A/N: I realize everything I've written follows my top love language: quality time. I'll try to incorporate other things haha. I also write more than I thought I would. Other oneshots I've seen on wattpad are shorter so I feel kinda bad. Let me know what you think!
word count: 2341
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When we got our first paycheck for being Magic Knights, Asta nearly lost his mind. Money like this definitely would never have graced his pockets in his lifetime if he stayed home in his village. Sure, he could do some work and save up and get there, but he wouldn't have gotten one paycheck that had anything close to what being a knight was being paid biweekly.
Asta was freaking out; he was running all around the base yelling and occasionally shedding a tear. All this ruckus attracted a few members of the gang. "Asta-kun, why are you-" Finral starts to ask the hyperactive boy before Asta almost slams into him, shoving the paper in his face.
"Finral-senpai! I'm rich!" Asta screeches, grabbing his senior and shaking him around. Finral groaned while he was violently shakened while the energetic Luck appeared and started laughing like the maniac he is.
"Now now, what's all this?" I pipped up, emerging from the kitchen. I was helping Charmy with lunch when I heard Asta screech, but honestly I thought it was the usual daily screech. It wasn't until I heard Luck's laughing when I decided I should probably butt in before someone gets killed.
Asta spun around with a glint in his eye, running up to me to also grab me by my shoulders, a lot gentler than Finral's experience. "I got my first paycheck and I'm practically rich, (Y/N)-chan!" He beamed excitedly. I raised my eyebrows while chuckling. I grabbed the crumpled paper from his hands, expecting he gained a fortune or something.
It actually wasn't as much as he made it seem, but I would imagine this was something substantial for his family back home. As a commoner, this was a big amount for myself too, but Asta hyped me up to think he was rich. I handed his check back while patting his shoulder. I wouldn't tell him it's not much; this meant a lot to him.
"Good job, Asta-kun!" I cheered. He couldn't wipe the smile off of his face the entire time I was looking at the thing. He relaxed and immediately pursed his lips, beginning to pace the area in front of me. "Thanks (Y/N)-chan, but I'm not sure what to do with all of this money. I'll probably buy some stuff for Sister Lily and everyone back home, but..."
Asta was such a good guy. Even though he's moved to greener pastures, he never forgot where he came from. "Well, obviously you can save money." I laugh. I move back into the kitchen, waving at a clearly busy Charmy. That woman was directing her sheep chefs how to cook a new dish and she paid us no mind. Finral and Luck also seemed to be engrossed in their own conversation, so it was just Asta and I discussing funds. Asta follows me and sits on a stool near the counter.
"True. I knew I could always talk to you about these things-"
"It's really not that complex." I interject, putting a few dishes away into the cabinets. He shakes his head.
"I meant I can always talk to you about something I'm not sure about and you'll give me a good answer!" He explains, nearly bouncing on the stool.
"If you say so!" I hum. I felt genuinely flattered by that. The stool creaks from his movements. "Also you might want to calm down a little before you fall backwards and bust your head open."
He starts to chill out a little but I can tell he's still pumped. "Are you free after this? I want to go to the capital and see what I can get for my family back home." The ash blonde asks.
I nod, "I should be. I'll ask Charmy if she needs anything else from me. In the meantime, can you ask Finral-san if he can take us there? It'll be much quicker."
Asta nods and dashes off to ask his senior. He's shouting all the way from the kitchen to the main area. He runs back to me to grab his check; kid already forgot it somewhere.
I dry a few more dishes and place them into the cabinets before wiping my hands. "Charmy? Do you need me for anything else? I wanna go to the capital with Asta." I call out over my shoulder.
I hear her trademark 'la' before I feel her presence bolt to right next to me. "Oh? A date?" She asks mischievously, a glint present in her eyes. I felt my face get warm and I forced myself to keep looking forward.
"N-not really, he wants to buy some stuff... for his family! And... only asked me to tag along..." I mutter, realizing how this all sounds to her. She giggles and hops onto the counter. She points at me.
"Hmm, seems like a date! I don't need anymore help, but if you see my meal saving prince, please give him this!" The black haired woman places an envelope next to you. I turn to look at the envelope only to see her wiggling her eyebrows. I later found out it was an envelope with coupons for food.
"Have fun with Asta-kun." She cooes and teases as she hops off the counter. I roll my eyes and tsk, throwing the wet towel on the counter. I felt my inner Noelle showing.
I hush her but thank her regardless as I hang my apron back on the hook. I walk to the main area to meet Asta.
"Oi, (Y/N)-chan! Finral-senpai said he can take us!" Asta yells as soon as he sees me.
"Thank you!" I grinned at the brunette. He waves me off with a blush.
"Anything for a pretty girl like you!"
Asta eyes Finral as he's opening a portal wide enough. "Finral-senpai, do you flirt with every girl you see?"
The spatial magic user then waves Asta off. "Only the pretty ones!"
"Then every girl is pretty to you." Asta comments as we walk through the portal. Meanwhile, I'm laughing while grabbing Asta to continue moving into the portal. Asta gives him one last confused look before the portal fully closes..
"Well... when you put it that way..." Finral's voice fades.
The bustling sound of the capital never gets old to me. We were placed off to the side of a busy street and I was eyeing all the beautiful colors that were on display at each store. The air was full of delightful smells and chatter.
"Oh, (Y/N)-chan, you're still holding onto me." Asta mentions, shaking his arm. I look down and noticed I got so caught up in basking in the sights and sounds that I was still gripping his wrist.
