Disclaimer: As I stated in my previous stories, I don't own Black Clover. I just own my little headcanon.

Authoress' Note: And here I am with another! This one, I would recommend reading my previous story, Rescue, as events at the end of that story helps influences this one. Please enjoy!

Moonlit Dance

Chapter 1

Asta was distracted, he realized that. He could feel his focus being off, his swings slow, his pick up on attacks thrown at him by Magna and Luck during their training. It was a strange feeling for him and he didn't like it. This wasn't like him at all, and while he tried not to make it obvious, the others could pick up on it too.

"Hey, Rasta, what's going on up there? You sick or something? You usually never miss any of my fireballs, and I nearly got you this time!" Magna commented after they were done, taking a drink break.

"I don't know, maybe? I do feel off," Asta replied, chugging back a bottle of water.

"Well, you had been pushing it pretty hard lately. Maybe it's finally getting to you?" Luck commented, tossing back a handful of a snack mix that Charmy helped create with her sheep cooks.

"Maybe," the swordsman replied, still unsure, before turning his head towards the sound of feminine laughter.

Coming out from another section of the forest, fresh from training, was Vanessa and Noelle. They were flushed with sweat, but it didn't seem like their tiredness was getting them down. They were laughing over some sort of conversation, Noelle taking a sip of a bottle of water she brought with her. Asta's eyes lingered on her, watching as she smiled, her violet eyes sparkling with jovial pride, the sunlight beaming down on her brightly.

That... That was his distraction. He was thinking about Noelle, and he didn't fully understood why. It was two weeks ago when they, along with Magna, went on a mission to a village near the outskirts of the Clover Kingdom to gather a special plant that was rumored to have impressive healing properties. It was meant to be a simple mission, but turned quickly into a fight to protect the village. During the fight, Asta was thrown harshly into the nearby lake, knocked out by the attack. Noelle fought her hardest to save him, from dragging him back from the water to some sort of technique he had yet to figure out. However, it wasn't that part of the day that he kept thinking about; it was during that evening, after everything was said and done, that he kept thinking about.

He tried to get her to tell him exactly what she did to save him, but she didn't tell him anything. Instead, she gave him a hint... a soft, chaste kiss. He was thrown off completely by her motion; he had never been kissed by anyone like that before, and for it to be Noelle was one of the most surprising moments of his life. But it wasn't just the kiss, it was her... he had gotten up close to her before, but he never really paid attention to specific things about her. Such as how long her eyelashes were, how pale her complexion was in the sunset colors, how her eyes could be so soulful and beautiful, how soft and pink her lips were... That vision of her as she leaned back from their kiss was burned into his mind and sometimes it would just randomly pop up from his memory, causing him to stop and think of her and what had happened between them.

"Amazing" was what he thought afterward... she was amazing herself, with everything she was able to do and everything she had done since becoming a member of the Black Bulls, but the vision of her in the orange glow of the evening light was what stunned him the most. It was, by far, one of the most amazing sights he could recall seeing.

And it drove him absolutely nuts that it keeps creeping into his mind, confusing and distracting him in the most inconvenient ways. He didn't understand why she kept crawling into his mind, especially at times when he wanted to focus on training. Yet now here he was... he didn't even realize that he was starting to faintly blush the more he kept staring at the royal knight.

"You're looking a bit flushed there, Rasta," Magna stated, seeing the tinges of pink, "You sure you're okay?"

"Huh? I am?" Asta replied, "Didn't notice."

"You know if you're feeling sick, you should get some rest in bed. Don't be an idiot and push yourself."

"I agree with Magna. You won't be a strong opponent to fight if you're not at your best."

Asta didn't get the chance to reply as Vanessa and Noelle approached them. "Morning, boys," Vanessa greeted, "I see you got up early for some extra training as well."

"I'm more surprised you're even awake right now, given how hard you were hitting the bottle last night," Magna replied sarcastically, earning a glare from his compadre.

"Oh shut up!" she replied, "I promised Noelle I'd come out here to help with her training today. Which she's doing wonderful!"

