miss Vanessa smiled kindly. "You ready?"

Asta nodded. He got up from the couch and answered the door.

Yuno stood on the stoop looking a little shy and said, "Hi. You look good."

Asta smiled. He was just wearing jeans, sneakers, and a button-up shirt, nothing too fancy. He trusted Secre's fashion sense because Asta had none.

"You boys behave now," said Miss Vanessa, waving at William, who sat in the car parked at the curb. "Call if you need anything."

Asta nodded. He hugged Miss Vanessa and exited the house. Yuno and Asta got into the backseat of the Vangeance family car. William smiled back at them. "Alright, Yuno, where to?"

"Vermillion Family Ranch," said Yuno.

"Ahhh, very nice," said William. "For all the Vermillion's pets."

Asta signed at Yuno. "A whole building for the animals?"

"It's actually Coach Mereoleona's house," said Yuno, by way of explanation. "Because some of the animals are too big to be in the regular houses. Coach Mereoleona lets people visit the animals."

Asta thought it was lovely.

William drove them outside of the city to where the Vermillion Family Ranch was located. It was a wide-open space. Asta spotted horses and cats and dogs as William pulled into the long driveway.

Coach Mereoleona was Mr. Fuegoleon and Leo's big sister (and she was the girls' basketball coach, and the martial arts coach, and the Chemistry teacher), and she waited for them. She had a big smirk on her face. "Come on in, William. I made tea and ordered a ton of food, so we can let the boys play with the animals." She winked at Yuno and Asta.

Asta smiled nervously.

William patted Yuno on the shoulder and followed Meroeleona into the house.

Yuno asked, "Do you want to pet a horse?"

Asta nodded eagerly.

As he watched the cats crawl all over Asta, Yuno knew he owed Leo and Mimosa for convincing Coach Mereoleona to let Yuno bring Asta for a date. His friends were the best, though meddling as ever. He knew that they just wanted him to be happy, particularly to be happy with Asta. Asta really liked animals and they really liked him.

Yuno smiled. They petted all the horses. Asta and Yuno played fetch with the pack of dogs until the dogs were the ones that got tired. Now the cats were drawn to Asta like catnip. Asta was so adorable. He sat on the ground next to Asta and some of the cats wandered over to Yuno.

Asta beamed a big smile at Yuno. He signed, "Thank you! This is so much fun!"

Yuno said, "I thought it would be nice. Mimosa and Leo usually had birthday parties here. Noelle too. We can come back whenever I can convince Mimosa and Leo to do me favors."

Asta, still smiling, signed, "I think we'd have fun together wherever we went."

Yuno thought the same. But he also wanted Asta to be comfortable. Movies didn't let Yuno communicate and see Asta. Dinner dates seemed like it would be stressful for Asta in a social setting like that. Mall dates were also very, very lame. Malls were for shopping, not wandering around aimlessly on a date. Basketball dates were going to happen, Yuno told himself, but a nice first date like this was necessary. "I think the same way."

"You are lovely. Not to be bold but, will you hold my hand?" Asta signed, grinning widely. He held out his hand and motioned for Yuno to hold it.

Yuno's face warmed and he took Asta's hand in his. "You're the lovely one."

Asta's cheeks pinked.

Surrounded by cats, they sat holding hands and just enjoying each other's company, until William called for them to get some lunch.

Yuno thought this date was great.

~to be continued