A/N: I got nothin' (until the end of the chapter). Enjoy.
INFLECTION POINT
3. Drunk (A Reprise)
"What the hell?! This place is crazy! There's no one living here during the year eh?" Yuno hears the fire mage with the oddly shaped shades exclaim as he touches his wind transport down to the ground, a few of his squadmates in tow. Already he sees a cluster of Black Bulls gathered around the entrance of the palatial lodge.
"Don't get any ideas about coming up here on your own on your downtime," he hears Captain Yami grumble. "The faeries will curse you," he chortles, cigarette half hanging out of his mouth.
The gruff captain was alluding to Mount Virhorn's sacred forest grove, which was apparently inhabited by faeries centuries ago. To this day, the grove and the forest temple in the woods nearby remain places of worship to the townspeople further down the mountain.
Of course, the Clover Kingdom's royals had tainted the sanctity of the region to some degree when, in an act of sacrilege, an earlier descendent of the Kiras constructed what was supposed to be a getaway mountain lodge. The plush lodge was eventually abandoned as it was built a little too closely to the sacred woods for the vacationing royals' tastes, as they feared essentially what Captain Yami had just jested about. Another royal lodge was built closer to the town further down the mountain, yet still secluded enough to remain unbothered by townsfolk. The abandoned palatial vacation home was soon after repurposed for Magic Knight trainings in later years, given its location in a strong mana zone, and that the space would only be occupied temporarily—thus hopefully avoiding the wrath of any vengeful sprites.
And here Yuno was, about to share this grandiose, sacrilegious space with the rough-around-the-edges Black Bulls. The stoic wind mage found the change of scenery welcome, and was always happy to take any opportunity to enhance his skillset. The next couple of days would prove to be interesting, as the squads would be training at high altitude, powered even further by the overflowing mana. There was also the possibility of fighting Asta and showing him up in front of his entire squad, and that was always a plus.
"Bout time, Vangeance!" Captain Yami barks teasingly as Klaus' steel carriage touches to the ground. "Can't believe we made it here before you and your shiny squad."
"Me either," Captain Vangeance says with a smile, lifting his hand to show the keys.
The door finally open, the chatter continues on as the squads file into the lodge. Upon entering, there are many an 'ooh' and 'aah' at the massive foyer alone, a giant, nearly empty space with high ceilings and a towering staircase at the opposite end of the room. The interior design and the grandiosity of the structure were at odds with each other, as nearly every surface was a warm wooden brown in an attempt to give the appearance of a regular mountain cabin, while the space and furnishings were as over the top as a Kira might mandate.
"This place is probably bigger than all of Hage," he hears Asta say, his rival suddenly standing next to him out of nowhere.
"Mm. What a waste," Yuno murmurs judgmentally, looking around to take in the space.
To the right, there was a room with french doors that opened into what was presumably some library-study situation of sorts. He could see the warm glow of a fire crackling and smell it from where he stood.
Looking ahead, the top of the towering stairs split out in two directions, the second floor lined with railings, several doors lining the walls, which he assumed were their rooms.
To the left was what appeared to be a common area, which was surprisingly cozy, a large sectional couch lining the corner of the wall, the ceiling pitching downwards at an angle, lending itself to the coziness of that particular area. Just ahead of the common space was a bar and a round table, and as one stepped further in that direction, a hallway lined purely with glass, giving a breathtaking view of the mountain range. The transparent hallway led to the dining hall and a gargantuan window leading out to a deck, with what Yuno imagined was an equally impressive view.
"Well anyway. I'm gonna go and figure out where the toilets are. Vangeance, you've got the room assignments, no?" Captain Yami says, taking a drag out the cigarette tucked in the corner of his mouth.
His own captain nods, waving two scrolls in the gruff captain's direction, before clearing his throat.
"Senior squad members will have their own rooms, and junior squad members will share, two to a room. Now, there's quarters A and B, and it's been mandated that the squads intermix, so we won't be dividing up per quarter. Upstairs you'll find a hallway that leads to the B quarters, where…."
Yuno's attention wavers only due to the unmistakable sensation of being scrutinized. His eyes dart over to the source of the tense energy, to have them land on the one and only Noelle Silva, whose magenta eyes immediately dart back to the captain upon being caught.
He watches her intently, watching her shift uncomfortably under his gaze, wondering what was wrong with her, or if she perhaps still had beef about their little match that was, at this point, two weeks ago.