"Thank you, Vanessa," the silver-haired girl replied, looking over at Asta, "How are you doing, Asta?"

"I'm fine!" he yelled a little more than necessary, surprising everyone with how loudly he spoke.

Noelle seemed to had been the most stunned, her brows furrowing in faint concern. She had noticed how different he had been acting over the last two weeks. At first she tried to pretend nothing was up, but there was only so many times she would catch him glimpsing at her then quickly turning away when he was caught,or awkward times when they were alone and passing each other by in the hallway that she could ignore before she started to realize something was up. She wondered if maybe she was the cause of his disturbed personality as of late... no, she was certain that it was her. Her and her idea it was to kiss him so suddenly. She didn't regret the kiss – oh no, not at all, given the butterflies it placed in her stomach when she thought about it – but she did regret how it was making him act. She didn't mean to make him feel so uncomfortable that he acted like an embarrassed fool around her.

'Maybe he wanted to save his lips for Sister Lily... and I ruined that,' she had thought more than once since she noticed how he was around her; while she knew she shouldn't feel bad over that little fact – by now, she would've hoped he'd realize that he can't marry someone that had taken up the cloth – she actually did feel bad a little bit because of how important that idea might had been to him.

Her head tilted downward slightly, trying to avoid looking at Asta further. While the others didn't pick up on it, his green eyes noticed the small downturn and realized that he had made her upset. Before he could call out her name, the yell of Captain Yami rang through the trees.

"Magna, Asta, Noelle, report to me at once!"

"Ah crap... he doesn't sound too thrilled," Magna replied with an aspirated growl.

"When does he ever?" Noelle mumbled quietly to herself, then picked up her voice, "Maybe we have a mission?"

"Well, whatever it is, let's go and find out!" Asta yelled, returning his blade to his Grimoire and running back towards headquarters, leaving Noelle and Magna to follow slowly behind, no thanks to the dust he kicked up.

"A festival?"

"Yeah. Apparently every year they host a festival to celebrate the Harvest Moon. However, with the recent attack, they're still going through the process of rebuilding the village while also setting up the festival," Yami explained, taking a drag of his cigarette as he held out a piece of paper to Magna, "They've requested you three to come and help with the rest of the rebuilding and preparations, as well as wanting you to stay as guests of honor for the festival."

The three looked over the order to gather the details of what was expected. After reading everything, they nodded their heads in unison.

"We'll do it, Captain Yami."

"Good. The festival starts in two days. You're to leave out immediately. Gather anything you need and head on out."

They nodded their heads, turning around to leave the main hall. As they walked down the halls, they began to discuss the mission.

"This should be the easiest mission ever! Do a little bit of work, then spend the rest of the day partying? This is going to be great!" Magna exclaimed, "Aren't you two excited?"

"I guess so, but... I've never been to a festival," Noelle stated sheepishly, "So I'm not sure how to feel about being a guest of honor to something like this."

"EH!? Have you ever been to any sort of party or gathering?"

"Well, I've been to some things as a representative of House Silva, but I usually left after the introductions. No one really wants the failure of the house to be at a special event."

There she went again, calling herself a failure... that was one thing Asta hated that Noelle did. She was one of the most amazing people he had ever met! Her strength and ability were bar none some of the best features about her, but he hated how she would allow her family's taunts and torture cloud that part of her that she should be celebrated and proud of.

"You're not a failure, Noelle!" he yelled, stunning everyone into a halt, "Your family are the failures for pushing you away!"

"Asta," Noelle squeaked out, her face turning red as she stared at him for a moment, then turned away, "W-well, what about you? Did your village ever have festivals?"

Asta blinked, a bit confused by the question, "Yeah, of course. We would have small parties for the holidays or the equinoxes. I mean, they were tiny, but they were a lot of fun. Usually we'd always have a dance at the end of it, and all of us would fight to dance with Sister Lily first. I usually lost to Yuno though. One day though, I'll be the victor!"

