Darksteel

Chapter 32; Hot chocolate and silent reading

That evening, surrounded by the warm glow of the glass orbs in the library, Asta, Blue, and Nico made their way through the maze of shelves, their eyes scanning over the large, leather volumes till they came across several that satisfied their interest.

After choosing their novels, they had then hauled the books up to their favorite tree and had gathered warm, woolen blankets and fluffy pillows to make a sort of nest. And once that was finished, Nico had run down to the kitchen to fetch three cups of steaming hot chocolate and a plate of cookies, much to the boys' delight.

It was wonderful, to say the least.

Closing his eyes, Asta took a sip of the warm, creamy liquid, feeling the bitter tang of chocolate rest on his tongue.

From here, he was acutely aware of Nico laying beside him; their feet nearly entertwined, their bodies not quite touching. Yet despite that, she did not seemed concerned in the slighest, however, and kept on reading as if she could not tell how close they were.

Blue was oblivious to it all.

Turning his attention outside, Asta saw that snow was softly falling, coating everything in a fluffy blanket of white. And while it was cold out there, it was quite warm in the library. A bit TOO warm if you asked him but it was not as if HE was going to complain.

Yet othe than that, the evening went on with little interruption other than the distant sound of Adar being scolded by Mr.Potter for bringing a snow Monster inside... even if it WAS just for a joke.

Eventually, though, Blue went off to bed and left Asta and Nico in the nest of blankets in the tree-- the entire ordeal making Asta feel as though his heart might very well beat out of his rib cage from nervousness.

That really would be the final straw, now wouldn't it?

For a moment, neither one of them said anything, simply enjoying the other's company and the soft sound of turning pages. Yet even silence in good company is still silence, and eventually Asta felt like he couldn't stand it anymore.

"I wonder how Adar managed to get the snow Monster inside." he said suddenly, hoping his voice did not give away how nervous he felt being left alone with a girl. And for the first time, no doubt.

But if Nico knew of his worries, she gave no voice to them and simply laughed goodnaturedly, replying, "He probably made Jin carry it." 

"He probably deserved it..."

After that, they spoke of many things, with Asta slowly feeling as if he were beginning to calm down and wondering if the soothing lilt of Nico's voice had something to do with it. In fact, he had nearly completely calmed down when suddenly the topic of Graduation was brought up and the mood immediately darkened around them.

"Asta..." Nico suddenly said, her voice serious as the grave.

Blinking at her, Asta noticed the tears in her eyes that were not quite spilled, the way her shoulders sagged, and just how scared she looked at the mention of the day.

Finally, he couldn't stand it any longer and gently cupped her face in his hand, running his thumb over her smooth skin. 

Granted, it was a bold move and for a moment he was worried that she might bite him or worse; turn away. But much to his relief, she did not and instead rested her cheek against him palm.

"Asta, if I don't make it through Graduation," she began, her voice shaky, "Will you please look after Blue? The other boys aren't as nice as the rest of the Iron Guild and Blue needs someone and..."

Softly, Asta raised her face so her eyes met his. "Listen to me. You are NOT going to fail Graduation; I won't let you." he paused for a moment, then sighed, "But I WILL look after Blue, just in case."