A few blinks in her direction, and Yuno turns to look back at his captain, who is now reading off the names and locations. He of course winds up in the same block as Asta, and for whatever reason passively makes note that Noelle is within the same quarters, in the opposite block.
Once the list is read through, he feels a firm bump on his right arm and looks down to find Asta nudging him with his elbow.
"Looking forward to kicking your ass on the field," he says playfully.
Yuno cracks a slight smile.
"Not a chance," he says and the two share that same competitive gaze that had so marked their friendship since the day Yuno had decided to be brave.
Asta goes on talking about his hope that there's a gym on the premises, and maybe a place where they could spar sans-magic, but Yuno at this point is only paying half attention, noticing Noelle—Mimosa by her side—striding up the stairs.
"Such a beautiful view, isn't Yuno? So romantic," Bell sighs, perched atop the fur of his hood.
"Mm," he replies passively, noting that in addition to the star-speckled night sky, the deck he was sitting atop also gave a view of the hot springs that Captain Yami had unsurprisingly found his way to.
As it was orientation day, the squads had been given free reign to enjoy the quarters before the hard work began the next day. All around him, from inside the lodge, and beneath the deck are the thrums of life and people talking and bonding and enjoying themselves. While he typically would have joined his comrades, he had set out to remain focused on training for the remainder of the weekend and wanted to do away with any distractions.
Human interaction would eventually be unavoidable, however, as he would have to pass the dining hall and that bar-common room area before making it safely back into his room.
Determined to sleep early, he leaves the comfort of sweet solitude as he re-enters the building, noise and raucous, drunken yelling already filling his ears.
As he approaches the common room he hears the incredibly loud fire mage and Asta all but barking at each other.
"... No thank you!" is Asta's curt and sing songy reply to whatever the fire mage had just proposed.
"As your senior, I say you gotta do it."
"Thanks, but, I think maybe Vanessa might be better for a challenge like that. If you wanna have a pushup or sit up contest, then we can talk!"
"Hah! You're just scared you're not gonna be able to outdrink me."
"Well, we're training tomorrow and I want my body to be in tip top shape!" comes Asta's optimistic reply, ever the expert at kindly deflecting unpleasant topics.
It is like a reflex to Yuno to escalate things where Asta was concerned, because his mouth runs off on its own as he enters the Black Bulls-dominated space.
"He's just opting out because he can't hold his liquor," Yuno remarks, and the eyes of most of the Black Bulls are on him now—and he can already feel the intrusive gaze of that food obsessed cotton mage heavy on him.
"What did you say?" Asta's tone suddenly changes to one of challenge, mouth upturned in a smirk, brow knit, green eyes mirthful and excited.
"You can't. Plus you're right, it'll probably make your weak, manaless self even weaker," Yuno sneers.
Asta stabs his pointing finger in Yuno's direction.
"Hah! You're one to talk! I bet you can't even hold your liquor. Didn't see you drink a drop at the post-ceremony gathering!"
"Oh, I can. I just didn't feel like drinking," Yuno half-lies with a shrug. The most he had ever had was that one stein of beer that night, which was hardly enough to gauge one's actual tolerance.
"I bet I could outdrink you any day!" Asta exclaims.
He can feel the Black Bulls' gaze shifting between the two at the back and forth.
"Hah," Yuno says, eyes narrowing, cocky smile spreading on his lips. "I'd like to see you try."
And before he knows it, he is sat down at the round table by the bar across from Asta, one tall and wide bottle of something brown and clear, two shot glasses on the table, surrounded by the Black Bulls all watching intently, in addition to a few peripheral Golden Dawn members who are probably surprised to see the powerful, stoic and quiet Yuno be dragged into such childish games.
"I'll be sure to have plenty of yummy food for your drunchies ready," the cotton mage says dreamily with a light touch to his arm.
"I can take care of Yuno just fine!" Bell growls from out of nowhere, the two clashing per usual, but it is all background chatter as he and Asta leer at each other.
"Alright!" the fire mage, whose name he has now learned is Magna, exclaims, uncapping the bottle.
He pours the liquid into the shot glasses, and without hesitation the two competitors and childhood friends scoop them up and toss them back.
The liquid stings Yuno's tongue, hot as it burns a trail of fire down his throat, the lingering, bitter taste coating the inside of his mouth, and he bites back the urge to cough and sputter at the disgusting taste and exclaim 'Why do people drink this?!'