'Of course that'd be it...' Noelle thought sadly, although she tried not to let it show, "You know how to dance?"

"Yeah!" the swordsman replied excitedly, "Here, I'll show you!"

"Wait, what!?" the silver-haired mage yelled, let out a small "eep" as Asta grabbed her hand, pulling her up close to him, her hands landing on his chest in an attempt to brace herself.

His other hand placed on her waist, he began to twirl around with her, Noelle struggling to keep up with him and not step all over his toes. What the hell was this turn of events!? Her face turned bright red, her mouth dropped in a confused grimace, all the while Magna was watching with arms crossed and an entertained smirk on his face. She couldn't even look Asta in the eyes, yet also couldn't figure out a way to make him stop; this was crazy! How and why did this usual idiot know how to do such a fancy dance!?

After a few more twirls, he stopped and lifted their joined hands up in the air, spinning Noelle around and out, then back towards him, his arm bracing behind her back to bring her down into a short dip, earning a "uwah" like response, pulling her up and stopping with her hands once again resting on his chest.

They stood there silently for a moment, suddenly feeling lost looking at one another. While her face was flushed and expression a mix of confused and frustrated, her eyes were lit with a strange mixture of both joy and sadness. Despite her flustered state, she had to admit it was nice to be dancing around with Asta in such a manner. She never danced with anyone before, and while this was impulsive and usually unbecoming of a royal such as herself, the few moments they were spinning around were fun and she almost upset that he just suddenly stopped. Meanwhile, Asta was taken back by the expression of her eyes, but also realizing what he had done. He had danced with her, granted in a rushed and sudden manner, but still... he had grabbed her hand and pulled her close to him. He was reminded again of what had happened before, of how close she was to him, how her hands rested on him as they were now, and then there was the kiss... he didn't realize it right away, but his eyes did linger a bit on her lips as he watched her.

Just as sudden as they were feeling lost did they realize their position, jumping back from one another in a flurry of "I'm sorry"s and flailing limbs. Magna let out a loud, boisterous laugh, clapping his hands, "That was well done, Rasta! Where did you learn how to dance?"

"I taught myself! Sometimes there was a person that would drop off old books to the church for us to read, and one of them was on different types of dances and their histories. I wanted to impress Sister Lily with them. Although I hadn't had the chance to show her yet; the last time I attended one of the dances she was sick and couldn't go," he explained, composing himself.

'That's not surprising... everything he does is for Sister Lily,' Noelle commented to herself, trying not to let any bit of her sadness or jealousy show.

"I see. Well, when we get to the village, you'll need to show me more of those moves! Wouldn't mind potentially dancing around with a pretty lady for one night."

"Yeah, sure! But I think we should actually get going to the village first."

"Let's meet up in front of the building in a half-hour. We'll head out straight from there," Noelle stated, earning two nods in return, as they went their separate ways to their rooms to gather their supplies.

Several hours later, the trio arrived in the village. Obviously a few more buildings were still being reconstructed, but this time the village was being decorated with arbors, ribbons, and colorful flora, along with decorations of the stars and moons. Despite the remnants of destruction still surrounding them, the villagers that were around them were all smiles and laughs, something that put the visiting knights at ease.

As they approached the opening gate, one man was there to greet them personally. He held an oak wood staff with a crescent moon at the top, dressed in a dark blue robe with silver stars sewn into its fabric. His emerald eyes were framed by light gray bangs and hair tied back into a bun. Dark lips were stretched into a smile as he made the motion to speak.

"Welcome, Black Bulls. My name is Teru; I'm the village leader," he stated, "It's my apologies that last time you came to our village, I wasn't here to greet you. I was in the capital procuring supplies for the festival. I heard of your efforts to protect our village however, and for that I wish to give you my deepest and most heartfelt thanks."

"My name is Magna, and this is Noelle and Asta," Magna replied, motioning to each person as he completed the introduction, "It was no trouble! The plants you gave us proved to be a great help! We're thankful to you all for what you've done as well."

