It's a Date, Then Summary:
Asta, Noelle, Kahono, and Kiato double-date to this year's Star Awards Festival again only this time, Asta finds himself far more worked up about the attention Kiato receives from his teammate.
Notes:
Hi my name is DailyAstelle want to let you readers know this story is not mine. belongs to the author Thedripdruid. i will be sharing this story here on and many other asta x noelle stories i personally enjoy because here on this site there is a lack of asta x noelle fanfics. most stories on ao3 also lack fanfics too of asta x noelle and if there is they are badly written or not even asta x noelle fics at all even if it has asta/noelle tag.
Rage.
That was the only thing he could make out from the mysterious emotion pooling deep in his stomach. It made him want to scream and vomit. The rage poked its ugly head out of that black rot he harbored and whispered into his ear. To walk up and punch that man. To grab her and pull her away from that man. To do something, anything, to show that man that he didn't own her. That she wasn't his. That she was…
Asta blinked back red from his vision as he found himself unable to look away from Kiato's arm around Noelle's shoulders. Suddenly the arm linked through his own felt like it weighed a ton and the ice cream he was happily eating but moments ago now turned bitter in his mouth like spoiled milk. Everything was silent except for her laugh; soft and gentle and bell-like. Like an angel. The laugh that she usually saved for his corny jokes. The laugh that made his stomach flip and his brain stop working. The laugh that - for some reason - he didn't want anyone else to hear. Now Noelle was giving it to Kiato, and that made Asta furious. And he didn't know why.
"Hey, let's do some ring tosses!"
The swordsman was pulled violently from his thoughts as the colors and sounds of the Star Awards Festival were suddenly thrust upon his senses once more. His emerald eyes rapidly scanned the area as he attempted to remember where he was and what he was doing. Or who he was with. He looked to his side and saw Kahono, face turned back as she hollered her suggestion at Kiato and Noelle, smiling brightly. The anti-mage had the immediate reaction to yank his arm free from her lithe one. Her arm linked through his felt…wrong. No, it felt awful.
He coughed and spotted a nearby trash can where he tossed his ice cream cone into. Kahono's head whipped towards him.
"Something wrong with your ice cream?"
He screwed his eyes shut and swallowed heavily as another bell chime rang out into the electric air. He sighed.
"Not hungry anymore."
"Well that's a lie."
He turned to face the smugly smiling singer at his side. Her eyes were narrowed in clear…amusement? Asta shook his head.
"I didn't like the flavor."
"Another lie," she countered.
He felt his neck tense with frustration. Against his own wishes, he turned back to see Noelle and Kiato stopped at a small stall—a small place selling glass trinkets or something, the Bull couldn't quite tell. What he could tell, however, was that Noelle seemed to be enjoying herself. The taller man's hand had slipped from her shoulder and was resting around her waist and gently rubbing her side. The sight made Asta feel sick.
What the hell do you know, Kahono?
"They seem to be having fun, don't they?"
The singer's words echoed in his ears as his eyes found Kahono once more. Again, there was a smugness to her countenance that pissed him off. He grunted and looked away.
"He's too tall for her."
He heard the strawberry-brunette audibly laugh at his words as she pulled him closer. While such an action wouldn't normally bother him, now it made his stomach churn and caused Asta to nearly pull away from the personal proximity. He didn't though, his manners having been installed in him by Father and Sister kicking in and reminding him it was rude to do so.
"I didn't say they looked cute together, Asta, only that they looked like they were having fun!"
He grunted. "I suppose you're right."
The Vice-Captain of the Black Bulls looked back and caught a vibrant set of amethyst eyes gazing at him. As soon as their eyes locked, however, Noelle quickly turned away and resumed her attention towards Kahono's taller sibling. This time she nuzzled into the dancer's side in an exaggerated gesture. Despite the flaring anger he felt, Asta couldn't help but notice her tense shoulders and shaky breath.
"I agree with you, for what it's worth," Kahono broke his concentration with her words. "I think Noelle would look better with someone more…her height."
Emerald eyes widened as his head whipped back violently to Kahono. Her eyes shone with a teasing giddiness that confused him. He couldn't linger though as he soon found himself dragged towards the ring toss game set up not far from them.
The swordsman could feel his nerves igniting on fire as he watched the two women walk away from the long table he and Kiato were seated at. It was the first Star Awards Festival since the Spade War had ended and while the Wizard King Julius was still, mysteriously, missing, the people of the Clover Kingdom had insisted on throwing the festival if nothing more than morale. King Augustus had agreed, more than eager for an opportunity to earn favor with the masses, and insisted upon throwing the largest Star Awards Festival to date. Kahono and Kiato, always eager to spend time with Asta and Noelle, had suggested another double date for the four of them—Asta agreed far more emphatically than Noelle had, and the peasant and royal had found themselves in the dynamic sibling duo's company once more. Only this time, Asta wasn't enjoying himself.
