AN: Oh yeah, I never got to thank you guys for your opinions on how I wrote Noelle back in Ch: 13! I get a little too critical about my creative works sometimes; I have perfectionistic tendencies so gaining other perspectives help make my judgement a bit more reasonable.

As for last weeks chapter here are my replies:

Sam: I figured Asta would definitely equate confessions to marriage like a child (I used to think the same way for crushes lols.)

Elleonn: There's a meme of Noelle's mood being a tsunami? LMAO I didn't even know, but it definitely fits unintentionally.

Prack: Many thanks! Considering that Tabata is planning to make BC as long as One Piece (which isn't even done yet) I probably will stay in the fandom but if I ever disappear its 'cuz I need a break. I'll probably come back (hopefully it won't take me half a year like last time.)

Montgomery: Ahaha thank you! I'll keep doing my best. I forgot I never mentioned my twitter here. I'll leave a link later for the others to see as well.

With the "Too Late" miniseries out of the way, as much as I'd love to promise I'll stay consistent with updates, that's not really realistic with me. At some point I always go through this weird phase where I feel as though everything I make seems like garbage (again probably my perfectionism). It's a mindset thing and in order to get out of that tunnel vision I have to take breaks.

Anyways, now that the plot heavy stuff is done, time for some indulgent fluff! I know I said I didn't make a Valentine's fic but this idea came to me literally the day AFTER Valentines.

C15: Better?

Last year's Valentine gift for her boyfriend Asta didn't work as planned so Noelle is determined to do better this year. And what could be better than homemade Chocolate? If only the water mage wasn't such a disastrous chef…

Noelle Silva has a knack for liking expensive things. Due to her noble upbringing that was to be expected unfortunately her commoner boyfriend does not share the same sentiment.

So when she gifts Asta a golden silk headband with fancy patterns embroidered onto the fabric, he seemed a little unnerved when he found out the price and immediately asked her to return it. He said that her spending that outrageous amount on him makes him feel guilty even if he really likes the thoughtful gift. To her that was basically pocket change but she decided that she would rather not force it on him if he didn't want it. Although her disappointment was very clear for the rest of the day, it only got worse when he kept apologizing for it.

But this year will be different, this year will be better. She'll make sure of it!

To avoid that previous incident, she decides that her gift this year shall be made by her own two hands. They always said that the best gifts are handmade, after all. Seeing as any other craft would take too long, she decided on the safest option; food.

Although knowing how horrid she was at preparing anything that was supposed to be eaten, perhaps "safe" wasn't an appropriate description. It was fortunate that Asta had to go on an emergency mission that same day, leaving her plenty of time in the kitchen without being discovered. Sadly, her dreams of making him an impressive box of cute delicacies were crushed by the fact that she was a disastrous chef.

It looked easy enough when Charmy showed her the basics, she would've asked her to get her through today's process but the cotton mage had her own plans. 'said she had to gather the perfect ingredients to make her own Valentine's treat for her meal saving prince; whoever that was.

Disaster ensued even when she was on the first step, who knew cutting bars of chocolate into tiny pieces could cause majority of her hand to be covered in bandages?

She can't even count the number of times she's stopped and ran to the sink to prevent her blood from contaminating her project. That initial stage distracted her so much that she almost scalded the cream when it was only supposed to slightly simmer (she had to distinctly read about it to know that there is indeed a difference; hint check the bubbles).

While she was dealing with that, when she took out the chocolate melts from the microwave it didn't have the same velvety texture like the Sheep Cooks'. Still, she resorted to using it and poured it onto the chocolate molds and left it set in the freezer as she mixed the strawberry preserves with the cream filling (that was probably the only easy part of the recipe). When she tried to get the chocolate out of its mold it wouldn't easily get released and she was left with multiple broken pieces of solid chocolate.

Noelle was just about ready to lose her damn mind.

Still, she persevered through it all until she ended up with something she can consider a final product in her prepared heart-shaped box. The look of her truffles couldn't be any farther from what her imagination conjured up but she supposes reality is often disappointing in that way. Her chocolate was intended to alternate between squares or spheres but looked more like indistinct lumps because they simply refused to maintain form. To make matters worse, the red strawberry filling started to leak out from some corners rather than stay inside.

It literally looked like a bleeding heart. Admittedly it was appropriate for her current state of disappointment but it made for a horrifying Valentine's gift.

There's no way I'm giving him this.

As much as the Silva reveled in her capability to never giving up, even she knew that there are some battles one must surrender to, and cooking was an opponent she has yet to conquer. Good thing she had prepared for this possibility by reserving store-bought chocolate with the same heart-shape box. The princess wouldn't be happy about it, but it was better than resorting to the alternative. She kept comparing the two boxes side by side, dismayed from letting herself down. Her forehead lightly bangs against the kitchen countertop. Ugh she really wanted this year to be special and yet this is all she managed.

"Ooohh is this chocolate?" Luck exclaims as he enters the kitchen.

"Knock yourself out." Her response is muffled but still recognizable, the upset mage doesn't even bother to look up.

Noelle is devasted.

She really wanted to make something special for Asta. If she knew it would be this hard, she would've practiced even harder. Maybe even preserve a month's worth of time if she could present something decent. Alas bought chocolate would have to do for now –

"LUCK VOLTIA!" The Silva screeches in horror. The aforementioned mage stops mid chew and turns to her, cheeks splattered with melted chocolate and bits of strawberry.

"Full name?! You look pissed, wanna spar?"