"Truly? That's wonderful news! Then I look forward to a potential partnership with your squadron in the years to come. But that'll all be in time, I'm sure. For now, let's discuss things for the next two days," Teru stated, his voice cheery at the new knowledge, "For today, I would appreciate it if you would help us with some of our construction work. We have had many hands working on these projects, but with the festival coming closer, many of them have turned towards working and fixing up the necessities we need towards that. Of course, we'll also be providing you with the tools for the job, as well as shelter and meals. Tomorrow during the day will also have work, but come the afternoon we'll be starting to celebrate the Harvest Moon."

"Excuse me, sir, but what does this festival entail?" Noelle asked curiously, "We didn't get much information about that part of the request."

"Oh-ho, you'll be delighted, young lady!" the village leader stated with a laugh, "Starting in the afternoon, everyone will dress up in costumes that embrace the celestial theme of our event. We will set up bonfires on the beach as well as in the epicenter of the village, and light them up as the darkness starts to settle in. We start off the event with a huge feast, then as the moon lights up the sky we celebrate with music, drinks, and dancing. All to give thanks to the harvest that the Earth had given us, and in thanks to the Moon that settles the tides and illuminates the lake. Of course, how long you wish to party is up to you; some of us will stay up all night just to watch the Moon go back to sleep, but you three may want to leave out early enough the next day so I don't doubt that you may want to call it early for that reason."

"That sounds like a blast!" Asta exclaimed excitedly, with Magna nodding and Noelle secretly smiling at him.

"Oh-ho, I'm glad you think so! But until then, there's a lot of things to do! Firstly, let me lead you to the place you'll be staying at so you can drop off your supplies," Teru stated, turning around and leading them towards the village square, "My son and daughter-in-law have set up a space for the three of you to stay in their home. It may be a bit tight, but for two days I hope it'll be alright."

"It's quite hospitable for you to put us up at all, so thank you," Magna replied gratefully.

As they walked through the village, their eyes scanned all of the things that they never saw last time. Like how the buildings each seemed to have some sort of design etched into the bricks above the doors and windows – things like stars, leaves, or waves – or how the roads were made of bright, sandy yellow bricks. As they approached the village center, they noticed how the bricks were laid out in a colorful wave, circling around to where there was the setting for a giant center bonfire. While certainly the capital had flashier beauty and such, they were impressed by how lovely this village was set up, in waves of color and art that stood out yet also matched the nature that surrounded them. Around them, working and shopping and doing their usual routines, they could hear the happy laughter and conversations of its townsfolk, content with what the day was bringing and what was to come.

Yet, somehow or another Noelle was feeling nervous... for some reason, she felt like there were eyes on her, watching her, judging her... she probably shouldn't be surprised by it. After all, they were in a village far away from the capital; seeing someone from a royal house out here "in the styx" was probably a sight of surprise. Violet eyes scanned her surroundings; no one seemed that they were paying attention to her, yet she could still feel like there were whispers and views directed at her.

Suddenly she felt like someone was coming up behind her fast and she quickly turned around, her hands mere inches away from her Grimoire and wand. However, she froze when she saw that it was just a young girl, dressed in a light green gown with golden stars sewn into the long, sheer sleeves, golden sandals tied up over her shins, and poppy red hair tied up into a bun with a golden ribbon. The rest of the group also turned around to view the two of them standing face to face.

"What is it? Are you lost, little girl?"

"Excuse me... are you a princess?"

"W-what, a princess!?"

Teru's brow raised, then he laughed. "Oh, my child... This is my granddaughter, Anya. I had taken her with me to the capital recently and saw some of the royal houses during our trip. She believes that everyone from the royal houses must be princes or princesses, and has been going on and on about going back so she can meet them again," he explained, watching as the little girl shifted on her toes anxiously awaiting an answer.

He walked over to the child, her delight in seeing her grandfather obvious, as she hugged him and grabbed onto his robe. "Now, where did you come from? Where's Mommy?" he asked, patting her head.