The last time the four had come to the festival together some years ago, the short-statured Black Bull hadn't been bothered by his silver-haired friend's proximity to Kiato, but, for some unknown reason, this year Asta could hardly stand it. The past few hours had been a tortuous series of occasions for the 18-year-old Vice-Captain. Watching them touch; watching them share smiles; watching them laugh together; it had been nothing shy of hell. And given the fact that Asta had nearly been to actual hell, the young man thought that was worth something. As he watched Noelle and Kahono leave the boys behind to go retrieve food, a tension settled in the Magic Knight's chest as he was left alone with the fellow swordsman.
The dancer settled onto the bench next to Asta—his spine stiffening as Kiato took a sip of his drink. The anti-mage's green eyes were locked onto the retreating image of his silver-haired companion as she happily chatted with the singer next to her. Kiato sighed dreamily.
"She's beautiful, isn't she?"
"Which one," Asta replied.
"Noelle!" Kiato answered with a startled cry. "It'd be weird to call my sister beautiful like that."
"Sorry," the shorter man replied. "But, um, yes, I guess she is pretty."
"You guess?" the dancer with a laugh. "Please, she's the most beautiful woman I've ever laid my eyes on."
Asta felt his rage build higher within him at Kiato's words though he kept his eyes on Noelle's form. She and Kahono had made their way to a food stall and were gathering a series of fried foods that made the anti-mage's stomach growl.
"If I got to spend as much time with her as you do, Asta, I don't know how I could ever keep myself away from her."
Green eyes flashed with anger as Asta bit the inside of his cheek to keep himself in check. The swordsman liked to believe he and Kiato got along well given their shared fighting styles and all that, but now the devil-host wanted nothing more than to punch the taller man square in the mouth for the way he talked about his girlfr-
Asta stopped himself with a shake of his head.
Noelle's not your girlfriend.
And for some reason he couldn't quite figure out why that upset him so much. Her magenta eyes met his once more and that same light of intensity flashed across them before she averted her gaze. The Bull finally tore his gaze from his friend's form and looked at Kiato. The dancer was giving him the same damn, smug stare his sister was giving Asta not too long ago. He sighed.
"I don't…I don't know what you mean, Kiato."
The older man chuckled as he finished his drink.
"Sure you don't, Asta. Sure you don't."
He looked at the taller man.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means," Kiato began, "I think there's more to your feelings for Noelle, Asta. I just think you haven't given yourself the time to think about it. Or be honest about it."
Asta wanted to respond but the girl's return with plates of fried food interrupted their conversation. Kahono plonked down a plate in front of her and her brother and immediately the two broke into a sibling dispute over how they'd split the food. A small smile cracked on the swordsman's face at their argument until he heard a woman clear her throat. He looked up and saw Noelle standing across the table from him, plates of food in her hand as well. A slight blush was on her face and Asta couldn't help but think it made her fair complexion look more appealing than normal.
"I got a lot for you," the royal began cautiously. "You threw your ice cream away so I figured you'd be hungry by now."
He wanted to smile but couldn't bring himself to, so he settled for a gentle nod of the head.
"Thank you, Noelle."
She smiled softly and dug into her food.
The Vice-Captain had figured out some time ago that his feelings towards one of his squadmates had changed drastically. The way his mouth would turn to cotton when she smiled at him. The way his chest would tighten and he found it hard to breath when she stood next to him. The way his hands grew shaky and sweaty whenever their bodies would brush against one another during combat or training. It still confused Asta as to what exactly those feelings meant, but he knew that at some point he went from feeling nothing more than friendship and camaraderie towards his fellow rookie to suddenly being engulfed by a disastrous cacophony of emotions that kept his head spinning in the royal's presence. And now, he felt powerless to do anything about it.
His night had been one of misery. Bile built in his throat as he watched Kiato and Noelle dance under a string of lights with numerous other couples. Her laugh rang out constantly as they moved across the painted cobblestones with a fluidity that made the Silva appear enchanted. The way Kiato's eyes lit up as they looked down on the princess made numerous thoughts of violence flash before the peasant's internal eye.
"Are you sure you don't want to dance, Asta?" Kahono called out from his right.
He cleared his throat.
"Um, sorry, Kahono. I'm just not feeling up to it right now."
She bumped her shoulder against his.
