Finral had been crying, Noelle was sure of it when she looked up at him. The salty tracks were subtle on his cheeks, and the redness in his eyes was barely noticeable in the darkness, but she could see. And she was surprised to see him so distraught. When it came to social interactions, Finral had always seemed to have the situation in hand. He might be a coward in most ways, Noelle thought, but he had all the confidence in the world when it came to approaching women.

He also had the worst luck in the world.

"What brings you out here, Little Princess?" He leaned on the balcony railing as he tried to smile at her. Noelle shook her head at the moniker. She hated it, but unlike when her siblings had used similar terms for her, there was no malice or mockery in it. Finral had always made her feel welcome and loved, even if he had hit on her every so often.

"I just needed some air."

Finral nodded, knowing all too well what the phrase really meant.

"I guess Asta is off with that friend of his?"

Noelle blushed and looked away. Was she that obvious? Or was Finral just that observant? She tried to tell herself she hadn't run away because of Asta, but the more she fought the idea, the more Finral's expression told her to be honest with herself.

"No, he went off with Mimosa."

"Mimosa?"

"My cousin. She was with the Golden Dawn team we met up with in the dungeon. Asta, being Asta, saves her, and now she thinks she's in love with him."

Finral chuckled and shook his head. He gave her a sardonic smile.

"Sounds like Asta." He sighed. "Why is it guys like him, and Yami too, have it so easy and they don't even seem to care. Or even notice. But guys like me..." He shook his head, frowning. " Sorry, we were talking about you."

"Actually, we were talking about Asta."

"Right."

"Anyway, he went off with Mimosa, and Vanessa thinks they might be..."

Finral put his hands on Noelle's shoulders and turned her to face him. He looked her square in the eye and his expression was far more serious than she had ever seen him.

"Don't listen to Vanessa, alright? Not everyone is as depraved as she is. I can't imagine Asta doing anything willingly to jeopardize his one-sided relationship with that sister of his. Not that she would care."

Noelle chuckled at the mention of the infamous Sister Lily.

"He is ridiculously hung up on her, isn't he?" Noelle smiled for the first real time that night.

Finral nodded and smiled as well. They shared a laugh, doing impersonations of Asta or recalling instances where his obsession with the sister had made everyone groan.

"So, Noelle, do you want to dance?" He asked with a smile. Noelle was feeling better. She didn't really want to dance now, but she felt she owed him that at least for making her smile again.

"Sure, but just one dance." He took her hand and led her back into the ball with a grin.

Some time later, Noelle stared at the dancers or glanced around the table where her comrades sat enjoying the party, having a horrible time. She never realized how much she wanted to have Asta be the one she spent the dance with until he was gone. Oh, it crossed her mind when she had approached the captain with the idea, but now Mimosa had stolen him away and she sat there frowning. Vanessa wasn't much help as she was progressively becoming more and more drunk. Charmy was stationed much closer to the food-as expected, as she fussed over an obviously drunk Golden Dawn member. For all Charmy's gluttony, Noelle thought, she was a good caretaker. Between the two older women, Noelle had found something akin to a cross between a mom and a big sister, maybe with a little older friend thrown in. She wasn't sure, though, having grown up with none of them what having some one, or several someones, fill those roles might be about.

Noelle leaned on the table, her cheek resting against her fist, and sighed.

"What's wrong, Sweetie?" Vanessa leaned over, her words slurred. She seemed to have forgotten about what she had told Noelle earlier. But then, Vanessa's memory isn't the best, Noelle thought. She wanted to tell her what was going on in her mind, but Noelle wasn't too sure herself. She was worried about what Asta was doing with Mimosa, and the worry made her feel guilty.

"Just bored." Noelle sat back and looked up at the ceiling. "I don't know. I guess I thought I would have more fun at this than I am."

Vanessa poured a glass half-full of wine and slid it over to Noelle.

"Drink with me." Vanessa smiled a lazy half-smile. Noelle stared at the golden liquid for a moment, looked at the older woman, and then back to the goblet. She shrugged, picked up the glass and sipped on the liquid.

A murmur went through the room, drawing both of their attentions.

As they looked over, they saw Yami walk into the room again. Though walk seemed the wrong word to Noelle. More like, he swaggered through the door. He had a tall blond woman under his arm, but from the distance, Noelle couldn't make out who it was. Vanessa, however, stiffened and excused herself. Noelle had to keep herself from chuckling as Vanessa fought with the chairs as she tried to stand and escape the room.

