A/N: This is my story for day six of Astelle week :) I love writing about jealous Asta and I also added Noelle almost moving on from her feeling as the additional prompt.
Noelle, Asta and Finral were on their way back from a mission. Seeing that Hage was not far away from their current location Noelle and Finral had agreed to visit Asta's family with him. The manaless swordsman couldn't be happy and it didn't take long for them to arrive in Hage.
When they arrived Asta was immediately pulled into hugs by his siblings and Noelle had to smile at that. However when Lily stepped out of the garden, her smile dropped. Not because of the woman herself, but because of Asta's next move.
Before she couldn't really put a name on the feeling she was getting around Asta, but now she knew for sure what she felt for him. However that made the scene in front of her hurt even more. Seeing the man she was in love with, propose to another woman felt like he was shattering her heart with one of his swords. The longer she watched Asta on his knee in front of Lily the more she felt like she couldn't breath. It was torture and it was in this moment that she was sure that if she would ever have the courage to tell him her feelings he would reject her. Finally tearing her eyes away from the scene in front of her, she turned her back on Asta.
"Finral, make a portal. I want to go back." She tried to sound demanding, but she could feel her voice shaking. That Finral didn't protest and even gently guided her into the portal before going back, proved to her that he had noticed her weakness.
Noelle was glad when she found herself stepping into the forest near the Black Bulls home and not in the common room. Finral had considered that she didn't want anyone seeing her like this and she was never more grateful for having at least one Black Bull member who wasn't obvious.
Now that she thought about it, it had been rude of her to not at last say goodbye to Asta's family, but she just couldn't take being there another moment. The realization of her feelings had never hit her as hard as it had in that moment. Even when she had first realized her feelings for what they were, it hadn't shocked her like it had a few minutes ago. Back then it had more felt like a weight that had been lifted of her shoulders and she had almost been happy that she could be true to her real feelings. Now however that wonderful feeling was turning into painful heartbreak.
It wasn't like she hadn't known of Asta's feelings for Lily, but the last few months he had stopped talking about her and they had spend even more time together on and off the battlefield. Somehow it had felt like they were making progress and in combination with finally realizing her own feelings, Noelle had felt her hope rising. Seeing now that nothing had changed, made the hope she had felt intensified the painful squeeze of her heart.
No matter if Lily rejected him again or not, it didn't change the fact that Asta wished for her to say yes. Lily's answer wouldn't change the feelings Asta had for the woman who raised him and it made it impossible for him to fall in love with Noelle. No matter how much time she spend with him, he just wasn't in love with her and would probably never be. She didn't need courage to confess to him any more, because today he had rejected her feelings. Sure, he would never know that he did it, but seeing him propose to another woman was a clear enough rejection of her feelings for him.
A tear slip down her cheek, closely followed by another, but Noelle couldn't find it in herself to care. She was alone and no one would see her being so weak. Her heart hurt and she was reminded of all the rejection she had faced during her life. She had hoped so much that Asta would fall in love with her that she had let her heart open up to him more and more with each smile. Who could have thought that the wonderful feeling she had allowed herself to feel around him could turn in so much hurt.
Her tears were flowing freely now, but Noelle let them. It wouldn't change the hurt she was feeling, but it felt good to let it out. Later she would have to think about how she could face Asta from now on, but for now she just wanted to cry over her broken heart.
Back in Hage Asta had been rejected once again, but somehow it didn't bother him as much as it used to. Smiling he stood up and turned to where Noelle and Finral would wait for him. They had a little bit extra time to get back to the base, after all they had just completed a mission, so maybe they could all stay for dinner and eat together. However when he turned around only Finral stood there.
"Where is Noelle?" He asked Finral surprised.
"She wanted to go back home, so I made a portal for her." The seriousness in Finral's voice, surprised him and he was about to ask when Finral continued. "I'll leave too. I'll make a portal for you in a few hours."
With that he waved goodbye to the kids and to Lily before making a portal and leaving through it.
To say Asta was confused would be an understatement. He knew that he wasn't the smartest, but he couldn't understand what had made his two teammates leave so suddenly. While he considered Finral a friend, he was more upset that Noelle had left. He had wanted to show her is old training ground and he looked forward to share a dinner with her and his family. Somehow the idea of her here in Hage had been in his head for a while. Sure, they had been here before together, but somehow he would love to be here with her more and show her all the places where he had been to as child.
"Do you want to stay for dinner, Asta?" Lily's voice pulled him out of his thoughts.
