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He didn't know when it started - the idea that she might not be human - but now, he really thought it might be true. It probably started with some abstract observation Vanessa made about her ill-defined lineage, or maybe Magna tossed the idea around after their brush with the people of the Underwater Temple who swore up and down she was connected to their goddess. Hell, maybe even Finral's note about her unique interactions with the ancient sea creatures in the strong magic region caused the rumors to start. Whatever the source of the rumors were, Asta couldn't deny that now, in this moment, he believed them. Yet he also believed that none of the rumors were sufficient to explain just how not-human she was.
Because it wasn't just that she wasn't human, it was that there was no way Noelle Silva could be human.
Asta's eyes carefully followed the slow movement of her hands as they gripped the edges of her dress and began to pull upwards. Was he a little biased because of his situation? Maybe. But that did little to change the fact that as the soft lavender fabric was pulled aside and more and more of her silk-like skin was exposed to him in the falling twilight, Asta felt like he was looking at something dangerous and divine. Because no human had the right to be as dignified as Noelle; no human had the right to be as frightening as Noelle; no human had the right to be as powerful as Noelle.
And no human certainly had the right to be as beautiful as she was right now.
Knees locked on either side of his waist that kept him pinned to the bed and violet eyes that cut him to the bone. Asta's shirt had been taken off some time ago but even half-clothed he felt brutally naked under her gaze. Her amethyst eyes easily and painstakingly traced along every curve of his muscles and every ridge of his scars like they all belonged to her. Like he belonged to her. Because he did.
He'd realized that some time ago, the first time they'd done this. The first time they'd come together in ways both thought unimaginable. It had been awkward - painfully so at times - with a lot of apologies and laughter but when it had finally happened it was just…
Holy. She had been holy. Face burning red underneath him while she pleaded out his name in whimpers and he fumbled his way into a messy rhythm—that was the moment Asta knew he was hers forever. That was the moment he had finally understood what everyone else meant when they postulated that Noelle might've been more than human. And it went downhill from there.
As time passed and they grew closer and closer, Asta found himself enraptured by the royal he'd known for so long. It had been an all-together too-long process for him to move on from his childhood crush and realize who had been standing beside him since he'd become a Magic Knight. But even after he had realized the way Noelle felt for him (and begun to recognize some latent and repressed feelings within himself) the water mage had insisted on taking things slow. She wanted to make sure Asta's affections for her weren't some half-assed attempt at moving on from Sister Lily—that his feelings for Noelle were genuine and true. The royal wanted to make sure she wasn't a distraction or second choice. While Asta didn't really understand how someone could ever dedicate themselves to someone as a "distraction", he respected her request.
For six months they did nothing but talk, spend time together, and get to really know each other. Shopping, eating, recreation, training—they did everything together and for the first time in his life, Asta had begun to feel nervous around Noelle. Because every day that passed proved to him that, piece by piece, he was falling head over heels for her. Where once conversation came effortlessly to him, he now stuttered and burned bright red wishing her a good morning. Where once being around her felt normal and easy, he now fidgeted because there was something new and exciting about being near her. As the days passed, Asta began to realize that he wasn't in the presence of a mere human, no, he was in the presence of an angel.
The way the light caught in her eyes and flowed through her hair. The way her presence was always noticed and felt no matter what setting she was in. The way she composed herself with an aura of dignity and authority like she knew how much she was worth. It was striking to the anti-mage when he finally realized that he'd been fighting and living alongside something more than human this entire time. It was even more awesome that said angel was in love with him.
The only hard part about those six months was the lack of contact. Noelle insisted they limit how often they physically touched - something about making sure that Asta loved all of her (and some self limitations on her end, he later found out) - and while that sounded easy enough, it hadn't been. The anti-mage was physically affectionate by nature so it caught him off guard at how frequently he had to catch himself from grabbing her hand while they strolled through town eating ice cream or stop himself from slinging an arm around her shoulders while they played cards with the rest of the Bulls in the hideout. The royal occasionally broke her own rule (a blessing in Asta's eyes), like the time they sat atop a hill watching fireworks and she let her head fall onto his shoulder, or the time she let him rest his head in her lap after a particularly rough workout and let him fall asleep there while her fingers worked through his hair. Little moments like that became sacred to the ash-blond, and by the time their six months stretch was over and Noelle asked him if he really did want to date her or not he had to refrain from kissing the angel right on the spot.
The six months following, however, had been anything but hands off, and they certainly weren't slow.
Asta learned early on that the big reason for the restriction on physical contact had predominantly been a restraint for Noelle, not him. Within a week of them beginning to date they were making out on her bed—pressed into the sheets and giddily exploring every curve and angle of each other's bodies. Within a month they were pushing the boundary—wandering hands directed with needy pleading and desperate requests. On Asta's birthday, nearly four months after they'd begun dating, they took it all the way; burning faces, awkward apologies, and all. It was exhilarating and novel, but most of all it was revealing. Because in those moments that were becoming more common by the day, Asta was waking up more and more to that theory that hung over Noelle like a shroud of mystery: that she might not be entirely human. That she might be celestial or divine.
As the angel above him finished removing his clothes, the emerald-eyed man couldn't help but feel like those rumors undersold that truth by miles. A pale-skinned celestial in amber twilight, eyes hooded with need, love, and something a bit darker, and a burning so deep in his chest that it threatened to burn a hole in his flesh. A divine being descended from heaven to demand worship and devotion—that's what Noelle Silva was. Asta had learned that truth from that first blissful engagement and ever since then had been dedicating himself to acknowledging that reality every single time they came together afterwards. She wasn't an angel - angels weren't supposed to be this frightening and exciting - she was something more.
As her hands ran over his chest and her back arched as she finally connected them, Asta's mind went blank. His train of thought was interrupted as his entire body focused solely on not blacking out at the sensation that never grew old. His hands found her waist and within seconds they were rolling together to a beautiful place. One they'd been to countless times before and one Asta hoped he never had to say goodbye to. With one look into her amethyst orbs, the man knew the celestial above him felt the same way.
And in that moment Asta decided to let their friends and squadmates have their rumors and mysteries. He'd let them theorize and postulate and guess as to what the royal's enigmatic beginnings entailed about her being, but he'd never share the truth. He'd never let them in on the secret he'd been granted access to by her. The secret that made everything about her magnetic and majestic.
That Noelle Silva wasn't a human nor was she an angel. She couldn't be.
Not when she was already a goddess.