But more importantly, besides his disgust at the taste, he feels no change.
Another glass is poured, and the entire room is silent as he and Asta knock back another.
Still nothing—though this time, Asta gives a slight cough, his face screwed in obvious dissatisfaction.
"Tapping out already?" Yuno taunts, with a smirk.
"Hah, no way! This stuff is way less bitter than moguro juice. Next glass, Magna!" the star Black Bull demands, slamming the shot glass on the table.
It is on his fourth shot that he begins to feel warm under his robe and uniform, his senses beginning to dull. Yet still, he is in full control, steady as a rock, while Asta begins to visibly sway, a stupidly cocky grin still on his face.
"Thissus nothin'!" Asta slurs scooting the glass closer to Magna.
"Hahah! That's the spirit! The pride of the Black Bulls rests on you tonight Asta!"
'The pride of the Black Bulls would rest on a drinking contest,' Yuno thinks to himself.
"Leave it to me!" Asta bellows as they take their fifth shot—subsequently rapidly blinking and swaying even more.
"You don't look too well there, Asta," Yuno says, putting every effort into enunciating each word, as his tongue has grown heavy in his mouth.
"You wish. I'm perfeckly o-kaaaay!" the non-mage replies, voice shrill, words slurred. The sound rings in Yuno's head and makes it ache just a bit. "More!"
It is at this fifth shot that Yuno begins to feel at least the prickle of worry, as his senses have dulled substantially. He was now refraining from swaying in his chair, his vision growing just a little wobbly, his brain beginning to swish around in his head. But with Asta still cheekily grinning at him from the other side of the table, standing down and stopping here was simply not an option.
"Alright, shot six! Go!" Magna exclaims.
The two knock their glasses back, subsequently slamming them back on the table once empty.
Asta blinks twice at Yuno, his usual goofy smile splayed on his face, again stabbing his pointer finger in his direction, mouth dropping open to probably let out a taunt—but in the next breath, he is passed out on the table, gasps abounding.
"Daaaaamn. Guess the kid can't hold his liquor," Magna says, shaking his head as people begin to chit chat amongst themselves once more, the sound of Asta's heavy snoring beginning to fill the space.
"In fairness, you all just drank a stupid and probably dangerous amount at once," the pink-haired witch says, her own bottle of something in hand as she pats the back of Asta's grey head.
"Well. I guess you win Yu—"
"Another."
The room falls silent once more, and he has no idea what has compelled him to invite another glass of that vile, defense-burning, mana-dulling liquid down his throat.
"It's only a draw if I don't have this last one. When he wakes up tomorrow, it must be crystal clear that he has lost," Yuno says with such seriousness that the people around him are either laughing nervously or visibly uncomfortable.
"Uh... Okay!" Magna shrugs, pouring another glass. "Don't go passing out too then, or I don't know how much of a victory it'll be!"
"I won't," Yuno says with full certainty, turning his head slightly to look up at the fire mage—and when he sees the amused grin that bursts onto his face, Yuno knows that he is definitely showing clear signs of inebriation.
'Dammit.'
Without further ado, Yuno tosses the glass back, the room so silent that one could hear a pin drop. He sets the glass back on the table, definitely feeling even more swishy, his brow knit, a triumphant smirk taking over.
And then the Black Bulls cheer—because they are the Black Bulls after all, always relishing in everyone else's successes and joys per Asta's infectious attitude.
Magna slaps Yuno's back—which admittedly has him discombobulated for a few seconds—laughing all the while.
"Didn't know you had it in ya! Not bad at all," he says. "Come on over to the Black Bulls hideout and I'll take you on next time."
"Hah," Yuno lets out, mostly because it's all he can manage, afraid of how actual words might sound at this point.
Eventually, the crowd disperses, the lightning boy and Magna picking up Asta and dragging him away, and he is eventually left alone at the table—only after being offered a five course meal by the small cotton mage that's always eating. He politely rejects the offer as he's unsure he'll be able to hold anything down.
After a few minutes at the table, when he is finally fully alone, he pushes himself up to his feet—or attempts to. It is only now that he is alerted to how heavy his body feels, and how hot he feels under his robes. Using the table as support, he attempts to stand taller, feeling like his brain is sloshing around in his head.