"YOU. ATE. FROM. THE. WRONG. BOX." Luck smiles, not at all bothered by the fury behind her voice.

"It was still good though." She can already feel a headache throbbing against her forehead.

"That box you ate was supposed to be for Asta! Now what am I going to do?"

"You have another one." The clueless mage gestures to the mess she created, the thought of giving that to Asta fills her with incredible shame.

"There's no way in hell I'm giving him that!"

"Why?"

"I made those from scratch."

"What's wrong with that?" The chocolate thief tilts his head in wonder.

"They look atrocious!"

"I don't even know what that means –" A pair of muscular hands block her well-aimed glare.

"Guess who's back early~" She involuntarily flinches.

"Asta!"

He's back? ALREADY? FU-

"Correct! Now here's your prize. Don't open your eyes until I'm done." His hands move from covering her eyes to partition her hair into three. His hold occasionally tugs at her scalp every now and again, eventually he finishes and puts an object in her right hand.

"You can open them now." Noelle finds her reflection staring back from the mirror in her hands. Her silver hair is styled into one loose fish tail braid tied with a silky pink ribbon; little hearts embroidered near the seams. Her pink eyes glazed in admiration of her new accessory.

"It's beautiful, thank you." The princess fiddles with the cloth, enjoying its softness.

"You're welc – what happened? You got hurt?" He gently grabs onto her hand, his brows furrowed in worry as he scrutinizes the numerous band-aids wrapping her fingers.

"I-I was –" The princess stutters, crap she almost forgot about her predicament.

"She was cooking chocolate." Luck apparently not having left the room, butts in.

"No–"

She feels her heart spike in panic as the lightning mage hands out the remaining box to her boyfriend.

"Enjoy!" The blond bids as he makes for a hasty retreat.

Noelle had the sudden urge to commit murder.

She wouldn't care if Luck was her friend, call it a crime of passion.

No, she is not petty. That meddlesome chocolate glutton deserves punishment!

"You made me chocolate? My girlfriend is amazing!" Asta gleefully shouts, effectively deterring her away from her ferocious thoughts. He was yet to open her gift, still observing the box in astonishment with sparkling irises.

"I apologize in advance." Noelle grumbles to him.

"Uh why?"

"They look hideous." The antimage blinks at her but opens the box anyways. The sight was messy – to say the least, and gory at worst.

"Wow." Is all he says and the Silva further cringes into her hands.

"You can just throw them away."

"Nope." Asta takes one of the disfigured truffles still oozing with filling and doesn't hesitate to eat it. His eyes closing as he focused on relishing the taste. Watching him chew had her at the edge of her seat.

Eventually his eyes blink open.

"It tastes great!" The male exclaims, irises still sparkling in amazement.

"It – it does?"

"Here." One of her chocolate abominations is placed between her lips, leaving her no choice but to consume it. She takes it into her mouth, rolls it around as she critiqued its taste while chewing. The strawberry preserves she used were a tad bit too sweet and although the chocolate still tastes fine, its texture was a little weird.

"I don't think I did that right." She pouts.

"It's still edible." Her boyfriend shrugs and continues to stuff his mouth with her cooking.

"You worked hard to make it and I appreciate it, so thank you." Noelle understands his sentiment, really her boyfriend was sweet like that but this was more than just a botched attempt at making a gift.

Asta was a great guy, respectful, selfless, considerate, loyal and more. He's the best boyfriend in the world, so it was natural to conclude that he only deserves the best! Her failure was not only terrible but also worse than last year.

The thought makes her want to crumple in disappointment.

"Seriously Noelle, it's really not that bad." Asta sensing her sadness, tries to reassure her again.

"But I wish it was better." The water mage hates how whiny she sounds, but remaining quiet about it would probably worry him more. He'd been pushing her to be more honest with him ever since they got together.

He snaps his fingers out of nowhere, as though a brilliant idea just struck his (normally inactive) brain.

"You can still do that."

"How?" She asks in curiosity.

"Here." Another truffle is put in her mouth, some of its filling drips onto her lower lip. It makes her look at him in confusion.

"How does –" The rest of her question is muffled when his tongue shoves the piece of chocolate further into her mouth. One of his hands cup her cheek while the other holds her chin keeping her in place. Her face grows redder as she realizes that he kept her in a heated gaze even as their lips locked. It was so intense that she has to close her eyes to prevent herself from spontaneously combusting. She feels the corner of his lips twitch upwards.

Unfortunately, willing her vision away only served to increase her awareness of her other senses. As a result, all of her proceeding experiences are further ingrained in her memory: the sensation of chocolate melting in her mouth, the explosion of flavor from the filling, well-toned arms pulling her closer, and every sweep of her boyfriend's skilled tongue. Half a minute passes, the truffle had been long gone at this point but it seems Asta was simply determined to lick her clean. They eventually break the kiss, short of breath, cheeks flushed and hearts racing.

"Better, right?" He smirks. Part of her wants to scream at his audacity but another wanted to squeal in happiness.

The Silva's hand automatically reaches for another dessert and sets it where the previous one had been.

"Try again." She demands and he eagerly complies.

Maybe Noelle doesn't have to commit murder after all.

MAYBE IT'S JUST ME BUT I SQUEALED SO MANY TIMES ENVISIONING THIS IN MY HEAD.

Oh yeah, if u wanna see my artworks (I'm gonna post a short Astelle comic today. Also, I drew the Liebe and Asta scene from Ch:12), here's my twitter: /Drawberry3