The swordsman nodded, but the happiness he had felt when they had first arrived was dimmed. With Noelle here it would have been so much better. Whatever it was why she had left, it must have been really important. He had to ask her when he was back at the base.
Back at the Black Bulls hideout, Finral arrived in the common room.
"He is such an idiot."
"Who?" An amused female voice from the couch asked.
Finral turned to see Vanessa with a bottle of wine in hand.
"Who else than out dense manaless teammate. You remember the woman he so often talked about when he first joined us?" When Vanessa nodded, he continued. "He proposed to her. In front of Noelle that is. I think she has finally realized what she is feeling for the dense idiot, because I have never seen her this heartbroken."
The amusement in Vanessa's expression had vanished and she sat up on the couch.
"Of course, she would be upset about that. Did you teleport her back?"
"She hasn't come in yet?" After a shake of the head of Vanessa, Finral sighed. "I'll get her before she catches a cold."
Grabbing his extra coat of the hook near the door, Finral went out to get Noelle. He found Noelle exactly were he had teleported her and she was still shaking with sobs. Not saying anything, Finral sat down next to her and lay the coat he had brought over her shaking shoulders. He had jokingly said many times that his heart was broken when he had been rejected by girls, but this was what real heartbreak looked like. Noelle didn't deserve this, especially after her heart had been broken by her own family so many times before. Finral knew the feeling of that rejection, considering how his own family had treated him. In a way Noelle and him shared that past. No words would help Noelle at the moment, so Finral kept quiet and just sat by her side. When her sobs calmed down a little Noelle lay a head on Finral's shoulder and he in return lay an arm around her. There was nothing romantic about his gesture, he only wanted to be there for the girl whose heart had been broken by the guy she was in love with.
"He's an idiot and you deserve better." Finral said after a while.
"I know." Her voice still shook, but at least her tears were drying. "Thank you, Finral."
A comfortable silence settled over them after that.
When Asta came back to the base, he had flown after all, because apparently Finral had forgotten about him, the common room was empty except for Vanessa. However only a few seconds later Finral and Noelle entered. The first thing Asta noticed was that Noelle wore Finral's coat and that he had an arm around her. Asta didn't know why, but seeing Noelle not only in Finral's clothes, but also in his arm, made something deep inside him turn unpleasantly. Somehow he felt the urge to almost push Finral aside, because seeing them like this together hurt him. He couldn't describe the feeling, but he wanted it to leave.
"Thanks for the coat, Finral. I'll give it back to you tomorrow." Noelle's voice sounded to soft and weak and Asta could feel that her ki was full of sadness.
There was nothing more that he wanted than comfort her, but she didn't even acknowledge his presence and passed him without even a look to get to the door. For a moment Asta didn't know what had gone wrong.
The door closed behind Noelle and Asta knew that he wouldn't have an opportunity to talk to her today. He could ask Finral, but at the moment he felt an unexplained anger towards him. The picture of Finral's arm around Noelle and her in his coat was burned into his mind and at the moment the last thing he wanted to do was talk to Finral. Tomorrow morning he would talk to Noelle.
The next morning however didn't went how Asta had imagined it. Noelle didn't take her usual seat next to him for breakfast, but instead sat between Vanessa and Magna. Not once had she even looked at him, let alone returned his good morning to her. His eyes glanced every few seconds at her in hopes of catching her eyes, but she wasn't looking at him even once. When they had finished eating Asta stood up with a plan in mind. He would ask Noelle to train with him, then she had to talk to him and tell me what was wrong.
"Let's go train, Noelle." He smiled enthusiastic at her, only to be met with a look he hadn't seen directed at him since they had first met.
Noelle's normally beautifully bright eyes were a cold pink and her expression as disapproving as it could get. Never since they became friends had Noelle looked at him like that and it made Asta's heart stutter in his chest. What had happened since yesterday that made her act like this?
"No." Her harsh voice interrupted his thoughts.
Without regarding him anymore she turned to Vanessa instead.
"What do you say, want to accompany me to the capital today?"
Vanessa wasn't surprised by the suggestion. Sometimes they went off together to have a girls day, sometimes joined by the other Black Bull girls, but often enough just the two of them. Vanessa almost saw Noelle as her little sister and after hearing about her heartbreak from Finral yesterday she had already planned to talk to Noelle.
"Sure." Vanessa smiled at Noelle and the two went to Finral, who made them a portal to the capital.