Yami couldn't help the grin on his face as he walked back into the ball with Charlotte beside him. He could feel the eyes of everyone on them, as well as her racing pulse and nervous trembling beneath his arm. He hadn't really wanted to come back to the ball, but she had convinced him with the promise of further exploration later. Well, that and one other condition-that she not hide. He could feel her turning toward him, trying to bury her face against him, but he kept propelling her forward into and through the crowd.

"No hiding remember?" He said in a husky whisper. Her cheeks were scarlet as she fought against her instinct. "Surpass your limits, Charlotte."

"Shut up." Her voice trembled as she nudged him playfully. Despite everything, she still smiled at him. He pulled her to him and kissed her. He thought she might fight him for making such a blatant show, but she melted against him, eager still for his touch. Her hands around his neck, playing with his hair, made him lose track of when and where he was. His hands on her narrow waist, spurred her on to deepen the contact. He was not entirely sure how long they stood there, kissing in front of everyone without a care in the world, but he refused to open his eyes for a moment when she came to her senses and pulled away from him. She didn't struggle, or fight, like she was ashamed, like he had feared she would when her rational mind took control once more. Instead, she lay her head against his shoulder.

"I'm so embarrassed." She whispered as she buried her face against his neck. He smiled as he rubbed her back. She took a deep breath before straightening and opening her eyes. She could do nothing for the redness in her cheeks, but he was also sort of happy she couldn't. It made how she felt incredibly obvious, and after their, uh, discussion, he was doing all he could to encourage her to be honest with herself and everyone else.

Movement off to the side drew his attention and Yami felt a wicked grin spread over his face. It was a toothy grin, the kind which would have made him drop his cigarette had he had one between his lips. Yami chuckled as he steered Charlotte toward one of their fellow captains.

"What are you doing?" She asked as she saw Yami's target was none other than the captain of the Silver Eagles.

"I'm gonna tell him." In their personal quest for some, uh, quiet space to... talk, Yami and Charlotte had stumbled upon an interesting sight involving Solid Silva.

"Don't you dare." Charlotte had been mortified when they opened the door to see a completely naked Solid strung up, practically floating on air, and left abandoned. The young man was weeping and begged for help. Yami and Charlotte looked at him for a moment before Yami closed the door. Yami had mentioned something about Vanessa's handiwork before he pulled her into another-this time empty-room.

"Oh, no, I'm gonna tell him." Yami chuckled. "I live for this shit."

Charlotte should have known better than to try and stop him. Truthfully, she also wanted to see Nozel's reaction.

"Hey, Mister Ball-o-Pride."

"What do you want, foreigner?" Nozel said as flatly as ever. His sister, Nebra, peeked around him from where she sat at the table, listening in on the conversation.

Yami clucked his tongue at the name.

Charlotte wondered if the pair would ever see eye to eye, or if they were actually more tolerating of each other than they let on. After all, Yami was in charge of Nozel's youngest sibling. And if Charlotte knew anything about Nozel, he cared about how his siblings behavior reflected on his family's name. She knew he might have no love for the youngest Silva, but he would not want her besmirching the family name. Which was exactly the reason she thought it a horrible idea to tell Nozel what they saw. It would be like watching a fireball go off in slow-motion. Charlotte was both terrified and fascinated by the idea.

"Are you missing something?" Yami grinned, opting to get straight to the point.

Nozel narrowed his eyes at Yami before flicking them to Charlotte. His gaze lingered at her unkempt hair and Yami's robe, jacket... thing over her shoulders.

"I'm not sure what you mean, but Lady Charlotte, you must rethink the company you keep."

"Where's your brother?" Yami hinted.

Nozel raised an eyebrow in confusion at the question.

Yami's grin broadened as Nozel started a frantic scan of the room before steering Charlotte away from the panicked royal. As they left, Charlotte could hear Nozel order his sister to search the palace for their wayward sibling.

"You're awful." Charlotte slipped her arm around Yami's waist and laid her head on his shoulder.

"And you're beautiful." He kissed the top of her head with a small contented smile. "Besides, I wager he was left there to be found."

Charlotte shook her head in exasperation before slipping from under his arm and stepping in front of him. They were on the edge of the dancefloor and the music seemed to beg for them to join in the chaos of movement. She could see the same pull in Yami's eyes. She didn't want to leave him, not yet; she wanted to take his hand and swirl away into the crowd and stay in their own world for a while longer. But she needed to check on things with her own squad. As much as the party was a safe event, as much as it was designed for them all to have fun, she could not help but feel a responsibility to make sure everyone was having as much fun as they could.