"Mommy's over there! But I told her I was coming over here, so she knows! Grandpa, she looks just like the silver haired people we saw at the capital!" Anya explained, first pointing over to where her mother was, who was watching and waved when she noticed both of them looking at her, then at Noelle, "Doncha think so?"

"Silver haired people?" Noelle muttered, realizing that she must had been talking about her siblings.

"She does, Anya, but please don't point. That's not a polite thing to do," Teru scolded gently, although it didn't discourage his granddaughter's mood, "You are from House Silva, aren't you, Miss Noelle?"

"Yes sir, I am."

"I had thought so. Although... there's a different air about you than the rest of the house? A softer air."

'A softer air, huh?' Noelle thought, but it didn't do much to calm her heart... probably because she was so much weaker than the rest of her family, that she was the outcast, the failure, hopeless and pathetic... No wonder she would exhume a softer aura than the others of her house.

Asta could sense and feel Noelle's rising tension and frowned; she was doing it again, doubting and hating on herself because of her family's treatment. It, in turned, started to make him angry, but he knew better than to act. Subtly he moved a little closer to her, his fingers brushing against a hidden balled up fist, then gently unwrapping her fist just enough to link his ring finger with hers, giving it a small squeeze. Noelle's eyes turned towards him, widened slightly and her skin bristling at the feather-like touches. He smiled at her, and in the way he smiled and how his emerald eyes beamed at her made her heart race but her mind relaxed... Somehow he had that affect on her, the silly commoner... always able to find a way to help her calm down when she was ready to scream into the darkness.

Smiling, she squeezed his finger back, letting him know she was grateful and understanding of his motion. "Thank you for your compliment, sir," she replied professionally.

"So are you a princess, big sister?" Anya asked again, still waiting an answer.

"Well, uh..." the water mage began to say, although she was stopped by a pat to her shoulder.

"Yep, Noelle here is a princess!" Asta replied excitedly, then bringing up one finger to his lips, "But don't go letting that information get out there, okay? You gotta keep it a secret!"

"Ooo, a secret? Okay, I'll keep it a secret!" Anya replied with a joyful gasp, making a motion of crossing over her heart then covering her mouth with an "X" made with her pointer fingers, "I promise I'll keep it safe, big sister!"

The little girl turned her grandfather, pulling a bit at his robe, "Grandpa, can Noelle join us with making the decorations? Pretty please, Grandpa!?"

"If she wishes to, she may join you. But first, how about you help your old Grandpa get them settled into the guest room at your house? Can you go grab Mommy and have her come with us?"

"'Kay!" Anya exclaimed, running over to where her mother was to tell her the news.

Teru chuckled, "She can be such a handful. I hope you weren't too put off by her questioning, Miss Noelle."

"Not at all!" Noelle explained, waving her hands frantically in front of her, "I was just not expecting to be called a princess, that's all."

"I thank you for playing along with her little fantasy. Same with you, Asta. But come, let's get you settled in for the moment! There's only so much daylight remaining for work, after all."

As everyone began to walk, Noelle hung back just enough to walk alongside Asta. "Hey, Asta?" she whispered, leaning her head over slightly so he could hear her a bit better.

"Hmm? What's up Noelle?" the swordsman asked also in a whisper, one brow arched.

"What was that all about?"

"What, the princess thing? Well, it seemed like you were struggling with answering, so I thought I'd help. I'm sorry."

"No, not that, although I am grateful you stepped in on that... I was meaning... um... with you squeezing my finger?" she stuttered out, unsure of what to really call what had happened.

"O-oh, that!" Asta also stuttered out, a small blush starting to form on his cheeks, as his hands flung up to rest behind his head and him turning slightly to not look at her, "W-well, I could tell you were feeling upset again, so I wanted to make you feel reassured that everything was okay."

He looked down at the ground and very lowly let out a small mumble, "I hate it when you get like that, because you look better when you're smiling."

While Noelle was sure she wasn't supposed to hear that completely, she did and she promptly blushed; when did Asta get so shy about saying things? She never really saw him blush and act like an awkward teenager before, well, at least any more awkward than he was usually. She thought back to what had happened between them before and she turned away herself, bringing up her hand and ring finger up to her lips. "Thank you, Asta," she said softly.