Asta still stood where Noelle had rejected his offer to train and a deep sadness settled into his heart. He didn't understand the change in Noelle, but he knew that he didn't like it at all. Normally they trained almost every day together and the look he had received from the royal had send unpleasant shivers through his body. What had happened?
Meanwhile Vanessa and Noelle had arrived in the capital. Normally they would start their girls day by going to the hot springs and this time was no exception.
When they both were settled into the warm water, Vanessa took a closer look at Noelle. She looked exhausted and her eyes had lost the light that, since she had joined them, was always there, especially around Asta. Her answer to him and her whole behavior towards him had changed so drastically and Vanessa knew that heartbreak looked like this. Asta and Noelle had been their rookies and would always be no matter the ranks they now had and she had always thought that Asta and Noelle would become wizard king and queen. She loved to tease Noelle on their girls days about Asta and would smile at the bright blush it got out of Noelle each time, but this time they were in for a serious conversation.
"What happened between you two, Noelle?" Vanessa was nothing if not blunt and she knew that Noelle appreciated that.
"Nothing happened. I just realized that we're not meant to be." Noelle ignored the painful squeeze of her heart at her own words and forced herself to continue. "To think that love was in my cards was foolish of me. Royalty shouldn't care about love anyway."
"Noelle..." Vanessa wanted to help her with all her heart.
"It's alright. Today I'll meet another suitor. Who knows, maybe we'll get along well enough that a future together is possible. Even without love a marriage can be fulfilling. My aunt and uncle didn't marry out of love, but they still respected each other greatly. They are still happy together, despite never finding love in each other."
Noelle's view of love had always been difficult in Vanessa's eyes. The royal was brought up in a family without receiving any love, quite the opposite. Vanessa knew that most royal marriages were arranged and that Noelle surely had learned from a young age that love wasn't mean for her. The last few months she had seen that Noelle's thoughts about love had changed, thanks to Asta, but with her heart broken her old view came back in place. It was hard for Vanessa to see her young teammate so desperate and broken, because she knew how doubtful she was of any affection shown to her. Vanessa had to break her out of her negative thoughts.
"Please don't say that, Noelle." She gently lay a hand on the girl's shoulder.
"Like I said, it's alright. Love just isn't possible for me, it was rather foolish of me to think that." She gave Vanessa a sad smile. "Please just leave it at that. My heart can't take much more."
Vanessa wanted to help Noelle, but at the look in her eyes she saw that any more and Noelle would break down and that was the last thing she wanted. For now she would just stay by Noelle's side, but that didn't mean that she didn't plan on helping her.
Three hours later, when it was time for Noelle to meet her suitor in a nearby restaurant, Vanessa returned to the base. Her plan still in mind she was glad when she saw that Asta was training alone in the forest. Landing on his training ground she walked over to him, a bottle of wine freshly bought in the capital in hand.
"Training hard like always?" She greeted him.
"Of course." His voice sounded like always, but the light in Asta's eyes had vanished, just like it had in Noelle's eyes. The swordsman look behind Vanessa for a moment before realizing she was alone. "Is Noelle still at the capital?"
"Yes, she stayed behind to meet a suitor for a marriage proposal."
"A marriage proposal?"
"For someone who proposes on a regular basis you sure sound surprised." Vanessa said and took a gulp out of the bottle in her hand.
"I didn't know she got proposals."
"Noelle is royalty and has a lot of magic power and even if she hadn't, she is a beautiful young woman. Of course she gets marriage proposals. Even our own male members aren't immune to her looks. I mean, could you blame them? Noelle was always pretty, but now she has this elegant beauty that fits a royal like her perfectly."
Vanessa saw how her words were already affecting the manaless swordsman in front of her. His expression got darker and she could practically see her words sink in. Somehow Vanessa felt bad for putting Asta through this, but then she remembered how desperate Noelle had tried to convince her that she didn't need love. The young royal had hurt herself more and more with each word she had spoken and Vanessa had been helpless. Now was the time when she could finally do something to help Noelle and so far her plan was working.
"Who knows maybe the guy she is meeting is the one for her and she will agree to his proposal. Love is really great. She will go on so many dates and spend all her time with him and before you know it they will get married. I sure hope she has a great time right now."
All her words were lies. She knew that there was no way Noelle would accept a proposal from a stranger. Even when she was heartbroken Noelle wouldn't just agree to the get married just like that. She might try to convince herself that she wouldn't want love anyway, but Vanessa knew that despite her hurt Noelle was still in love with Asta. However if she wanted to make Asta realize what for a wonderful person he was about to lose, she had to make the dense swordsman as jealous as he could be. Yesterday evening she had seen a moment of Asta's jealous side when Finral had brought Noelle back to the base, so this should work just fine.
