AN: Originally this was just a one shot but I decided to make it a collection of (usually unrelated) one shots and AUs featuring Astelle.
Description: Asta being as dense as he was, unknowingly accepted a date with Mimosa who plans to confess her crush on him. Meanwhile Noelle witnesses from the sidelines, feeling more envious than ever.
Everyone at the black bulls felt a deadly aura emanating through out the base. It's source being a teenage princess with silver hair and purple eyes. Although Noelle was more quiet than most of their members, the piercing gaze she held felt very threatening. It was quite easy to tell that the target of that glare was non other than her fellow newbie, Asta.
The others knew that her annoyance with him was normal. It was an act she played usually to hide her true emotions. However this was not the case.
The girl's shift in behavior started once they got back from a joint mission with the Golden Dawn. Normally Noelle wouldn't mind seeing her cousin, however this quickly changed when Mimosa declared that she would confess her feelings to a certain anti-magic user. Despite Noelle never explicitly mentioning her own liking to the boy, she knew that her cousin saw her as a threat. Aside from that, the brunette knew she didn't have as much freedom to declare such feelings.
Yes, they were both royals who fell in love with a manaless peasant but their circumstances couldn't be anymore different. Mimosa was a Vermillion—a royal household that acknowledged strength regardless of a person's status. And Noelle was a Silva—a household that held status in the highest regard. To make matters worse Noelle didn't have a good reputation to begin with due to her struggle in magic control. Should her feelings be made public then she would get further ostracized from nobility.
Knowing this, all she could do was bite her tongue as she witnessed the plant mage asking Asta on a date under the pretense of "just hanging out"—which he probably doesn't even realize.
Her mind pleaded for him to refuse, to say he had other plans, to just walk away and go back to base but of course he was no mind reader—reading ki doesn't go that far. Thus, he agreed and she couldn't help but feel betrayed.
"Noelle, are you okay?"Asta could no longer withhold his worry, he had thought that maybe Noelle was only having a bad day and would get better by supper. Clearly he was wrong, she had even purposely moved to the farthest seat from him.
"Why wouldn't I be?" The aforementioned coldly retorts not even offering him a glance.
"You've been acting weird since we got back. Are you mad at me?" The boy questions and he senses her ki violently churn.
"No. Leave me alone." Her response makes his brows furrow in concern.
"But—"
"I'm fine, Asta. Let. It. Go." She dismisses through gritted teeth.
"But you—"
"I said I'm fine!" Her palms smack the table causing cutlery to vibrate and water in their glasses sloshed.The rest of the bulls had already been paying close attention the moment Asta dared to speak, however the outburst made everyone completely silent.
The water mage squirms under everyone's gaze til she finally pushes her plate of uneaten food and stands. "I'm going to bed. Don't you dare follow me." Her tone felt more threatening that he'd like to admit but that wouldn't stop him from trying to apologize. Vanessa keeping him in place did the trick though.
"Usually I admire your persistence Asta but sometimes a lady just needs to calm down. I don't know what happened between you two but you can apologize tomorrow." She says wisely, no sign of being drunk for once.
He nods with a slumped figure, his eyes looking down and his lips forming an uncharacteristic frown.
Later that night, even though it wasn't allowed, a worried anti mage was in front of Noelle's door. Surviving through those traps were worth it so long as he could set things right between them.He was about to knock but stops himself when he senses that she had already fallen asleep. The boy returns to his room unable to get rid of his troubles.
Give her time, the others said and as much as he appreciated their reassurance that doesn't stop his worry.
Noelle was very important to him after all she was his squadmate, his fellow rookie, his training partner, they have been through so much together.Aside from Yuno, she was probably his closest friend. And he was bothered that their friendship could end for doing something he wasn't even aware of.
"Asta-san." A gentle voice halts his anxious thoughts that had been replaying over and over again since last night.
"Sorry, Mimosa did ya say something?I was kind of distracted." He said whilst scratching the back of his neck.
Yesterday she requested to spend the day with him and he had no qualms about spending time with his friends sohe agreed. Of course now that he was here, he kinda wished that it wasn't so early. Not that he was sleepy—no,the problem was that he couldn't apologize to Noelle properly. And so he had to wait till the end of the day.
The brunette gives a reassuring smile."That's okay, we can rest if you'd like. Or we can go by broom." She offers, they had been strolling through the forest since morning. Mimosa wanted to show him something, but whatever it was they had to navigate through the woods.
"No, let's keep going. Hiking is a good workout for today!" He reassures, bustling with energy mostly to distract himself from overthinking. And even though all he wanted to do was return to base, he thought that it would be unfair to Mimosa.
The maiden nods and they resume walking.
Honestly, the brunette wouldn't mind if they just flew but doing that meant she'd spend less time with him. In other words, less time to confess.
It took a few hours but they had finally reached their destination. She had found a beautiful clearing with an array of flower beds while on a mission once. Mimosa could only admire them for a second before Yuno had gone ahead thus forcing her to catch up.