"I would love to dance with you." She answered his unspoken question.

"But..." He took her hand and brought it to his lips, brushing her knuckles against them.

"But I need to check on my kids."

He hung his head with a sigh.

"I should probably do the same. Besides, I owe Julius a drink." He drew her arms outward and pulled her against him, almost sinfully close and definitely too close by society's standards. He kissed her deeply and when he disappeared into the crowd, she was left swaying on her feet.

Charlotte stared after him for a moment until a voice behind her made her jump.

"All my hard work, gone." Mira said as she picked up one of the loose curls now hanging to Charlotte's shoulder. When Charlotte turned to her, Mira was fake pouting, but Charlotte could see the excitement behind her eyes. Charlotte rolled her eyes as she found her way to the table set aside for her squad. Mira took the seat next to her.

"I can put it back up if you want." Mira said, her fingers already dragging through the blond cascade. She started to twist the tresses back into the bun she had started the night with and stopped suddenly. She froze with Charlotte's hair still wrapped around her fingers.

"Don't you dare." Charlotte's voice was a breathy panicked whisper.

"Oh." Mira let the hair fall, but pushed it to one of Charlotte's shoulders. She touched a small purple bruise peeking out of the overcoat Charlotte now wore. "Looks like someone got a little frisky."

Charlotte flushed crimson, which made a garish contrast with the bruise. She pulled her hair to cover her neck back up.

"Please tell me you have more of those. Preferably in places that are typically more covered?" Mira whispered in excitement. "Does he have any? I need details." Mira's eyes gleamed with mischief.

Charlotte's only response was a deeper reddening of her cheeks and a grin she couldn't stop.

Vanessa could not stand it. She couldn't bear to see him with her, to watch him hold her, kiss her so casually, like they had been a couple for, well, ever. The room was suddenly too warm, too stuffy. She watched him say something to one of the other captains. It was then she noticed the woman was wearing his overcoat. She didn't know what it was called, even though he had told her. But that other woman wearing it set her blood boiling. She stood up and nearly fell flat on her ass as she tried to disentangle herself from the chair. Noelle snorted, but she didn't care who saw. She needed to get out.

She was nearly to the door leading to the balcony when someone caught her wrist. The touch wasn't forceful and it didn't try to grab her and pull her back in. It was just enough to have her check herself a moment. When she turned to the owner of the hand which had caught her, she found Finral's eyes. She saw a rare confidence in them.

"Dance with me?" He asked, his eyes firmly locked with hers for a moment. The moment was fleeting as he looked away. "I mean, if you want, of course. I know I'm not your first choice, but..." He rubbed the back of his head with his free hand. He tried to smile, but could not seem to manage it.

Vanessa's anger evaporated, at least a little. She glanced out at the dance floor, but could not find Yami anywhere on it. She looked around the room and eventually found him making his way to the dais where the Wizard King sat observing the evening's proceedings. She took a deep breath and tried to steady herself. She wondered how much she would remember of this in the morning. Not much, she hoped, but she feared she would remember it all.

"Sure, Finral. It's supposed to be a party right?" She returned his smile, but like his, it masked the turmoil she felt. She let him lead her to the dancefloor. He seemed hesitant as he put his hand on her waist, but quickly they were moving to the music. She was surprised to find him a skilled dancer. As they spun and dipped, twirled and stepped in time with the music, Vanessa felt herself relax a bit. Who needed Yami? She told herself. He had obviously made his decision and she certainly was not going to let herself get hung up on a guy who clearly did not want her. As she looked into Finral's eyes, she felt the smile on her face become more and more real.

"You know, there are a ton of guys who would love to dance with you, Vanessa."

"Are you one of them?"

"I am enjoying myself. And I have to admit, after seeing you tonight, not sharing a dance with you was one thing I would have regretted. So thank you."

She noticed he had to look up slightly to meet her eyes, but he did not seemed bothered by it in the least. She chuckled.

"How have your other conquests been going?" She winked at him which made him roll his eyes and groan.

"Not so well."

"Shot down, huh?"

"At every turn."

Vanessa felt her bottom lip pout outward in sympathy for his miserable expression.

"Don't worry, Finral, Big Sister is always here for you." She kissed him on the cheek, which made his breath catch.

