Waking up, Asta felt the pain in his arms. It wasn't as painful as it had been the moment they had been crushed, but it was still painful enough that he didn't want to move them.
When he opened his eyes, he was surprised at where he was. At least until he remembered what had actually happened. The fight with Vetto, the things he had said.
The teen sighed, moving to sit up but finding himself unable to do so. Confused, he looked down at his arms only to find them both bandaged and held in position in front of his chest. Well, there went his way of moving freely.
Not like he wanted to move his arms anyways. Eventually, he managed to move into a siting-position. There was a patch on his right side too, the section where he had received a deep cut. Even without a mirror, Asta knew that his other wounds had been tended too.
A chuckle left him when he thought about the way Mom would scream at Dad for allowing him to get hurt so much once again. He really was a trouble magnet. But that was just the way things were. Magic knights get hurt, that was normal. And with the amount of magic that guy had, it was even more natural.
But that wouldn't stop her from yelling at Dad. He wouldn't have it any other way thought. They loved him in their own, sometimes weird way. Even though…..
Another sigh. Asta shook his head. Didn't matter.
The door to his infirmary room opened revealing Yuno.
"Hey" Asta smiled.
Yuno said nothing, grabbing one of the chairs to sit down beside the bed. His face straight as always. Asta could tell thought, that there was something troubling him.
"Did I miss anything?" he asked.
"Well, that guy kind of blew himself up. Captain Yami stopped him thought. How do you fell?"
Before answering, the teen checked his own body once again, searching for the pain signals all over. Most of it was located in his arms. The rest didn't feel so bad.
"Okay, I guess" he shrugged. "My arms hurt a lot." He admitted.
A small smile. "We'll leave in the morning. Then your father wants to go to Owen with you. The healers here said that their magic isn't strong enough for this. Owen is stronger" he said.
Asta raised an eyebrow. They weren't strong enough? His arms were simply broken, nothing more. How could they not fix that? Well, the others had been hurt too. They too, needed to be healed. Maybe they just didn't have enough magic for this.
The teen nodded.
Here they were again, alone in a room. Should he ask what they were? Should he decide that for himself? Kissing was a very obvious sign for him what they felt for each other. But he really didn't want to decide that.
Asking seemed to be such a weird thing too though. Just asking 'are we a couple now?' just didn't seem right. Yet, Asta didn't know how else to ask the other. And the worst thing he could get was a 'no'. Which he was sure he wouldn't get.
It was Yuno who had kissed him after all. He had just responded the way he wanted to.
"Asta?"
And then he noticed that he had just been staring at Yuno for the last five minutes. Oh god.
"Sorry" he muttered.
A stifled laugh and he felt stupid. Was Yuno actually laughing at him now? Did he look that stupid while staring? It couldn't have been that bad right? There was nothing interesting to stare at after all.
No, he didn't enjoy staring into those molten honey-colored eyes. And he certainly didn't think that the other teen was stupidly good looking or handsome. No, he didn't feel save when they had shared a bed.
"Asta you're getting red" another one of those smirks.
Oh hell no.
Asta groaned, throwing himself back onto the bed. He would've covered his face if his arms were free. But no, this one time where he needed them outside of a battle, they were useless.
"Hey"
Asta turned his head into Yuno's direction. He was sure that his whole face was red by now.
"You don't need to be embarrassed. We shared a bed and kissed. I thought it was quite obvious how we felt for each other" he smiled.
And Asta swore, yes he did, that if he want laying in the bed right now, that his knees would give out and he'd fall to the ground. Even though he was sure Yuno would catch him with no effort. He looked thin and like was about to be thrown down by the next gush of wind, but Asta knew better.
He knew how strong the other really was. Not in the same way as himself, but he wouldn't have any problems catching him.
"I uh… wasn't really sure what we were now" he admitted.
"I believe it's called 'boyfriends'" stupid smirk.
Asta hummed and nodded. He could work with that. That sounded pretty good, if he was being honest with himself.
"Yeah, that sounds good" he said.
As soon as Owen got to heal his arms, Asta was sure that he would feel much better. It was nothing that couldn't be fixed. Broken arms were one of the things that mages could heal within minutes. It was common, even more in the magic knights.
Almost like a routine for them. And then he could go training again. Until then, for once he had to lean back and relax a bit. Not really his style, but what choice did he have? Moving around to much would only make it worse.
"Okay then. I'll be going to my room" Yuno stood up, placing the chair into the corner again.
"You're not staying with me?" Asta pouted. Boyfriends could sleep in the same bed. And they had done it before.
"I would. But the healers clearly said that I'm not allowed to stay with you unless I throw myself out of the window. And as much as I would love to stay with you, I'm not doing that" he chuckled.
