notes: i would date asta, just saying. dream guy material right there. anyways, i have no explanation for this at all. there is a lack of these two, and it paints me greatly.

notes2: largely inspired by florence + the machine. also, i'm gonna hate myself for this format later.

disclaimer: y'all already know what i'm gonna say.

...

i. black—for the tainted sorrow

[ oh, I couldn't say I need more time ]

...

They are seventeen.

Young and wild and untamed things that have seen more death and decay and disaster than most teenagers their age. And at the end of the day, that's all they really are—teenagers. At the end of the day when they take off their robes bearing the insignia of their beloved squad, when they sink into the couches (all weary and grateful and satisfied) or collapse into bed, they are still children.

They would do anything for their kingdom, for the people, for their friends, and for the Black Bulls. That's just the way it was, is, will always be. They will fight bloody and battle worn and until their last breath to protect. They've faced the threat of death so many times that they've long since lost count. Yet each and every time they come back roaring, and stronger, and hungrier than before.

Asta is going to be the Wizard King.

Noelle, bless her heart, would do anything for him. He's the first peasant she has ever acknowledged. He has her complete trust, complete faith, and all of her heart. She probably trusts him more than Yami, wildly enough. He's a tad unrefined and wild-eyed, all boisterous voice and show-stopping smile. Asta doesn't even have a last name, but he doesn't need one. He is the embodiment of hopes and dreams, the boy without any shred of magic that miraculously made it into the Magic Knights. He never, ever gives up.

She would die for him without hesitation.

And that's exactly the problem.

Because he's also still a bit of an idiot, even after all this time.

Somehow, in some random and freak moment of chance, Asta does not notice the fatal attack headed directly for him. Curse all his ridiculous ki talk to hell, she thinks absently, and makes a decision that will probably be her last. There's no time for magic, no time for a spell.

Noelle throws herself in the way.

The thing is...though he might actually be the biggest, most oblivious, awkward, loud-mouthed moron of the century, he cannot die here. Asta is destined for greatness, because he is great. And she had sworn to herself forever ago that she would help make sure he got there—no matter the cost.

Everything stops, for a second.

She sees the recognition in his eyes, can hear his war cry change to a blood-curdling scream because he knows, he knows. She wishes that he hadn't seen, wishes that the look of horror on his face wouldn't be one of the last things she sees. It makes her choke up a little, and she does her best to send him a smile. She reaches out to him, wraps her arms around his neck and takes the hit.

And then they're back to real time.

He's screaming so loud that she almost can't register how much pain she's in. There's blood everywhere, and she's a little sad that her new dress is ruined. In the distance, she can hear her comrades' startled cries, and even Captain Yami is swearing. The entire ground quivers and she pales, from blood loss and the thought of how frightening her Captain is when angered.

Asta cradles her in his arms, hands flitting about as he tries to assess her injuries. "Noelle you idiot," he chokes, and her heart hurts more than anything in her body, "what the hell? What the hell were you thinking?!"

He calls Mimosa over because he has to save her—she has to live. He's always the one on the brink of death, not her. Never her.

She manages a laugh, although it's more of her coughing up blood than anything. "Ha...Stupid...sta. I thought..."

Asta gently wipes some of the blood away from her lips and she wonders, faintly, if they ever could have stood a chance. Would he have given up his futile crush on Sister Lily? Would he have ever considered a girl like her? What would it have been like to stay by his side forever?

The thoughts ache worse than her wounds, and she tears up a little. She wishes that she could've had more time.

"Stop," Asta grits his teeth. "You shouldn't talk. Mimosa is almost here. You'll be okay. You're going to be okay."

Wow. Somehow she isn't shocked that he's still so stupid, even to the end.

"You're not done yet," he tells her, but it sounds more like he's pleading. "Noelle..."

She hadn't thought about how much everything would hurt. Dying royally sucked, but it's worth it in the end, because she saved his life. It's a little poetic, in a crappy way. He had saved her life when she wouldn't even acknowledge him. He had given her hope and a dream. Now here they were.

"Asta," Noelle summons all the strength left within her to lift her hand to his face. "I'm sorry."

She can feel his chest heave. He shakes his head. He doesn't want to believe.

If only she'd been braver sooner.

"Asta," Noelle smiles, "I...love—"

She would die with one regret.

She couldn't ever tell him the truth, even in the end. Maybe she really was pathetic, after all.

They are still children of seventeen when she dies in the arms of the love of her life.

"NOELLE!"

x

She wakes with a start at the heart-wrenching scream of her name. Something stops her from bolting up, however, and she freezes. A sickening feeling rises in her stomach, the lingering ache of the wounds still clinging to her body. She looks down to see if there's still blood everywhere, but instead notices the incredibly strong, very built arms encasing her.

What the heck?

Hadn't she just died? Holy crap. She had just died.

She pales, wondering what in the world is going on. Had she actually been drugged and kidnapped? Because she distinctly remembers everything in her life up until the point where she died trying to confess to the boy she loved. Then she woke up in a room that isn't familiar at all with some stranger's arms wrapped around her. If there was ever any time to panic, now would be it.

Noelle stiffens, mind switching gears as she finally feels the warm and hard body behind her. Her eyes narrow. What foul, moronic, bastard had a hold of her? What had he done to her? How stupid could he actually be to pull this on her? She is royalty. As a favor to women and girls everywhere, she would erase him from the mortal plane.

Anger surging through her veins, she slowly turns to face the brute of a fiend that had decided to foolishly lay hands on her. She would castrate him in his sleep and then hang him upside down and naked from the window of his own home.

Noelle raises her fist to strike, and then nearly has a heart attack.

Because the bastard holding her isn't a bastard after all. It's an idiotic peasant whom she recognizes all too well. The only problem is that he's older. Like, several years older.

The reality of the situation slams her like one of Magna's home run fireballs. She's in bed with a half naked Asta—who looks, by the way, 20-something—and he's holding her in his arms as if she's some sort of stuffed plush like Gauche would buy for Marie.

Noelle's brain short-circuits.

She screams.

...

[ grant that I can stay the night ]

...

tbc

end notes: i actually lost part of my soul proofreading this because i'm an idiot and somehow wrote it in all lowercase. BYE.