"Don't' do that."

"Do what?"

"Tease me."

"If you insist." Vanessa gave him a wicked grin before kissing him on the mouth. She could feel him slipping deeper into the kiss, wanting so desperately a connection. She draped her arms over his shoulders, holding him close. When he pulled away from her, she was surprised.

"Dammit, Vanessa. Don't do that."

She giggled and tapped her index finger on the tip of his nose.

"Sorry." She resumed the proper form for the dance, but she leaned in to whisper to him. "But you looked like you needed it."

"Just... geez, just ask first next time?"

"So?"

"What?"

"Was it good?"

"Yeah." Finral blushed as Vanessa giggled again and they entered the swirl of dancers once more.

"I thought you had forgotten about me." Julius grinned as Yami joined him on the dais. "You certainly seemed occupied earlier."

Julius chuckled as a huge grin spread across his protege's face. He watched memories play out on Yami's face.

"You look like the cat who ate the canary, Yami."

"Those are the yellow birds right?"

Julius nodded and then watched as Yami's eyes sought out a certain blond haired woman across the room.

"Sounds about right." Yami forced his gaze from her and back to the man who had changed his life. Julius looked at him and shook his head.

"I didn't need to know that." He looked out over the crowd once more. "So did you tell her?"

"Tell her what?"

"How you feel, how you've felt."

"Fuck no. We just messed around a little is all."

"The way you two walked back in here you looked way more like a couple than two people who had just been messing around."

Yami grunted as he reached for a piece of bread.

"We haven't really talked about it. But, I dunno, maybe. I guess I wouldn't mind seeing how things played out. I definitely wouldn't mind seeing her again."

Julius watched his young friend as Yami continued to glance at the woman who had long ago stolen his heart. Julius smiled in his knowing. He knew a great many things, could see a great many futures built on choices of the past. It was his gift, and his curse. And he knew what was coming for him, for all of them. And he knew the best possible outcomes all shared a couple of things in common: Asta and the anti-magic swords, his death at the hands of one of his own (he wasn't too keen on knowing that, but knowing it also allowed him time to find peace with it), and a deep love between those two. He didn't know why Yami and Charlotte being together was so important, but he knew the day he met Yami on the beach that the young man had a destiny to fulfill, and a role to play. Even if Yami hated the idea of destiny and fate.

But Julius had been careful and kept his secrets to himself. Even now, as the time drew ever closer, Julius still had hope things would work out for the best.

Of course, fate would not stop him from teasing his love-struck junior. And as much as Yami might try to deny it, Julius could tell he was in love.

"So, when's the wedding? I expect an invitation."

Yami paused midway to taking a drink and Julius was awarded with the rare sight of his protege blushing.

"Shut up, Julius."

The Wizard King simply laughed into his own cup.

The music slowed down and the frantic dances gave way to romantic swaying. Noelle found herself seated at the table again, bored. Vanessa and Finral were dancing, which made her smile. Charmy was still at the buffet table, though her friend had passed out. Magna and Luck were still talking in low tones too quietly for her to hear. She wasn't sure she wanted to know what they were talking about anyway. And Gray and Gauche were sitting against the wall together, both watching the dancefloor, but neither making a move towards it.

Noelle was starting to think it was a bad idea to come when Asta appeared next to her. She felt her heart race at his mere presence, and it practically stopped when he took her hand. She could feel it shaking as he sat down next to her.

"Asta, what?" She started to protest his forwardness, but when she saw his face, her mock anger turned to worry. "What's wrong?

"I..." He wrinkled his eyebrows together, but the expression did little to hid the haunted look in his eyes. "I dunno." He was uncharacteristically quiet. Noelle knew something was wrong. Somehow, Asta had been, well, broken was the only word she could think of to describe his current state.

She had never seen him cry before, or look anything remotely like how he looked at that moment. She had seen him happy, determined, focused. He always seemed to channel those feelings and to pass them on to others. She had never thought to see the look of devastation and ruin that was now on his face.

"Where've you been? I was hoping to try teaching you to dance again." She felt his entire body stiffen at the suggestion. She was going to figure out what was wrong.

"Mimosa was teaching me." His voice was a whisper for him-which was to say, normal speaking tone for anyone else. "But then she... She did things, Noelle. Things I wasn't ready for."