Asta nodded. Of course the healers didn't allow that. He still wasn't satisfied with that. Sleeping alone wasn't as calming. But for one night, he had to live with it.
"Don't make that face. I'm not leaving you like that."
The taller teen leaned down, stealing a kiss from the other once more. Asta closed his eyes, leaning into the touch. His stomach tightened once again. Every time, he noticed, every time they kissed it happened.
Well, this was like their third one or something, but still. He thought he had better control over his body. But who was he kidding? That's just how a teenage body worked, right? Losing control over feelings like this. Getting exited. Yeah….
When Yuno pulled away, he gave one last smile before turning to leave the room.
"Wait" Asta moved his hand to reach for the other, only to wince when he remembered that he couldn't. And noticed that it had hurt to move even an inch. It was only one more day, he reminded himself.
"Do you um…" the teen stopped himself, unsure if he should really ask this. "You talked to my parents that other day, right?" he asked.
Yuno turned back around. "Yes" he answered honestly.
"Was there a special reason for that? Did they want something important?" Asta pressed.
"Well…" Yuno thought for a second. He could tell him the truth. How he knew everything about his parents. Why they wanted him to protect Asta and stay close to him. But he decided that it wasn't his place to say such things. So, he went with the semi-truth.
"It wasn't anything bad if you think that. They noticed how close we were getting and asked me to keep an eye on you."
That was the truth, if not all of it. It hurt him to keep secrets from the other, but he had no other choice. Yuno himself had a good prediction as to what that demon wanted from Asta.
It was clear when you thought about it. A demon showed up in the middle of the night and killed his mother. It had wanted to take him with him. What other reason could there be but….
"I see" Asta mumbled.
"They're just worried, that's how parents are. Don't think about it to much" the taller teen smiled again, finally leaving the room.
Outside, Yuno leaned against the door. He hadn't imagined that, did he? This slight flash of red in Asta's eyes. That was just a reflection of the light, right? It had to be. This was one of the times in his life where Yuno wished he was wrong. That he was imagining things.
"How is he?"
Yami's presence brought him out of his thoughts again. And it was the perfect time for it. He didn't need to think about this right now.
"He's fine, awake. But he's tired and confused, I can tell" Yuno said, holding strong eye-contact with the Captain.
"Not surprised about that" Yami mumbled, lighting another cigarette. Honestly, why did this man never need a break?!
"I saw uhm… have you ever thought about the reason that demon wanted him?" he asked with hesitation.
Yami stopped in his movements. Yes, he had. He and Charlotte had thought about that many times. Why that demon had come, who he was and when he would return to try and claim his child once again.
That's right, Asta was his child now. And when he thought about it, he began to ask himself if the fake-fights he had with Charlotte and 'breaking up' had been worth it.
She was everything he had ever wanted in a woman. Strength, confidence, a strong willpower and so much more. Not like she would ever think the same of him.
Yami knew very well what she thought of him. How independent she was and wanted no man. Then again, had he ever really tried these past fifteen years?
Yami shook his head. "Yes" he finally answered. "We have thought about that a lot. We hoped that demon would never come back, would never be able to find him. But since that day when Asta was six, we knew that it was only a matter of time" he sighed.
"I have a bad feeling about this. I think I know why" Yuno muttered.
"We all know why. By now we all do. I know we said we didn't know, but its all just the hope of being wrong. He doesn't deserve that" the dark mage admitted.
Yuno sighed. Asta really didn't. He was a good person. He didn't deserve to be put in such a situation. Where he would find out who and what he really was. And Yuno had a feeling that Asta had his own suspicions.
"Why didn't that demon take him on that day though?" he asked.
"I don't know. Wish I did, though I'm glad that thing didn't take him. But in the end, the only thing that matters is that Asta never finds out about this. It's the best for him" Yami said with as much confidence as he could muster.
Yuno crossed his arms over his chest. That won't be possible. The demon didn't take him on that day when Asta had been six, doesn't mean it won't try again. He had a feeling that it would come back one day.
"He will find out at some point. I don't think that there is any way to avoid that" the wind mage bit his lip.
"I know" Yami sighed, running a hand through his dark hair. "But for as long as I can, I will protect my child and hide this truth from him. It is the first and last thing I will ever hide from him."
Yuno hummed. Maybe it was for the best after all.
Some things were better kept in the dark.
So, this is it. Not the end of the story but basically the end of the anime story. Yes, the part with the withces forest will stil come, but not the way you know it. And after that I probably won't do anything that has to do with the anime-story. I haven't written this far yet.
We'll see what happens. Feel free to tell me your thoughts in the coments.
What will happen in the forest? What happens after that?
Maybe some of you have your own theories ;)
Until next time
Bye