"Anyway, I'll leave you to your training." With that she left him to his thoughts. Tonight during dinner she would continue her plan.
Later that day when everyone sat together eating dinner, Vanessa made sure to ask Noelle about her date. Her voice loud enough to carry over to Asta, who kept glancing at the royal.
"He was a gentleman with perfect manners. A suitor worthy of a royal like me."
With each praise about this other man, Asta felt his chest tightened more and more. Was what Vanessa had said really possible? Noelle would marry and leave him? His heart hurt all of a sudden. Not being able to see Noelle every day, train with her, fight by her side or just sit next to her in peaceful silence after a hard day. He couldn't imagine that. No, he didn't want to imagine that. He wanted her to be by his side forever. The anger at a man he didn't even know and the hurt about Noelle's praise of this other man, left a painful feeling in his heart and he didn't know what to do about it. Even when she had talked to Magna after coming home from the capital, Asta had felt an unexplained anger towards the fire mage for having Noelle's attention while she ignored him.
Each day since Noelle had distanced herself from him and each moment she spend with someone else, felt like some part of his heart was missing. He hadn't realized how much time he spend with her until she completely stopped letting him be part of her day. He didn't know what had happened, but he knew that he missed Noelle.
The next morning Asta woke up feeling exhausted. He had barley slept and the few time he had managed to fall asleep he had dreamed about Noelle with another man by her side. Needless to say, he hadn't gotten any rest. For once the breakfast in front of him stayed untouched and his eyes were fixed on Noelle. He didn't know if the feeling of anger towards Magna, who sat next to Noelle was the result of his exhausted mind playing tricks on him or if this awful feeling was just a permanent fixture in his heart now.
"I have a mission for you brats." Captain Yami's sudden announcement pulled Asta out of his thoughts. "Asta and Noelle, there is a new dungeon. The details are on this." He lay the scroll down on the table near Noelle.
Yami was about to leave when Noelle's voice stopped him.
"Captain Yami, I would like to go on this mission with Luck instead."
The stunned silence that followed her words was broken by Luck, who was already jumping up and down in excitement.
"Really? I get to go? I might fight someone. Please captain Yami I want to go."
Yami turned around to look at Noelle, who met his eyes with seriousness, before he turned to Asta, who was looking down with his shoulders sunken, to Luck who was already more than excited for a new mission. It was unusual that Noelle challenged his pair ups for missions, but he had a feeling that she was rather determined to not go with Asta. For now he would let it slide, but he had to get to the bottom of this soon. Asta and Noelle were a great team and whatever had happened between them had to be serious. For now however he had more important things to worry about.
"Whatever, I don't care. Then go with Luck. Annoying brats keeping me from taking my dump." With that he left.
"We'll leave in an hour, Luck. Be on time and don't keep me waiting." Noelle said and stood up to get ready.
It was already evening when captain Yami walked out on the roof. He had felt the special ki of the manaless swordsman and knew that he had to address the situation between him and Noelle.
"You and Noelle, what is the matter?" Yami asked after the two men had sat in silence for a few minutes.
"I don't know." It was the truest answer Asta could give his captain. Since they had been in Hage he didn't know anymore what him and Noelle were.
"Listen idiot. I want a real answer. You two were stuck together like glue, then suddenly you aren't even talking anymore. You run around like you want to punch any man who looks too long at the little princess, while she gives you the cold shoulder. She even down right refused to do a mission with you, so tell me why my best working team is suddenly like that."
"I don't know." Asta almost shouted, before taking a deep breath. "I always wanted two things in life, become wizard king and marry Lily."
"The woman who raised you?" Yami interrupted him.
"Yes, she cared for us and I own so much to her. I want her to be happy and have everything she deserves."
"And Noelle?" At the confused look Asta gave him, Yami continued. "What about Noelle? What do you feel when you think of her?"
"I want her to be happy too." He answered immediately before thinking more about it. "I can't imagine her being not by my side. When Vanessa told me that Noelle has suitors and she will marry one day, my heart hurt." Feeling the pain flare up, he lay a hand over his heart. "I want to be with her every day. I want to fight alongside her and watch her be the confident magic knight she is. She is so beautiful when she is determined. I want to watch her back and be her shield to protect her, when she can't."
"Then you should have gone on that mission with her that she went on with Luck. It was successful, but I know that if you had gone with her it would have been faster and she wouldn't have gotten hurt."