When Mimosa had admitted her infatuation with Asta, Noelle had never thought her meek cousin would actually act on those feelings, but slowly the puzzle started to take shape. Asta, for his part, was too hung up on his obsession with the nun who raised him to give anyone else the time of day. He barely noticed the existence of other women, which had frustrated Noelle a great deal of the last few months. But Noelle would never force Asta to do anything against his will. She cared about him too much, even if she wanted him to see her in the way she saw him.

She should have known better about other women though after that hussy Rebecca kissed him. She was surprised to know her cousin was just as forward as the common girl. The behavior was unbecoming of someone of royal blood. There were rules and procedures to follow, or so she had been taught. Though thinking about it now, Noelle wondered if she had been taught merely out of a need to keep her isolated. She wouldn't put such a thing past her brother.

She took her hand out of Asta's and pulled him to her in a hug. He stiffened at the touch but then relaxed as Noelle just held him.

"I mean on one hand it was, I guess it felt good. I never thought of having anyone's mouth there. But the way she touched me, I couldn't help how my body reacted."

Noelle could hear the panic in his voice, and the shame. She stroked her fingers through his hair and murmured to him in dulcet tones, telling him that everything will be alright.

But her eyes searched for her cousin on the dancefloor. The girl would be lucky to leave the event in one piece, Noelle thought.

Asta's trembling slowly subsided as she held him and stroked his hair.

"That feels good." he mumbled, his eyes pressed into her shoulder. Noelle could feel warm tears leaking from them onto her skin. "Reminds me of how Sister Lily used to sit with me when I was hurt. Or with Yuno when he was sick."

Noelle frowned at the comparison. True, she wasn't quite ready to admit her feelings for Asta just yet; she even had trouble recognizing them herself sometimes. But something about reminding him of the nun he was infatuated with did not quite sit right with her. She stiffened and her breath caught when his arms snaked around her waist. She wondered if he knew how she felt, if his new ki reading ability made everything she tried to hide blatantly visible. She let out a deep breath to clear her head. Of course not, she thought, he's not Stupidsta for nothing.

But she found herself smiling at the idea that she didn't have to come out and tell him for him to know.

And maybe, she thought, being compared to Sister Lily wasn't a bad thing.

He lifted his head from her shoulder and met her with his confident, some might say cocky, smile. She could see a glistening sheen on his green eyes, but otherwise, the Asta she knew and loved was back.

"Thanks Noelle. If you still want to dance, I think I'd like to try again."

Noelle met his smile and held her hand out. He placed his hand in hers and they walked together to the dancefloor. As she looked into his eyes and started to walk him through the steps of the dance, she realized she was ready to be patient with him.

Let Mimosa and Rebecca steal his affection or force his hand, she thought, but I'll be the one he turns to by choice, when he wakes up and realizes Sister Lily is not an option.

Nozel Silva was furious.

What had meant to be a simple, enjoyable night had turned into a catastrophe.

And it all started with the Black Bulls showing up.

He had caught the look the Black Bulls witch had given his brother, and he knew Solid was far too weak to resist her charms. His brother might be a sadistic bastard who liked to play with people, but he was also far too easily caught up in his games to realize when he had been outmatched.

And the witch had clearly outmatched him from the first glance. She had known what she was doing and had played his idiot brother like the fool he was.

Nozel was grateful Nebra had a good head on her shoulders, though he thought his sister a little too lax in her personality for any sort of command. Still, should something happen to him, Nozel thought Nebra would make a better replacement than Solid should the need arise.

And of course, Yami of all people had to bring his missing brother to his attention. Nozel knew the foreigner would not taunt him with no reason-thought sometimes it seemed even the smallest possible reason was enough. And for him to being Charlotte into it as well? Nozel closed his eyes and took a deep breath in an effort to maintain his air of calm.

He might be boiling beneath the surface, but he would not give anyone the satisfaction of seeing him crack.

"Nebra, go find your brother. He's been gone too long." Nozel scanned the room and saw the Black Bulls witch on the dance floor with someone else. He pressed his lips into a thin line. He turned to her as she started to protest.

"Brother, it's a party. I'm sure he's just off having fun somewhere." Nebra said before gasping at the intensity of Nozel's eyes.

"Nebra, go. Now." The seriousness of the situation must have been evident in his voice because Nebra dropped all argument immediately and scurried out of the room. Nozel drummed his fingers on the table, anxious for his wayward younger sibling to be returned to him. He would reprimand Solid later, but now he had to be certain the young idiot had done nothing to besmirch the House of Silva.

"I swear, sometimes he is as bad as Noelle."