I ripped my hand away, laughing while trying to contain my embarrassment. I started walking towards a stall, "Sorry! I didn't notice I was still holding onto you." I say truthfully. We walked up to stall selling accessories.
"Don't worry about it! I liked it!" Asta grins.
'How am I supposed to interpret that?' I deadpan, cursing to myself. Asta is cute but he is equally as dense. I doubt he has no idea how that statement came off.
"L-liked it?" I muse, hiding my embarrassment. "Since it's starting to get cold, maybe someone back home would like some warm clothes?" I hand him one of the thick sweaters. He grabs it excitedly.
"Nash would love this!" He grins, not answering my question.
"There's a special going on. Buy-one-get-one half off!" The stall keeper mentions, gesturing at the rest of the tops. Asta just keeps getting more and more pumped. No idea where the energy comes from.
"What color do you think Recca would like?" He ponders, eyeing the different styles and feeling how soft they are. The stall keeper hides a scowl seeing him touch everything.
"No idea who she is, but I'm assuming she's a kid. How about this?" I motion towards one of the smaller sweaters and Asta grabs it immediately. After paying the stall keeper, we start walking again.
"I was thinking about getting them food." Asta mentions, his eyes sparkling as he looks at the hot foods on display. I smile. He's a real cutie. He's cute in general, but seeing how much he cares for his family is what makes him an overall great dude. Did I mention cute?
"Not a bad idea but I'd look into some food that's easy to store so they have a supply for the colder months." I mention, pointing at a surplus shop. He nods.
"Told ya you were good to go to for help." He grins. I roll my eyes as we headed to the shop. "Oh, slow down for a sec!" He calls out
I feel him grab my hand and I look down as he fixes his grip. Inside, I'm blowing up and I'm ready to scream in both joy and embarrassment, but I decide to keep my cool.
"A-and what's this about?" I tease, cursing silently because I stuttered. He squeezed my hand and I felt my heart skip a beat. The heat on my cheeks is getting hotter.
"I said I liked it when you held my arm. Just want to return the favor."
I have no idea if he's got a crush on me or if he's just trying to be nice.
For the next few hours, we wandered the capital looking for gifts for his family back home. After scolding him because he was about to spend everything he had, we decided it was about time to head home since we already missed lunch and didn't want to miss dinner. We never really stopped holding hands unless needed like wiping the sweat off of our palms or if we needed to squeeze past someone. Sickly sweet and kind of gross, but sweet nonetheless.
"Phew! I'm beat!" He announces, placing the sack of gifts he bought on the ground. I take out my communication device to ask Finral to get us home. I found us a bench to sit on while we waited. "Thanks for coming with me today!" Asta grins widely, "it means a lot to me."
I pat his leg. "Of course! I know how much they mean to you." I lean against the back of the bench. "Finral said it was going to be a few minutes. He's replenishing some mana with a snack. Guess he had to bring the captain around today, too." I comment. Asta nods in understanding.
We just sat there. I thought we'd talk more, but we didn't. Asta occasionally went though the sack to make sure we didn't forget anything, but for the most part we just sat there waiting. I closed my eyes to let them take a break from all the visual stimuli I've seen today. I focused on the hustle and bustle around us.
"I'm not sure how to say this," Asta starts, breaking the silence. I pop an eye open at him curiously. "But I really like spending time with you."
I close my eyes again. "And I really like spending time with you, too. With everyone." I add quickly. Didn't want to make it too obvious.
He nods, pauses, but then shakes his head. "I like spending time you. Just you." He corrects, looking at me. I had both of my eyes open.
"O-oh. I see." I was taken aback; I wasn't expecting this, but I also, again, didn't know if he was just being nice.
"Do you like spending time with me? Just me?" He presses on. Suddenly, Asta is all serious; his energy has mellowed out and he's just looking at me expectantly. I see he's clenching and unclenching his fists and he has a smile that keeps threatening to show itself. I take a deep breath and exhale.
"I do like spending time with you. Just us." I reply quietly. I feel so embarrassed and vulnerable. People were passing us as we had this conversation, but none of them paid us mind. "I actually... love spending time with you." I murmur, clearing my throat and avoiding eye contact again. 'Hope I didn't make things weird.'
Asta doesn't really say much in reply. I heard a faint hum as he leans back into the bench with a satisfied smile. Eventually, I relax into the bench with him. We weren't pressed against each other but we were close. I could only hope I didn't ruin our friendship. He was bouncing his knee rapidly, drumming his fingers on his knee as we waited for Finral. 'Is he anxious? I'm definitely anxious.' I think to myself.
Again, I closed my eyes stressfully as we sat together. Today's events have caught up to me and I felt the tiredness tug on my eyelids. Finral sure is taking his sweet time.
I felt the bench shake a little because Asta inched himself closer to me. Before I could question him, I felt his arm wrap around my shoulders before he poked me in the head, nudging my head to lean on his shoulder.
"Y-you can rest on me." He stammers. He sounded embarrassed, but he somehow managed to sound like his usual confident self at the same time.
Hopefully, for the final time today, I felt my cheeks redden as I wordlessly and slowly rest my head against his shoulder. Asta felt me smile against his body as he carefully grabbed my hand to hold, weaving our fingers together. We squeezed hands. I felt him lean his head on mine as we continue to wait for our "ride" home.