"Woahhh." Asta was blown away by the sight of hundreds if not thousands of blooming flora. His eyes jump from the vibrant hue of bluebells, to the golden petals of cowslips, and even the variety of orchids around the area.
"Look at that!" He points to an assortment of huge white lilies. He hears the flipping of pages and he glances at the plant mage who was looking through a botany almanac she kept notes on. After finding what she was looking for she then reads.
"Lilies, a genus of herbaceous plants. It's bulbs have many medicinal and cullinary uses. It commonly means devotion and purity, can also be associated with rebirth or motherhood."
"Wow that sounds like aperfect representation for Sister Lily." He comments, thinking of his beloved nun.
"Wait, flowers have meaning? I thought they were only meant to look pretty." He tilts his head in wonder similar to a child using magic for the first time. The woman giggles at him and continues to explain.
"Flowers convey corresponding messages, which is why there are specific bouquets for certain occasions. Of course some people give them as a pretty gift as well."
They pass by more bushes, admiring every new specie of flora. With him, gawking at the wonderful sight as she relays some trivial information. He absorbs the plethora of vibrant colors and sweet scents, finally relaxing him after a restless night.
He stops at a range of flowers and suddenly all the guilt came crashing back. His companion almost kept walking had she not looked backat his direction. She follows his line of sight and gasps at the flower bed alternating between yellow and purple.
"Oh wow Asta! You found hyacinths! These are very rare in our country because of its need for specific living conditions. Too much water in the soil and the plant starts rotting.
They are very pretty aren't they, Asta-san?" Mimosa gushes as she approaches the mix of lavender and yellow petals.
"Yeah, their just like Noelle's eyes." He absent mindedly murmurs his attention centered on the purple flowers.
"Noelle's? Oh you're right."Mimosa confirms and a feeling of envy swelled within her. After all, they were alone together in such a romantic environment and he was still thinking of her cousin.
"So what do these mean?" He asks and she answers glad to steer the conversation away.
"Ah, hyacinths have different meanings depending on the color but they could also be associated with rebirth. Blue means constancy, red for playfulness whilewhite is thoughtfulness.
What we have here are yellow and purple hyacinths. Yellow representing jealousy and purple is pleading for forgiveness." The male holds a breath from her answer.
I should really apologize to Noelle.
Throughout the day Asta had been successful at ignoring the ugly feeling in his stomach. But now that he saw that distinct purple shade, it only reminded him of her amethyst eyes glaring coldlyat him. Immediately he felt worse than last night.
"Mimosa, I just remembered that I had to do something back home. Is there any chance we could come back early?" He asks, now guilty for a different reason.
"So soon?" She had noticed that he wasn't acting like usual. Perhaps that was what had distracted him all day, in any case she needed to hurry things up.
"Alright bu-but I have one last thing to show you." The plant mage starts to muster up her courage.
"Come on Asta-san." He feels her tug at his hand, leading him away from the flowers that caused him inner turmoil.
"I have been practicing a spell recently and I wanted to know what you think." Asta blinks in surprise, he didn't know much about magic but he could definitely test its power. The brunette summons multiple vines that form an arch above them. He watches as the vines slowly form letters he could recognize.
"Cool, that must take some serious magic control." He compliments, further reddening her already blushing cheeks.
"I..like...you, will you... go on another date...with me?" Asta slowly reads, but fails to immediately comprehend the question. He reads it one more time just to make sure. Meanwhile, the plant mage was fidling with her fingers as she anticipated his response.
"Mimosa I—you're a really great friend but..." He lets out a sigh before he completes his sentence.
"I'm sorry, I already like someone else."Despite her disappointment she was able to hold herself together and smiles in understanding.
He asks if she was okay but she only shakes her head unwilling to talk about it for now. She wouldn't want to break down in front of him and hurridly offers him a ride home.
"For what it's worth, I really enjoyed our time together." He says, she nods and offers another bittersweet smile before parting ways.
Back in the hideout, Noelle had already apologized to everyone for her rude behavior last night. The others told her that it was fine, so long as she reconciled with Asta. The princess would've been glad to comply to their request but unfortunately he left earlier and wouldn't come back until dusk.
In the meantime, the water mage had been training in the forest for hours. Despite feeling more exhausted than ever, her depleted mana was the least of her worries. She wonders if Mimosa was successful in her plan, and what Asta's reaction might be.
What if he likes her too?
She suddenly finds breathing to be difficult and it was not because she was exhausted. Her vision becomes blurry as well and her magic no longer hit its targets.
It hurt to think of this possibility but if Asta was happy to be with Mimosa then she had no right to get between them.
The more she thought about it, the more she thinks that maybe that would be for the best. They get to be happy and Noelle will not be shamed even further by her family. However, this doesn't stop the flow of water down her cheeks.
She hears the rustling of bushes nearby and assumed it was just a wild animal, so she ignored it and continued to wallow in her sadness. But then the sounds grew louder as if it was approaching her til it pounced out of the bush.