"What's got you down? You're the only one not having fun."
Asta saw Kiato pick Noelle up and spin her around before setting her back down on the pavement. His breath felt like it was being stolen away from him as she flashed a brilliant smile up at him. The ash-blond ran a hand through his hair.
"I don't know," he answered truthfully. "But something doesn't feel right."
He caught Kahono following his gaze to her brother and friend dancing and laughing. A few minutes of silence passed between them as they observed the pair with interest. Eventually the current song died down and a new one began to play. Kahono's ears perked up and a sly smile crossed her face as she stood and extended a hand to Asta. He curiously gazed at it for a moment as she spoke.
"Come on, I wanna dance."
"I don't - "
"I'm not asking, Asta. You're my date for the night; don't you know it's impolite to refuse a lady's offer to dance?"
His cheeks burned slightly at the tease yet his mind focused on those words, "you're my date for the night". Oh how badly he wanted Noelle to utter those words at him. How badly he wanted it to be her hand extending out to him demanding a dance instead of Kahono's. He looked back to the crowd of dancers to find the water mage's eyes on him once more. Her mouth hung slightly open from exertion and her hands were balled into fists and resting on her hips. Kiato was off conversing with some random couple, his abilities to befriend anyone never failed to amaze the young Vice-Captain, so Noelle stood alone in the crowd, arms now crossed across her chest defensively as she looked at the singer and anti-mage under the tent. The emerald-eyed man could feel the same cocktail of negative and confusing emotions emanating off of her now that he'd been sorting through all night. A bump against his shoulder pulled him from his thoughts.
"So, what'll it be, Asta?"
He turned back to Kahono to find her smiling brightly at him, the lights above cascading off her face elegantly. He blinked a few times to shunt the image of Noelle doing the same out of his mind. He grabbed her hand and laced their fingers together. His silver-haired friend was having fun on their double date; he could too, right?
"Let's do it."
"Seriously I'll be fine on my own! Get up there and just get ready for the show; I'll be back before you know it!"
Asta laughed and raised his hands in surrender. He flashed a smile at the singer before turning on his heels and rapidly ascending the staircase before him. The cool stone beneath his feet rebounded with his echoing footsteps as he followed the curve around the building and up towards the top of the bell tower. Kahono had told him of a great spot for the two of them to watch the fireworks that signaled the end of the festival and all but begged him to go up there with her. He had relented after choking down the vile taste in the back of his throat when he caught Noelle intimately locked in on their conversation. He was tempted to back out as her amethyst eyes bore into them, but Kiato's arm had wound itself around the royal's shoulders again and Asta found himself agreeing to the singer's request before he knew it. Now, as he climbed the steps to the top of the tower, he wished he could go back in time and deny the brunette her request. The thought of seeing the fireworks without Noelle stung too much for the peasant to ignore. He reached the top of the tower and stopped dead in his tracks—his blood turning to ice in his veins.
Noelle was there, sitting on the edge with her legs dangling over the edge. She was alone and Asta didn't know if that made him feel better or worse. Her face was trained over the cityscape in front of them and her shoulders were collapsed in a pose he knew all too well: she was sad. The anti-mage briefly considered tiptoeing back down the steps and removing himself from the situation before he made some dumb mistake…until she turned and faced him.
"Kiato, I don't think I wanna - "
She stopped as their eyes locked for what felt like the millionth time tonight. The myriad of yellows and red from below reflected across her amethyst eyes and nearly caused Asta to fall from the sheer beauty of it. Noelle's face scrunched up in confusion.
"Asta? What're you doing up here?"
He swallowed thickly before replying, "I could ask you the same thing. I thought you and Kiato were going off to some park."
She frowned and shook her head. "No, Kiato told me you and Kahono were going to the park and he wanted to come up here with me."
"Well, where is Kiato now?" Asta asked.
"Down there getting…"
"Food" the two Bulls spoke together.
A moment passed before a small laugh bubbled up between them. Asta opened and closed his sweaty hands a few times as Noelle continued to do nothing but stare at him. He kicked a loose stone off the edge down to the street below. His throat felt tight and he couldn't quite find his breath.
"Well, since it's just the two of us, mind if I sit with you for the fireworks?"
"That sounds nice, I suppose."
He smiled and made his way over to the royal, falling down next to her and throwing his legs off the edge to match her. A deafening silence engulfed them as they sat next to each other and waited for the fireworks to start. It was a few minutes in that Asta realized he didn't know when they were supposed to start at all, and that the two Black Bulls might be up there for some time. The thought brought butterflies to his stomach. Ones that were shortly ignited and burned away by the image of Kiato and Noelle up here alone for some time. He clenched his jaw and felt vaguely smug as he noted that Kiato wasn't here with her and he was. For some reason, he really liked that.
