A/N: Just a short Christmas story :)
After Finral's mixer Vanessa got the idea that the girls should have a mixer as well and what better time then on Christmas Eve. Noelle and Charmy seemed like the perfect partners for it and despite that the young royal wasn't convinced at first Vanessa knew just the right thing to say.
"You know maybe Asta will get jealous."
"As if I would care if he gets jealous." Noelle blushed deeply. "But if you insist, you better find someone worth my time."
With that she stormed off and Vanessa smirked. It was obvious to her that Noelle had feelings for Asta, but the anti-mage was too dense to notice it. Maybe this was a good opportunity to help those two with their feelings. All she had to do now was casually talk about the mixer with the others around. If she knew anything about Finral he would be so noisy that he wanted to see for himself if their mixer would be better than the one he had been on and with a little luck he would drag Asta into it. That sounded like the perfect plan and Vanessa didn't waste time to put it into action.
Vanessa's opportunity came when Asta and the rest of the guild were having dinner. Like usual Charmy's sheep cooks had made wonderful food for all of them and Asta was happily eating. He shared a table with Noelle and Charmy and while the young water mage ate slowly Charmy and him were already half way through their first plate. However Asta's attention was suddenly pulled away from the piece of meat in front of him to Vanessa's loud discussion with Finral.
"Our mixer will be so much better than yours." The red-haired woman smirked.
"As if. We had a better time than you could ever have."
"If I remember correctly the girls told you that they never want to see you again."
"Why did you have to tell her that, Luck?" Finral now turned to his guild member.
"Because it's true." Luck shrugged, before his eyes lighted up. "Are you so mad at me that you want to fight me?"
"No." Finral almost shouted.
Asta focused back on his food after that, but the theme of a new mixer was brought to his attention again when Vanessa walked over to his table.
"So are you two ready for tomorrow?" She asked the girls at the table.
Now interested Asta looked up from his food to see Noelle and Charmy nod. Surprised Asta spoke up.
"You three are going on a mixer together?"
"Yes, I just know the perfect guys to go with and I'm sure we'll have a great time together." Vanessa smirked.
"You agreed to go, Noelle?" Now his eyes were only on the girl in front of him.
"Well Vanessa promised me someone worthy of a royal, so I agreed."
The blush that stained her cheeks and the knowledge that she was going to meet a guy didn't sit well with Asta. Finral had, not so kindly after the failed attempt, explained to him what the purpose of a mixer was, so he knew what the goal of it was. The chance of Noelle finding someone she liked in that way was a thought that bothered Asta for some reason. Was Noelle really looking for someone to date? She had all of her friends from the Black Bulls and she had him, so why would she need someone else in her life?
No matter how often he thought about it, it kept bothering him. He felt even worse when he saw Noelle in the evening of the date. She wore her normal clothes, but her hair wasn't in her usual pigtails, but flowed freely down her shoulders. Noelle was a pretty girl, everyone could see that, but tonight she looked even more beautiful. That she got ready to meet a boy who she could potentially end up dating was making Asta's stomach turn unpleasantly.
The anti-mage hated the feeling he was getting. Not knowing what was happening on the mixer made him uneasy and that was the reason he went along with Finral when he suggested that they should spy on the girls. With his space-based magic it was easy to get to the restaurant where the girls were at. Asta found it a little ridiculous to dress up as waiters to get a closer look at the mixer, but Finral insisted that it was a good plan. They came just in time to hear the introduction of the boys. Asta vaguely heard that Vanessa's date was the owner of a bar while Charmy's date was a cook, but the guy he focused on was Noelle's date. Apparently he was from a noble family, but turned his back on them to become a blacksmith for magic items.
Asta watched how Noelle's eyes lighted up at the new information. These two had a lot in common and that was what worried Asta. With the awful feeling getting worse by the second he watched Noelle talk with the other guy. They seemed to get along just fine and at some point Asta had to look away. Why wasn't he happy for Noelle? Thankfully Finral had seen enough as well and jealous of the girls' success brought them back to the hideout.
When the girls came back a few hours later Vanessa had to tell them everything about the mixer. Noelle and Charmy were quiet, but didn't disagreed when their friend told everyone that they had a great time. When everyone was distract by Vanessa mocking Finral, Asta quietly approached Noelle.
"Did you really have a good time?"
"It was okay, he was nice and maybe he can help me make my wand more powerful. I had a good time."
"A better time than if you had spent it with me?" Asta couldn't help but ask.
"What are you talking about dumb Asta?"
Hesitatingly he let his fingers brush against Noelle's before intertwining them. It felt right and for the first time today the awful feeling in Asta's heart disappeared.
"Maybe we could go to a restaurant together the next time?" He offered. "Just you and me."
"Yeah, maybe." She answered shyly with a blush on her cheeks, but the way she squeezed his hand for a moment told Asta that this was her way of agreeing to a date with him.
Vanessa looked at the two youngest members of the guild with a small smile. She could see that they were holding hands and both were blushing. Maybe she could even get them to kiss under the mistletoe Finral had hung up everywhere, but that was a new plan for tomorrow. For now Vanessa was happy to see that these two made a first step to realizing their feelings for each other.
A/N: Merry Christmas :)