'Can't let anyone see me like this…'
His need to preserve his dignity far outstrips the effects the bitter juice had on him, and he propels himself forward, cheating just a little bit with a light wind guiding him along.
When he reaches the foot of the stairs, they seem endless, the journey akin to traversing an entire mountain in his current state. He notes that his control of mana had also severely dulled, and he's not sure he could have carried himself on his own transport up the stairs if he tried.
More urgent is the need to disappear from sight, so he instead stumbles towards the room with the french doors for refuge. Peering in through the glass, he confirms that it's empty, the glow of the fireplace even more welcoming. With some struggle he pushes the door open, stumbling forward towards the couch before the fireplace, plopping down onto it with relief.
'I hate alcohol.'
It's his silent mantra as he wills himself into sobriety—though the focus only makes his head ache even worse.
He slumps back into the couch, resolving to hide until he rides out his drunkenness, at least enough to get some mobility back so he could happily pass out in his room.
"Did they stick you in here because they forgot to assign you a room?"
Yuno's ears pique at the sound as it slowly reels him back into consciousness, and it is the last voice he wants to hear. He peeps an eye open to see Noelle enter the room, closing the door behind her.
"It's a big lodge. There's plenty of rooms and plenty of other people to disturb," he mutters, closing his eyes again as he leans back into the couch, passively wondering how long he had been passed out for.
"Quit your whining. I won't take long."
He peeps his eye open to find her sitting on the complete opposite end of the couch, extending her hands out in front of the fireplace. When his eyes rove back up to her face, she's staring right back at him.
"What?" she queries, already annoyed.
"Water."
The word is out of his mouth before he registers its arrival, and the offense on her face is clear.
"Uh, what do I look like to you?! You know, you can't just go around asking royals to serve you," she huffs, and his head pulses from her shrieking and nagging, which alcohol apparently made doubly worse.
"SshhhhhhHHHHH," he hushes her, volume low, hoping she would follow suit.
"I need water," he repeats in a whisper, again, speaking before his brain can catch up.
She scrutinizes him a little more before her vexed expression melts into one of sick amusement.
"Ah," Noelle says with a slight laugh, eyes glimmering with vengeful mirth. "You're drunk."
"Nope."
Yuno shakes his head, but instead ends up cartoonishly swinging it loosely side to side, thus nullifying his denial.
He looks back up at her, her eyes glassy, cheeks tinted with the telltale glow of having also consumed a fair amount of alcohol.
"You're one to talk."
"Mimosa and I just split half a bottle of wine, so I'm nowhere near your pathetic condition," she scoffs, and it's true. Though her eyes are glassy, cheeks lightly flushed, she is coherent and not at all the mess he had tended to all those nights ago.
He blinks at her a few more times, before his eyes close of their own volition, his head continuing to pulse.
"You clearly didn't eat enough—or you drank too much too quickly," she nags a little more quietly, just a touch of pity in her voice.
He says nothing in response, mostly because he can't. Had he been able to, he would've spat out a taunt about how she was the last person that should be tutoring him on alcohol consumption.
"Open your mouth," he hears her say, out of nowhere.
He blinks his bleary eyes open once more, if only to shoot her a questioning look at the odd command, and he finds that she has moved just the slightest bit closer, her wand pointed in his direction.
"What are you gonna do with that?"
"Just do it."
In no state to question her, he lets his jaw go slack, mouth hanging open, and not a second later there is a cool and refreshing steady stream of water arching from her wand and down into his mouth.
Confused, he glugs the cold water down, feeling some relief from the heat that the alcohol had invited, and feeling just a bit better—until he realizes that there is something decidedly odd about their stance. He didn't even want to know what would be said if any of his squadmates happened upon Noelle using her wand to shoot a stream of water into his mouth.
"Okeh yats enafhh," he gurgles through the steady stream, continuing to swallow down the water as it comes.
"What was that?"
"Stop the water," he says firmly, briefly turning his head to be able to speak properly, the stream meeting his cheek, before he resumes his previous position and continues to drink.
Instead, the water stream increases in pressure and amount, effectively wetting his robe, and he immediately regrets ever asking the stubborn royal for help.
"I think 'Thank you Noelle' is what you mean to say," she simpers, pure satisfaction written on her face.
He resists the urge to shoot a gust of wind her way for her wickedness, as he is unsure of how his magic would even look in his current state. So, he acquiesces.
"Hank yeh Nelle," he gurgles with narrowed eyes.