Asta's eyes turned towards her, noticing her faint blush and soft smile hiding behind her hand, her violet eyes twinkling. He felt his heartbeat racing again; why was she making him feel this way all of the sudden? He didn't quite get it... he was supposed to be devoted to only Sister Lily! So why was it that he was wanting to take that hand of hers and hold it in his own?

He didn't have much more of a chance to think on it; they quickly arrived at the house they were staying at, with Anya's mother opening the door for them and leading them upstairs to a spare room with three bedrolls laid out on a carpeted floor. After settling down their supplies and a little more chatter on what they needed to do, they set off to do their work.

Asta couldn't deny that he was feeling exhausted. Granted, he'd work for hours and hours in training up his muscles, but there was something still exhausting about being in the sun and working on patching up a damaged roof. However, it also felt exhilarating, knowing that he was doing some good for the people of the village.

He brushed the sweat from his brow after hammering in another set of tiles, a wide grin on his face as he admired his work. He was careful on how he moved, not wanting to accidentally slide off the building, positioning himself to sit down and taking a small break. He looked out over the village, towards the epicenter, and seeing what else was being done.

His eyes namely landed on a large table that was set up with a bunch of what looked to be papers, glues, and scissors. He could make out Anya out of the crowd of children working around it, but also could see Noelle sitting there, working to make a long chain of cut out stars. While he couldn't hear anything from them, he could see that she was laughing along with the children, all of them seemingly admiring the fact that they were working with a "secret princess". Without realizing it, he was staring at her once again.

He didn't even hear Magna calling out for attention, not until he sent a small fireball at Asta's head, causing him to frantically move to put out the flames. "OW OW OW OW OW! WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!" he yelled out, turning around to face the senior Black Bull, although his mean face faltered as he felt himself sliding down the edge of the building and had to reposition himself very quickly to keep from falling.

"Haven't you been listening, you idiot? I said that I needed your help up here!"

"Oh! Sorry!"

Asta moved up towards where Magna was at, and did as he was told to fix the problem the fire mage was having. "Geez... what's been up with you today, Rasta?" he asked of the swordsman, "First this morning, and now this. What the hell is going on in that head of yours?"

"I don't really know," Asta replied honestly, noticing a patch of the roof that needed a bit more work.

Magna rolled his eyes, mumbling out another "you idiot" as he went back to work. For a bit they were quiet, but then Asta broke the silence. "Hey Magna...? Have you ever cared for someone in a more than a friendship way before?"

"What the hell kind of question is that?" Magna replied with a thick brow perked, but then delved into a devilish grin, "Oh, I see... is our Rasta is falling in love with someone? Thought your heart belonged to Sister Lily?"

"IT IS! Well... I think it is," Asta exclaimed, his voice tapering off as he continued to talk, "I thought it was. But lately I've just been confused."

Magna laughed, shaking his head with a smile, "Yep, that's first love for sure. You're surely growing up, Rasta!"

"You don't have to go off and tease me about it, Magna! This is really frustrating! I don't like this. I said I'd never give up on Sister Lily, so I don't get why I feel this way about No- err, this girl. But lately I've been wondering about her a lot. And I don't even know what to do about it."

Magna didn't respond, but continued to smirk to himself. He had his suspicions for awhile now, but this little conversation was proving him right: there was a spark of romance between the two newest members of the Black Bulls. A few months ago, that seed was planted thanks to a shocking outburst from Noelle, after she smacked Asta in the face and yelled at him about giving up his fruitless pursuit of the good Sister, and making a statement on how he had a better chance at marrying her, leading her to become very flustered and running away afterward. While it was a subject of chatter immediately after the fact, once Noelle had returned – along with himself, Asta, and Luck, having gone after her and subsequently saving her from a devilish magic user that attacked her – the conversation was dropped and not brought up again. However, after their last mission that brought them to this village, he began to suspect something more had started to develop between the two of them.