Noelle cleared her throat and pulled him back to the moment.
"It looks like you've been having a fun night with Kahono," the royal quietly murmured. Asta didn't say anything—he was too busy feeling stunned by the overwhelming amount of nervousness running off of Noelle at the moment. Eventually she turned to face him and he saw a small pain hidden behind her eyes. "Have you?"
He shook his head before responding, "I'm sorry, what?"
Noelle rolled her eyes. "Never mind, dork."
Another minute or so passed before Asta found his voice again.
"You and Kiato have been having fun tonight, right?"
He watched the royal stiffen noticeably and nervously drum her fingers across the cold stone beneath her. She shrugged indifferently.
"I suppose so, yeah."
He felt the ugly feelings come back in force and turned away from her. He knew she wasn't doing anything wrong - she was allowed to have fun with whoever she wanted - but it didn't feel right to him. There were different ways people had fun, Asta knew that, and the way Noelle and him had fun always felt…different to him. Like it was special or reserved for the two of them. It wasn't the same way she had fun with Vanessa or Charmy or Nero—hell it wasn't the same way she had fun with the guys in the Bulls! Noelle had never acted with Luck or Magna or Finral the way she had acted with Asta; the way she had acted with Kiato tonight. It genuinely bothered the anti-mage. The two rookies had grown so much closer after the war and had been borderline inseparable. They insisted on doing everything together and, up until tonight, no one had really stepped between them. It had been a rude awakening for the ash-blond to realize that another man could make her feel like he could. Asta missed her, he concluded. He missed his best friend. He missed laughing with her. He missed smiling at her. He missed the way her heat mingled with his as they walked close together. He missed the way her hand felt in his as he dragged her along to show her something cool.
He turned to face her and saw her eyes scanning the darkened horizon. He scooted a tad bit closer to gauge her reaction. When she didn't respond in any way he took a deep breath and ran a sweaty palm over his pants.
"I missed you tonight, Noelle."
Her silver hair whipped around her as she rapidly turned to him. There was a rapidly-spreading red running across her face and neck. Asta's green eyes followed the flowing grey threads as they fell back in place around her neck and framed her face. He didn't know how, but she looked more beautiful than anything he'd ever laid his eyes on and the peasant nearly slapped himself for somehow not noticing that sooner. She crossed her arms in an exaggerated motion and looked away from him.
"W-what do you m-mean by that, Dorksta?"
There was a slight tremor in her voice that Asta found irresistibly cute yet simultaneously worrying. He liked it when she spoke with confidence, but seeing her a blushing mess in front of him now made every thought of her with Kiato tonight vanish from view into the night.
"I missed you," he repeated, scooting closer as he did. Noelle noticed his movement but made no effort to shuffle away from him or stop him from coming closer. "I missed having my best friend by my side."
The royal began twirling one of her pigtails around a lithe finger as she slowly met his gaze.
"I m-might've missed you too."
They stared at each other for a moment before Asta felt all the emotions of the night bubble up and spill over. He didn't know where it came from, but a sudden panic settled over him as images of Noelle with someone else - anyone else - flashed before his mind.
"I didn't like the way you were hanging around with Kiato, Noelle." he paused before continuing. "I actually hated it."
She stiffened in place as a confused expression slowly made its way to her face. Before she could respond, however, Asta felt the words tumble from his mouth as he continued speaking.
"I hated the way you two were touching when we got ice cream; I hated the way he put his arm around you when you two were shopping; I hated the way he called you beautiful and said there was no way someone couldn't fall for you; I hated the way you two looked while dancing together," he spit out with an uncontrollable intensity. As he spoke, he saw Noelle's eyes slowly widen and the blush on her face darken substantially. "But most of all, I hated the way you laughed with him and smiled at him. I know I have no right to control any of that, but gods Noelle it killed me to see all of that…affection aimed at him and not at - "
He stopped, breath ragged as he realized he was face-to-face with the Silva now. She was breathing as heavily as he was and the peasant found himself temporarily silenced by how amazing she looked in the lighting. He swallowed thickly and shook his head.
"At me," he finished. "I…I wanted all of that for myself, Noelle; I'm sorry.."
He put his head in his hands and awaited the reprimanding that was sure to follow. Except it never came. After a few minutes, Asta felt the woman next to him shift.
"If it makes you feel any better," Noelle began with a softer voice than he'd anticipated, "I hated seeing you and Kahono dancing together. You two looked really good out there together."