Noelle smiles and he is met with one final large splash to the face—which is admittedly refreshing, as irritated as he is.
"And I think this calls us even," she says as she puts her wand away, clearly pleased with herself.
"Being puked on and babysitting a drunk is a bit different than shooting water at someone's face for a couple of seconds," he grouses as he pushes a soft gust of wind against his face to dry it off, feeling her eyes on him as he does so.
Despite his annoyance, he does note that he no longer feels sick—though still every bit as dumb and sloppy prior to hydrating.
"So what did it take to get a stiff like you to this sorry state?" Noelle asks, apparently brushing off his insult with ease.
"Drinking contest with Asta," he replies flatly, slumping back into the corner of the sofa.
"You two are actually so stupid."
"He lost."
"You must be so proud."
"I am."
"You did wind up pathetically drunk, though."
A pause.
"I did," he admits, slumping his head back into the couch, closing his eyes. He claws at his robe, attempting to unfasten the buckle that secured it underneath. "And I hate it. I don't understand why people like it—it dulls your mana, makes you talk stupidly, and makes you physically inferior. It's awful."
"What are you trying to do?"
"It's hot and I'm trying to take this off… I can't find the…It's under… it's under this here, I just have to unbuckle it…" he mutters to himself, groping around under his robe.
"Here…" he hears Noelle say.
He opens his eyes to find Noelle next to him, her hands on his robe. She unceremoniously flips up the robe into his face to find the buckle and undoes it, and he feels it loosen around his shoulders.
"How the mighty have fallen," she clucks with a shake of her head, of course rubbing in his embarrassing state before he can even utter a begrudging 'thank you'.
"At least I didn't vomit," he says as he pulls the robe off and unbuttons the top of his uniform.
"The night is still young," she mumbles audibly.
He slumps back into the couch and she takes her place at the opposite end, extending her hands out to the fire once more.
"What are you even doing?"
"I just got in from the deck and I'm warming myself up," she replies, as though her patience is hanging by a thread.
"Can't you just get a fire mage to warm you or something?"
"Last I checked this wasn't your room," she snaps, throwing him a glare.
Too drunk and tired to retort, Yuno decides to make peace with the fact of the irksome presence in the room. As the silence persists, he finds himself watching her intently, noting that after a hike up a mountain and a few drinks later, not a hair is out of place. She is the picture of nobility—pretty and put together, and even now he could feel the mana oozing from her presence, strong and powerful.
"Enjoying the view?" she mutters, just a morsel of bashfulness in her tone, and his eyes dart back up to the magenta pink eyes now fixed on his.
The silence now is not necessarily uncomfortable, nor is he visibly grasping for an excuse to explain away his staring. In fact, he's not thinking at all, when he blurts:
"Why do you like Asta?"
His mouth had moved on his own, and he's unsure of where the thought had come from at all. However, now that the question was out in the air and could not be rescinded, he decides to roll with it, expression unshifting as he watches pure horror begin to shade her features.
"WH-WHAT?!" Noelle shrieks.
"Agh, too loud… " he winces.
"You're too loud! What if someone hears, idiot!" she hisses in a harsh whisper.
"Who? We're in a closed room and there's no one even here."
She frowns, blushing furiously, turning to look at the fire and apparently genuinely upset and uncomfortable, and he almost feels bad for the intrusive inquiry.
"I thought you didn't care about this kind of thing," she murmurs.
"I can assure you I don't," he says flatly. "I'm just curious enough to inquire why bringing him up prompted you to vomit on me."
She looks at him incredulously once more, the firelight flickering in her eyes, and even in her subdued anger she looks regal.
"A midget peasant with zero mana being pined after by a powerful, gifted and royal mage who's not terrible looking," he breaks the silence with a shrug. "Explain."
She quirks an eyebrow in question, looking a bit startled at the backhanded compliment.
After another stretch of silence, the anger on her face dissipates, and she looks back into the fireplace.
"I was a mess for a long time, as you might have heard," she begins. "I mean, of course you have. Everyone loved to talk about it—how I couldn't control my powers and what an embarrassment of a royal I was. I grew up surrounded by people who were constantly telling me I'd never amount to anything, and who were always guilting me for even existing."
He watches her intently, both nonplussed and intrigued at the display of honesty and humility that she rarely ever exhibited.