Although he was busy with the battle, he caught glimpses at the two of them that day, of Noelle working some sort of technique – later on, he learned that it was something called CPR – on Asta after she brought him back from the water. He could see bits and pieces of her stressed face, his strained look, and how she fought to keep him back as he started to stand up again. In the aftermath, as everyone was celebrating their return, he noticed but paid no real mind to Noelle leaving the hustle and bustle, but after Asta went after her to bring her back down for dinner and they returned together, he saw that their faces were more flushed than usual. No one else seemed to have paid attention, so he didn't comment himself, but he did wonder what could've happened to look like that.

Now it all started to make sense... whatever happened has started to change Asta's feelings towards her. The distractions, the long stares, the flustered screaming, combined with her own shy and tsundere-like reactions at times... it all started to fit together. It was almost sickening on how cute these two dorks were acting.

"Look, Rasta. I may not have much experience with the ladies as Finral, but I do know this: if you're starting to have feelings for this girl, you should tell her. Get it off your chest," Magna advised, "She may have feelings for you too, but you won't know until you make a move."

"Really? You think she might have the same feelings?" Asta asked, earning a shrug in return.

Asta turned around, going back to looking at Noelle one more time, then went back to doing his work. While he tried to keep busy, Magna eyed what he did, smirking again.

Suddenly, they all heard the loud voice of Teru echoing through the skies. "Everyone, please wrap up what you're doing. There are storm clouds on the horizon. Bring in everything that could be damaged in the rain, cover up the roofs, and head inside until everything passes by."

"Huh?" Asta questioned, unsure of what he was talking about as everything seemed sunny, until he looked over the lake.

Sure enough, far on the horizon, there was the hint of dark clouds approaching. While they didn't seem to be moving too fast, no one seemed to have wanted to take a chance on their timing, as the village went abuzz with people making sure everything was being brought in and protected.

"Well, guess that's it for the work today. Come on, Rasta, let's get everything covered up."

Within a few hours, the rains arrived. First they were light trickles, nothing too bothersome as people finished gathering their supplies, but soon picked up into heavy sheets, combined with loud claps of thunder and flashes of lightning. As soon as one storm passed by and the rain started to try and calm down, another one would shortly follow afterward.

For the three visitors, they found themselves a bit bored shortly after the rains began. They didn't quite plan for down time, so they really didn't know what to really do for themselves. Luckily, however, Anya and her family had back up plans. Her father took Magna and Asta to a nearby workshop where they could work on extra arbors and brick etchings, while Anya and her mother had Noelle help them further with some of the cooking and designs for the decorations.

Noelle was grateful for the distraction. In the quiet of things, she tried to focus on reading, but instead was distracted by Asta. She learned rather quickly that, when bored, he would do work outs. Crunches, push ups, things like that. There were one or two awkward times when he had asked for her to sit on his back as a weight during his training, which usually got him screaming and water in his face as an answer. He didn't ask this time, but he was still going hard at his work out and she couldn't resist peeking over at him from behind a book. She was amazed at how he was still able to work out despite spending hours in the sun today working on fixing roofs, and she couldn't help but faintly blush and stare as he counted quietly to himself to keep track of how many crunches he was doing.

"Big sister, how does this look?" Anya asked, holding up a chain of pink paper stars, glued together by the corners of each star to make the line.

"That looks really good!"

"Hey, which of these colors do you think Asta would like?"

"Asta? Hmm... probably the blue ones," the water mage replied, shuffling through the stack of colored paper, "Here we go! These are blue like his jacket."

"Okay!" the little girl stated, taking the paper and setting them aside her, grabbing one of her pencils and drawing the outlines of a star, "Hey, big sister? Do you like Asta?"

"Wh-wh-what!?"

"Anya, you know better than to ask questions like that!" yelled her mother from the kitchen irritably.

"I'm sorry Mommy! I was just curious..." Anya replied woefully, her lips forming into a pout.

"Wh-what would make you think that I like Asta?" Noelle asked with a small stutter.