"She got hurt?" The concern and seriousness immediately pulled Asta out of his thoughts.
"You are so protective of her." Yami mocked with a smirk. "And all the things you said about her made you sound like an idiot in love. Just to make it obvious to an idiot like you. When you think of Noelle can you imagine, holding her, kissing her and all that shit?"
Asta would be lying to himself, if he would say no. There had been moments when his eyes drifted to her lips and he had asked himself how it would be to kiss her. Then there had been quite a few dreams were he had kissed Noelle.
"Yes." Was his final answer and Yami was surprised by the blush on Asta's cheeks.
"So what are you sitting around for, welting in your jealousy. Make things right with her and tell her you like her."
"You really think so?" Asta asked, just realizing that what he had been feeling was jealousy.
"There is only one reason a man reacts like that and that is when the woman he loves is involved."
Asta seemed to be in deep thoughts for a moment, before Yami saw the light, that had been missing in Asta's eyes for a few days now, reappear.
"Thank you." The first real smile since he had left Hage stole its way on Asta's lips.
"What for a captain would I be if I wouldn't look after you idiots. Now go to her and surpass your limits, I need to take a dump."
"Yes, sir." Asta jump down the roofs of the base with new enthusiasm.
Yami shook his head while he watch Asta run to the training ground where Noelle was. No matter how mature these two had become, they were still a bunch of kids who fell in love for the first time. Being a captain was hard work. He really needed a drink right now.
Asta's heart was beating faster when he approached Noelle carefully.
"What do you want?" Her voice was cold, just like it had been the last few days when she was forced to talk to him.
"The captain said that you were hurt during the mission with Luck." His eyes were checking her body for any sign of said injury until they landed on the bandage on her upper arm. Without thinking he reached out for her. "Are you alright?"
"Don't touch me." Her words and that she not only flinched away from him but even took a step back, hurt Asta deeply.
"Tell me what I did?" His voice shook, but he needed to get it off his chest. "Since we came back from Hage you treat me as we aren't even friends. I wanted to show you so much in Hage and have us all eat together, but then you just disappeared and then you just ignore me. You refused to go on that mission with me and even got hurt. What did I do?"
For the first time she really returned his look and he saw her carefully build wall crumpling down. Her eyes were angry and hurt and held an emotion he knew all too well now.
"I don't believe you. We didn't visit Hage so you could spend time with me. You wanted to go there to propose." Her voice broke. "I was foolish to believe anything would change. A royal and a peasant, it wouldn't have worked anyway."
Asta didn't trust his judgment when it came to women and what they really wanted to say, but to him it sounded like Noelle liked him, like he liked her. His heart beat faster at that thought and he hoped that for once he was right.
Reaching for her hands, who he noticed now were shaking, he spoke up.
"I can be an idiot and I don't know if I'm one right now, but I like you too. I was jealous when you talked about your suitor and when you went on that mission with Luck and when you wore Finral's coat and-" He stopped himself from rambling when he saw Noelle's eyes widen. "That doesn't matter. I missed you so much the last few days. I didn't realize how much you were part of my life and I want it to stay that way. I don't want you to marry anyone else and I-" He took a deep breath before he let his heart speak the realization that was a long way coming. "I don't want to marry anyone else. I want you."
While he had said that he had looked deep into Noelle's eyes and so he saw the moment her dam broke. Tears were now flowing freely down her cheeks and for a moment Asta thought he had messed up, but then she embraced him and without hesitation he wound his arms around her.
"You're such an idiot, dumpsta."
"Maybe, but do you like this idiot?" He asked her smiling slightly.
Noelle pulled a little away from him so that they were now facing each other. Her tears had stopped and her eyes were shining. She had never looked more beautiful to Asta.
"Unfortunately, I do."
Asta was sure his smile couldn't get bigger than it was now. Gently he wiped the last remaining tear from her cheek and a beautiful blush followed his touch. This felt right, being here with her, telling her what she meant to him. There was only one thing that was missing.
"Can I kiss you?"
Noelle's blush intensified and for a moment Asta thought that she would blast him away with one of her water attacks, liking him or not. However her reaction was quite the opposite.
"Idiot." She whispered and smiling she closed the gap between their lips and kissed him.
Asta smiled into the kiss and pulled her closer. Jealousy wasn't a great feeling, but it had helped him realize what he felt for Noelle. Now that he finally had her in his arms, he would make sure that she felt loved everyday.
A/N: I hope you liked my story :)