"I'm this confident… this powerful, because Asta's courage and optimism made me want to try to be better," she says with a slight smile. "The first time I was ever able to cast a spell of any use was when he was by my side on our first mission."
She pauses again, as though playing back memories through her mind, and he finds himself wondering what that reel consists of.
"He might not the brightest bulb in the bunch, but... he's resilient and relentless, and he… he has what even some of the most powerful mages lack. And, he's always looking out for and uplifting others," she says, and he has to wonder if the last few sentences are a backhanded dig at him.
There is another pause, and she sighs.
"Well anyway. There's your answer," she finishes, still avoiding his gaze.
"Really?" Yuno pipes up, breaking the brief, contemplative silence.
"What do you mean 'really'?" she asks defensively, turning to shoot a scowl his way.
"I mean… not that I'm well-versed on the topic, but isn't that just gratitude and admiration?" he says, cocking an eyebrow. Normally he would have judged internally and kept such thoughts to himself, unwilling to expend any time and energy on such trivial matters, but his tongue had a mind of its own tonight. "If that's the criteria, I must be in love with Asta too."
Noelle looks absolutely stupefied at the statement, her cheeks growing pinker by the second—and again the gears are clicking because she must know that there is actually some validity to what he has said.
"Well, if you haven't ever liked someone in that way, you wouldn't understand," she mutters as she looks away.
It's silent again, Yuno nods and looks back at the fire.
"I suppose that's true."
He feels her eyes on him again, the silence persisting, save for the sound of the fire crackling.
"You know," Yuno continues, once again struck and annoyed at his own mouth as the words continue to flow freely, "Joking aside, I understand the feeling. I wanted to become this powerful because of him, too."
Even in his periphery he can see her gaze soften in the slightest.
"You mean you didn't come out of the womb screaming about wanting to be the Wizard King?"
"No, actually," he says with a light shake of his head, a small smile spreading on his lips. "When we were children, I was extremely timid. Becoming the Wizard King was his dream first."
The tension present just moments ago dissipates completely, the room finally taking on an atmosphere warm enough to match its cozy appearance.
"It was only when he told me why he wanted to become it that something shifted in me… Someone who had everything going against him truly and fully believed in a dream like that. I was… inspired. How could you not be? Then, I became curious and determined to see if I could become worthy of achieving such a thing," he says, uncharacteristic fondness permeating every word despite his cool and even tone. "I've been following that curiosity since... and it's led me here."
"... stuck on a mountain, drunk and immobile?" Noelle teases, gaze soft, though she maintains her steely tone within the light barb.
In response, he lets out a single, airless chuckle, a half smile on his face as he turns to look at her, watching the surprise fade onto her features once more.
"Stuck on a mountain, drunk and immobile," he echoes softly.
Another comforting hush falls over them as they look at one another. He can tell she is still stunned by the warmth in his words in regards to Asta, and Yuno knew that he himself would probably cringe at the memory the next morning, and fully deny ever having uttered such words. And now, looking at the skilled water mage, he realizes it is perhaps the first time they had ever held prolonged eye contact that didn't consist of scowling and intimidation, and it was likely owed to the fact that they were just two incredibly powerful mages sitting by a fire, drunk, exchanging words on a common topic they may never have otherwise. He finds the situation decidedly odd, but not unpleasant—and more importantly, finds himself fascinated at how Noelle's face looks when she's not glaring or bitching.
"Question," she says softly, voice cutting through the silence.
"Hmm?"
"Why didn't you say anything?" she asks. "When I woke up and you were telling me about the night before… why didn't you mention all of the things I said about Asta?"
"Didn't seem like something you would've wanted to share, had you been sober," he says as though the answer is obvious.
"And that's why you pretended not to know anything the next day?" she queries, clearly not expecting his response.
"Well, yeah. And technically you never actually explicitly admitted it, so I was just trying to throw you a bone."
She continues to stare at him, stunned, understanding beginning to shade her features as she nods slowly. She redirects her gaze back to the fireplace, apparently having difficulty processing the fact that Yuno had attempted to do something kind.
"But what was that fight all about?!" she snaps out of nowhere.
He shoots her his typical deadpan—however glassy and glazed over this version of it was.
"That one's pretty straightforward. You were just annoying me at that point—I had probably clocked in all of an hour of sleep thanks to you," he says flatly. "You could've avoided all that if you had just played along."
She is silent again, mouth flopping open and closed as though trying to calculate an appropriate comeback.