"Well, when we were outside working, sometimes I see you looking over to where Asta was and you had this look on your face like you liked him."

'How does a girl this little know such a thing!?' Noelle yelled to herself, floored by the child's explanation, "And how do you know that?"

"Because you looked just like how Mommy would look at Daddy," she said simply, "And Mommy told me that when she looked at Daddy like that, it was because she liked him."

They heard Anya's mother laughing from the kitchen. "From the mouths of babes... I'm sorry, Miss Noelle. Anya, you shouldn't be making your guest so uncomfortable with such questions; it's not a polite thing for a young girl to do," she explained, leaning back to look into the room from around a wall of the kitchen.

"No no, it's alright!" Noelle stated, "I didn't even know I was looking like that... You're really observant, you know that, Anya?"

"A little TOO observant," the mother replied, although Anya just laughed not quite knowing what the word "observant" meant.

"I guess... I do like Asta, though... For awhile I've liked him too. But I think he likes someone else, so I just... haven't been able to tell him yet," Noelle said honestly, her fingers fumbling with the edges of her Black Bulls robe.

"I think he might like you too, big sister. I saw him! He looked at you like how Daddy looks at Mommy sometimes too!"

"Y-you think so?"

Anya nodded vigorously, "Mm-hmm!"

Softly, Noelle smiled, looking down at her hand and the finger Asta had squeezed earlier. She would be so delighted if Asta looked at her in the same ways she would look at him. If he could like her the way that she liked him... That sounded like a dream.

Suddenly, Anya jumped up and ran out of the room, startling both Noelle and her mother. Rumbling noises soon echoed faintly into the room, followed excited steps. She came around the corner holding a bunch of fabric in her hands. "You and Asta should wear these tomorrow!" she exclaimed, holding out the fabrics towards Noelle.

"Anya! Where did you find those!?"

"In the closet, Mommy! When you and Daddy were upstairs looking for things for the festival!"

"I swear, child... you weren't supposed to be going snooping! Oi..."

"What are they?" Noelle questioned, placing the pile of cloth on her lap and lifting up one of them to eye it further.

"These were the costumes my husband and I wore on our first festival together as boyfriend and girlfriend, way back when we were teens ourselves," the mother answered, "We thought it'd just be the hit of the village if we wore matching outfits. We wore them a couple of times after that as well, although we had gotten new ones after we had gotten married. For the longest time, we had them stowed away in our memory chest, although a few days ago we were talking about them and how maybe we should try and turn them into a special costume for Anya one day. I just didn't know she'd be hunting around them herself."

"I'm sorry, Mommy."

"It's alright... I know, you're a curious child. And it's not like we were hiding them from you; you know where the chest is, so I suppose I shouldn't be surprised you'd find them. But why did you bring them out now?"

"For them to wear tomorrow! Maybe if they wear them, something good will happen for them like what happened to you and Daddy!"

"My goodness... I'm really sorry again, Miss Noelle. But, if you two do wish to wear them, I don't mind and I know my husband won't either. It would be nice to see the costumes out and used again, not just hiding away in an old box. Of course, I don't know if they may fit you both or not; feel free to try them and see. If they don't fit, I know we'll find all three of you costumes by the evening. Everyone here surely has a spare costume or two."

Violet eyes continued to stare at the fabric, feeling it against her fingertips, then at the rest of it in her lap. She smiled at the idea of it... she and Asta wearing a matching outfit? As silly as it sounded, it also sounded like a lot of fun. And what a fond memory it could be to look back on... She chuckled to herself over it, lifting her head up to look at the two ladies staring at her.

"Thank you, both of you. I really appreciate this offer."

"Yay!" Anya exclaimed, jumping up and down for a few moments, "Now you and Asta just have to kiss and you'd be just like Mommy and Daddy!"

"Wh-what!?"

"ANYA!"

As Anya was scolded by her mother for such an "outrageous outburst" and was sent to the corner of the kitchen for punishment, Noelle could help but to continue to smile... 'A kiss, huh?'