Asta felt his heart stop as he chanced a glance at her. The royal's chin was resting in her hands as she desperately avoided looking at him, yet the bright blush on her face and small smile across her lips gave him a surge of relief. A small, dry laugh left his lips and he nervously licked them before speaking.
"I would've preferred to spend tonight with you, ya know."
"I know," she replied. "I would've too."
They looked at each other again and a wave of emotions passed between them; some old and some new. Yet now, Asta desired to put a name to them and found himself frustrated in his failures to do so. Then he noticed how shiny her lips were and how soft her skin looked. He saw the cascading purples and streaks of yellow and red reflecting off her eyes and couldn't look away.
"Well," Noelle whispered. They were inches apart and there was a heat building that made the anti-mage nervous. "Since we're both already up here, wanna spend the rest of tonight with me?"
"I'd love to," he replied.
They shared a smile for a second and all the ugliness in Asta's chest dissipated in a flash. He felt like he could breathe again and he felt the sudden urge to grab Noelle's hand and never let go of it. She laughed to herself for a second before gently biting her lip. His eyes lingered on her pink lips as she spoke.
"I never thought you'd be the jealous type, Asta."
His mind reeled at that word: Jealous. That's what he'd been feeling all night. He let out a small laugh as he shook his head. The last time he'd been jealous of anyone was when he was a kid and Sister Lily told Yuno he'd grow up to be a handsome young man. He remembered being overwhelmingly mad at his foster brother for getting a compliment from the woman Asta loved, which, in hindsight, was a ridiculous thing to get angry at someone over. It wasn't like Yuno could control what someone else said about him. But that feeling of being looked over by the one you loved for someone else wasn't one the swordsman expected to feel again. He stopped and looked at Noelle and felt his heart yearn for her. His soul cry out for her. He didn't know if he loved her like he loved Sister Lily, but he knew he would have time to hash those feelings out later. Now, he needed to focus on the beautiful, elegant woman in front of him.
"I didn't think I would be either. I guess I never imagined you and I not being together. The second I realized that might happen I knew I had to do something."
As soon as the words left his mouth he cringed. The royal next to him tensed and for a moment Asta felt like he had ruined the entire night they had just patched together. Then, he felt something he never thought he'd feel in his life: Noelle's lips pressed against his cheek. He knew her skin was softer than rabbit fur, but he never imagined her warm, pink lips touching his cheek could feel that good. It lasted no more than a second before she pulled away.
"Well, I'm glad you decided to do something about it, dork. I don't think taller guys are my type anyways."
Their eyes locked together again as mutual smiles spread across their faces. Before he knew it, her arm flew out and smacked him across the shoulder.
"But next time if you don't want me having fun with another guy at a festival then ask me out yourself you idiot instead of getting all possessive and stuff!"
He laughed aloud and threw an arm around her, pulling her body into his side and sighing as she rested her head on his shoulder. His free hand propped himself up behind his back as Noelle's arms wrapped around his torso.
"What about next year's Star Awards Festival?" he asked.
"What about it?" she questioned back.
"Do you wanna go to it with me?"
She pulled back enough to look at him. Her cheeks were still burning red but Asta could feel his own beginning to heat up as his best friend looked at him.
"Like, as your date?"
"Yeah," he replied with a shy smile. "As my date."
She stared at him for another few seconds before burying her head back into his shoulder. She tightened her grip around his torso before stiffly nodding her head against him.
"I-I-I'd love to, dork," she whispered.
"Awesome. It's a date, then," he whispered back.
"Yeah. It's a date."
Asta couldn't keep the wide grin off his face as they continued cuddling together atop the tower. He could see a number of kids running through the streets towards a cluster of crates set up around a fountain. He tapped Noelle on the shoulder.
"I think the fireworks are about to start, Noelle."
She muttered a quiet, "thanks" and turned her face away from his neck to look out over the city scape. Sure enough, within a few minutes there were streaks of light running up into the sky and exploding in brilliant displays of light and smoke. It was more extravagant and impressive than anything most of the citizens had seen in their entire lives - King Augustus made sure to acquire as many fireworks as needed to, "make them love me!", according to Yami at least - and the masses stood in the streets with their eyes aimed upwards to watch the portrait of colors being painted on the black canvas of night.
All the while, no one saw the two Magic Knights pressed closely together with their feet hanging off the edge of a tall bell tower. No one, save two siblings not far from the base of said tower who - upon seeing said couple - flashed each other victorious smiles and fist bumped one another before turning their own eyes to the fireworks display above with misty eyes and a single, shared thought: finally.