On impulse she sends out a water blast, not realizing it was the mage she had been waiting for all day. The blast which he narrowly avoids drenches the forest floor. Usually Asta would complain about the attack but once he regains his footing, he approaches her and bows.
Before she could even react her blurry vision was obstructed with the sight of freshly picked purple flowers. "Noelle! Whatever I did please forgive me!" He apologized, not moving from his spot.
"Here, I saw them while walking and I thought of you. I couldn't handle the guilt anymore so I came back as soon as I could."His gesture makes her look away in shame. It wasn't his fault she let her emotions get out of hand.
He observes that her ki only felt worse.
"Maybe it's not sincere if I'm apologizing for something I don't even know but I— I just don't want you to feel bad anymore. Especially if it's because of me." The princess gulps, here he was putting in the effort to ask for her forgiveness when in reality everything was her fault.
"Please stop..." She mumbles with a meek voice.
She didn't deserve him, she started this whole mess because she was jealous. She was envious that her cousin was brave enough to confess while she could barely admit this to herself.
Unbeknownst to her, Asta was panicking at the sight of glistening tears. He thought for sure that maybe the gesture would mend their seemingly broken friendship but each teardrop cascading her flushed cheeks felt like a punch to his gut.
"Sorry..." he mumbles to the ground. He wanted to comfort her in a warm hug, but seeing how negatively she had reacted with the bouquet she would probably just push him away.
"Dumbasta, stop apologizing! It's not you're fault okay? It's mine! I had a bad day and took it out on you when I shouldn't have.
Now stop acting so ridiculous, it's making me even more guilty." She adds with a frown but her tears have stopped. The anti-mage was finally relieved and wraps his arms around her. Under normal circumstances she would have already sent him flying with her magic however she relished the reassuring warmth he provided.
"So what made yesterday so bad? We completed the mission didn't we?" He interrogates, and she struggles to find an answer that wouldn't give her feelings away.
"A personal problem came up a—and it's none of your business. I can handle this myself." The woman replies wishing he wouldn't press any further but Asta was stubborn.
"Of course it's my business Noelle. I care about you."His hold on her tightens, further signifying that he was here for her.
"Everyone in the Black Bulls is family and family help each other out."
"I appreciate the thought but it's not something you can help me with."
"Okay, but just know. I'm here for you, always."
"I know."
"So why were you gone all day?"
"Oh, Mimosa asked me to come with her to this forest that were filled with loads of flowers! It was really beautiful, all those colors and scents were very relaxing; you would love it. We strolled around while she read and wrote in her almanac.
It's where I got these purple hyacinths, and I thought they were a perfect gift of apology.They were so pretty it reminded me of your eyes." She withholds the blush from his spontaneous compliment as she accepts the bundle in her hands.
"Sounds romantic." She mutters, nervous to find out whether or not Mimosa followed through with her plan.
"I guess it was, she even confessed to me before we came back." Asta nonchalantly states. She feels her hold on the bouquet loosen but she catches herself and attempts to muster an appropriate response.
Would he find it suspicious if she didn't act surprised that her cousin confessed? Would she seem too nosy if she asked what his response was? How would she even react if he reciprocated Mimosa's feelings? She could barely stop herself from crying just from thinking it!
Thoughts like these and more sprouted endlessly in her mind and before voicing any of them Asta already beat her to it.
"I had to turn her down." As expected this makes all her anxious questions halt. With a sigh of relief she starts to distract herself by admiring the flowers in her palms.
Half of Noelle was relieved to hear that but another felt pity. Her own heartache was intense enough just from the thought of his rejection, how much worse would Mimosa feel? That deep sorrow was certainly not something she would wish upon anyone.
"Really? How come?"
"Because I already like someone else but as things stand I wouldn't be allowed to pursue her.But once I become Wizard King I'll definitely marry her!" He exclaimed with as much conviction as he usually does when he declares his ambition; and everyone knew that Asta never gives up.
Which then begs the question, if he was detemined to get this girl, did Noelle have any chances with him at all?
"She's lucky, whoever she is. I'd give anything to have someone that dedicated." She unconsciously whispers but her companion hears anyways.
"Don't worry Noelle, you're the most amazing girl I know! Anyone would be lucky to have you." Asta reassures with his usual enthusiasm, although a part of him couldn't help but feel bothered at the prospect of Noelle liking someone.
"Thanks, Asta." But apparently I'm not lucky enough to get you. She smiles but her downtrodden eyes gave ger away.
Despite her disappointment, she was glad to have him in her life. Just being around him brought her happiness, and the bond they formed from the day they met was special.Perhaps this was all she really needed from him.
Nevermind that he liked someone else or that he was willing to marry that person, there was no reason that she wasn't allowed to enjoy the warmth he shared, the compliments he gave and the boquet in her hands.
Unbeknownst to her, Asta could tell that the smile was fake even without ki. He misunderstands this by thinking that perhaps Noelle didn't think herself as worthy of love.
And on that day Asta promised to himself that he'd do everything in his power to convince her otherwise.