"Plus," he says, mouth once again acting on its own accord as he reflexively redirects his gaze at the fire, not wishing to see the look on her face in response to what he is about to say.
"... I was curious to experience you myself, in action."
'I hate hate hate hate alcohol.'
Yuno had admittedly been curious about the bratty royal ever since the Royal Knights exam. After hearing stories about the battlefield dancer, with brief glimpses of her in action, such curiosity had only increased—though without the aid of an intoxicant, he would probably have taken such thoughts to the grave.
It is silent as he feels her attempt to grasp for a response, clearly uncertain of what to do with the not so hidden compliment.
"Well, that was far from the best time to see me in action," Noelle finally says, trying to sound as snobbish as possible after a good measure of silence. "Trust that things definitely wouldn't have ended the way they did if I hadn't been hungover."
Yuno is relieved at her normal and sassy response, and at the fact that she had chosen to do him a kindness and not probe any further. This drunk, he's unsure what else would've unexpectedly fallen out of his mouth.
"We were both operating on a handicap, so I'd say the odds were pretty even," he insists, finally turning to look back at her, only to find the nervous girl who had been speaking about her crush moments ago long gone, a self-assured woman in her place, darkened magenta eyes confidently fixed on his bleary ambers.
"Sure," she scoffs, the lone word heavy with challenge and sarcasm. "If that's what you need to tell yourself."
The silence lingers, giving way to that air of anticipation, competition and excitement that had greeted them at the end of their impromptu battle, and he finds himself willingly trapped under her gaze.
She parts her lips to speak, eyes narrowed for a moment as if she's sizing him up.
"You know," she begins nonchalantly, face easing back into its regular look of observant judgement. "You're a lot more tolerable when you're drunk."
"Thanks," he replies, more amused than offended by the barb. "Not sure I can say the same for you."
Noelle feigns offense, her lips nearly curling into a slight smile.
"And here I was about to say how surprised I was that you're actually capable of holding a decent conversation."
"Hmm, that's strange coming from someone whose main form of communication is barking orders and insults at people."
Though the words exchanged echoed how they usually spoke to one another, this particular exchange was light and playful and warm, and at that, Yuno is just loose enough to let a rare, small, genuine and gentle smile spread on his face.
However, to his bewilderment, the rare expression of warmth slowly elicits a jarringly opposite reaction from Noelle, her face melting into one of disconcertion and befuddlement, cheeks burning pink, eyes widening, looking as though she might have seen a very attractive ghost, or perhaps someone streaking in the window behind him. Either one.
"... what?" he asks, unsettled by her expression, looking behind him to see if someone was in fact streaking.
When he turns back, he is met with a fistful of water to the face. He quickly blinks the water out of his eyes and sees her wand pointed at him yet again.
"What was that for?!" he glowers, wondering if he had just dreamt the entirety of that pleasant exchange as he wipes his face with the back of his sleeve.
Noelle remains silent as though she is grasping for a reason for the random attack, other than her own impulsiveness and insanity, and he makes a mental note to never smile at the crazy royal ever again.
"Y-You won't tell anyone about the Asta things we talked about tonight, will you?" she stammers after some time, cheeks still flushed.
Of course it all came back to that. Randomly so, but he is now unsurprised.
He regards her with annoyance, face flat once more.
"Do that again and I just might."
The taunt earns him another steady stream of water to the face.
"I'll do as I please!" she bellows, sounding like a woman possessed.
She continues to hose him with water, and he springs off of his corner of the couch to grab her wrist, pulling her in, making the water come to a stop.
"Why am I always alone with you when you're acting like a crazy drunk?" Yuno queries, nearly nose at nose with her as he holds her wrist hostage. "It's not very becoming of a royal."
"And what would you know about that?" she seethes, eyes boring into his.
"Just enough to know your barking and knee-jerk usage of mana doesn't fit the bill."
Again they are at their usual level of civility with one another, stuck in yet another showdown and glare-off. But there is something decidedly different about it this time, as there are pangs of warmth welling up from the pit of his stomach, pulsing through him that has him taking in every detail of her face—how the firelight plays on her lightly flushed, fair and flawless skin, the angry scrunch of her fine silver eyebrows, the striking color of her eyes, and how soft and supple her lips look even pursed in annoyance.
