Noelle was a grown woman, who shouldn't be bothered by things that her big brother or sister said. She knew that.

Noelle was invited to this ceremony, by her own merits as a Magic Knight. She knew that.

Noelle's magic, her fighting prowess, and so much more had been acknowledged by people who were so much more incredible than Solid and Nebra combined: Captain Yami, Captain Fuegoleon, Asta. She knew, so why was she outside in the cold, probably getting dirt on her nice dress and making her makeup run with tears?

She didn't know why she expected anything different. No matter how hard she worked, apparently it didn't even matter if the damn Wizard King acknowledged her. Her siblings just didn't care.

Still, Noelle hadn't had a good cry in a long while. Just sobbing, not caring how she looked, or who saw her. She let loose, all of her sadness, anger, and hopelessness from her 19 years of life bubbling over as she cried.

Eventually, her sobs morphed into coughing, then wheezing and gagging, but at that point she was too far gone. She could hardly breathe as years of pain played through her mind, unable to stop herself from remembering her childhood torment.

"Hey, hey, come on. Deep breaths." Asta was suddenly right in front of her, hands on her shoulders, coaching her breathing. "Iiiiiin, ouuuut." It took a while, but Noelle eventually got her breathing under control.

"Thanks."

"What happened in there? You and Finral were behind me one second and the next you were gone and he was storming away."

Noelle thought back. "My brother, he-" another shaky sob "-later?" Asta nodded, putting his hand on her head. Then Noelle noticed how close he was.

He was dressed so nicely, but that made sense, he was one of the guests of honor. Noelle's brain went back to the mission that they were being awarded for, along with Finral, Mimosa, Yuno, and Klaus. No one expected it to be as dangerous as it ended up being, but they were still able to complete it.

Noelle was the only one standing at one point-until Mimosa healed Asta enough that he could move and lay the finishing blow on their enemy.

"Noelle is the only reason the mission was a success! We all would have died if not for her, and she almost died protecting the rest of us!" Noelle tried to stop Finral talking back to her brother, knowing that the only way they stopped was if you ignored them.

"She should have just dropped dead then, isn't that right?" Solid grabbed a thick lock of Noelle's hair and pulled hard. "After all, you're just a failure, Noelle." She pulled her head back, a few strands of hair coming out in her brother's fist, and ran.

Asta had gotten even closer, trying to pull her back into the present. She got lost in his emerald-green eyes, filled with concern for her wellbeing, and then she hooked her arms around his neck.

"Kiss me."

"What?" It wasn't like they hadn't kissed before, Asta was just confused. Why now, while Noelle could still barely breathe? Noelle, on the other hand, seemed to take it in a negative manner.

Of course he doesn't, Noelle! You probably look like a mess right now, not to mention you're covered in dirt.

In Noelle's inner turmoil, she didn't register Asta saying, "okay, if that's what you want," after his initial shock until his lips were pressed against hers. The first kiss ended quickly, but they were only apart for a moment.

As they kissed, Noelle started to cry, something that Asta noticed after only a few seconds.

"Noelle, are you okay?"

The girl nodded and laid her face against his chest, now that he was sitting on the ground as well. Asta started to weave his hand through her now loose hair, as he often did, before she groaned in pain when his fingers caught a knot.

"It hurt?" Asta was surprised, as Noelle was used to tugging at her long hair whenever it got tangled.

"I've got a bit of a headache already. Solid pulled it pretty hard and I was crying—"

"He pulled your hair?" Asta seemed infuriated, eyes drifting up to the building as if Noelle's bother could see his glare from there. Part of her hoped Solid could feel the malice from wherever he was inside.

"He did. Right in between telling me I should be dead and telling me that I'm a failure." Noelle chuckled dryly, used to the hopelessness that was dealing with Solid Silva.

Asta on the other hand, didn't find it funny at all. If Noelle wasn't basically on his lap, Asta would have already barged back in, waving his swords straight at Solid.

Still he stopped himself, because Noelle was calm now, breathing slowly in and out.

"You're not a failure, Noelle. And I know more than a few people who would be really damn upset if you were gone. Fuck what he thinks."

"You really think so?" It was the quietest thing he'd heard her say all day.

"I know so. So many people care about you Noelle," he hugged her tighter, the idea of what her brother did to her plaguing his mind, "I care about you."

"I know I should just ignore him, but it's hard. They're the only family I have."

"Yeah, they're your blood family," Asta wiped her tears and cupped her face with his hands, "but all of us, The Black Bulls, we're your family too. And we'll never hurt you like that." Noelle felt so silly. He was right. She couldn't change the way her siblings acted, but they weren't her family. She had a family that loved her, and that she loved right back.

"You're right," she smiled at him, eyes still glistening from tears, but still a genuinely happy smile, "and speaking of that family, we should go find Finral and get out of here." They both got up and dusted themselves off.

They interlocked their hands and when they found Finral, the three of them went back to the Black Bulls hideout, throwing themselves a party that was exponentially more fun than the one in the capital, passing out tired after a few hours, but happy.