"You're getting a little over familiar, aren't you?" she mutters tauntingly after another stretch of silence, pulling him out of his trance, just a tinge of shyness to the cool and annoyed tone in her voice, as though chastising him for his intense and probing gaze.
"You should probably blast me away, then," he dares her, voice low and quiet, and he is close enough to feel the warmth of her breath on his mouth.
Noelle's scowl deepens, and he feels her free hand on his chest through his uniform, already feeling it begin to cool as though she is revving up her mana to oblige his suggestion.
"If you insist."
"Do it. You won't."
"Don't test me."
The air is thick with that tension again, the room suddenly much hotter, the friction between them sparking out of control in every which way, and he feels even drunker than when she had found him.
And then it happens suddenly, yet almost in slow motion—she has the front of his uniform balled in a fist, hand tugging him the slightest bit forward, and he watches her eyes droop shut, feeling as though some spell is pushing his own eyes closed, some gravitational pull causing the tip of his nose to brush against hers, causing the sensation of her warm breath on his mouth to lure him in closer—
—when they both jump at the sound of the door clicking open.
In a blink, Noelle rips her wrist from his hand, giving him another blast of water to the face for good measure, her face livid and a furious pink as she jumps to her feet.
She doesn't say anything to him as she turns and rounds the couch, eyes glued to the floor, and the door swings open, Captain Yami sauntering in, clad in a pristinely white bathrobe.
"Yo," he says casually to Noelle, and she returns it with a quiet "Hi," before speeding past him and into the foyer.
The captain whistles to himself as he takes a seat at the opposite end of the couch where Noelle had sat just moments ago, and cracks a book open.
Yuno watches, completely dumbstruck, his intoxicated mind struggling to process what had just happened—and trying to surmise if any of it had actually happened at all.
It is after a few beats the rugged captain turns to look at Yuno.
"Why are you wet?" he asks, blinking at the soggy wind mage, then looking back at the doors behind them, somehow concluding Noelle had something to do with it.
Yuno merely stares back, his face falling flat once more, everything from his chest and up soaked.
"You know what? I don't even wanna know," the burly captain sighs with a shake of his head, turning back to his book and taking a drag of his cigarette.
Yuno slumps back into the couch and sighs, resting a hand over his eyes.
"Jeez, you kids really can't hold your liquor," he hears Captain Yami mutter.
A half hour later, Yuno is still relatively drunk, but mobile enough to drag himself up the stairs.
He passes Asta's room along the way, the door wide open for him to see Magna and the blonde lightning mage cackling as they scrawl all over his sleeping, drooling, rival's face with an inked quill.
"You guys are ridiculous," he hears Noelle's scolding voice just as his eyes fall on her. As though sensing him, she immediately meets his gaze—a subdued glower gracing her features, as well as a look of knowing.
He presses forward and brushes it off, striding to his room, excited to fall into bed and put the night's events behind him. He immediately puts his grimoire in the armoire, lest Bell pop out as he claws off his uniform to strip naked. He then schleps on his pajama pants, and falls into the lone arm chair by the bed.
He nearly drifts off, when not fifteen minutes later he hears a forceful knock on his door.
"What?" he groans out in an uncharacteristically whiny way, not even willing his body to get up and check who could possibly be knocking at this hour.
"It's Noelle," comes the muffled, hushed and prickly reply.
A/N: Whew, that was a long one.
Thanks again to all who took the time to review/comment. I appreciate every single one of you, and always look to your feedback as fuel to keep writing! Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on this chapter as things are starting to heat up ;) You can also check me out on tumblr under "fengreyfront" if you're interested in supporting my writing/broing out beyond this site. Some additional notes:
— I have never, ever updated a fic this dense and long at such a quick rate before. So, please enjoy the weekly updates while they last, because that's not gonna be a forever thing.
—For the ones who were surprised that there's fighting—the summary does mention "battles of wind versus water". I meant that quite literally, as you can see ;D
—Yes, I do think Yuno would completely space on the other Black Bulls' names, even after two years of knowing of them lol. There's also the fact that he doesn't regularly interact with them, too.
—Lastly, consider this your "steaminess alert". Sexy stuff is gonna pick up more moving forward. Now would be a good time to jump ship (from this fic) if you would like to remain untainted. That said, it's worth it to note that sexual situations in this fic aren't just there for sexiness' sake. It's always used to drive the plot O:)
That's all for now. See you next time :)
P.S. To the reviewer who asked about Kahono—you'll just have to wait and see!