For some odd reason, Asta was not feeling the greatest on his wedding day.
Weddings were supposed to be special. A special time spent between two families coming together and enjoying such an amazing occasion. It was a joyous occasion where you were supposed to be happy. Keyword supposed to be. He felt down for some sort of reason like he was dreading this. Anxious at saying his vows, fearing saying I do, and of course he was terrified of seeing Noelle. What would be the look on her face when she saw that he was now a married man? When did she see them getting married and living in happiness that should've been with her?
He just...didn't know what to do. He couldn't let down Mimosa and now he was defiantly sure that Noelle hated him. And she had a right to. He cheated on Mimosa and made her the accessory. Sure, she shouldn't have probably kissed back but she loved him for damn's sake! When you love someone, there are certain things that you can't control.
Either way though here it was, the long-awaited day, dressed in a white suit, staring in the mirror, just waiting for their ceremony to finally begin. The door opens, and Asta looks towards it to only be met with Yuno.
"Hey," Asta says, his eyes shooting back to the mirror.
"Hey," Yuno says, sighing just a bit. Asta knew for a fact that Yuno was mad at him. Still. He hadn't told him what happened between him and Noelle to make them not talk again and he was going through with marrying Mimosa.
"You know," Yuno begins. "The weddings starting in five minutes, it's not too late to back out of this."
Asta sighs. "I can't do that. Mimosa has family here, I have family here and-"
"It's not about everyone here Asta. It's about you, and if you don't want to marry and make a commitment to Mimosa you don't have to. I'm going to be crisp and clear with you. You love Noelle and that's okay! I don't know what happened between you two but get over it. You're miserable here. It's okay to reject her now, isn't that better than getting a divorce six months later?"
"I just can't Yuno! Mimosa helped me through a lot! I owe her so much and...and..." Asta's words get stuck in his mouth. He didn't know what to say. What was he supposed to say? Sure Mimosa had helped him through a lot, and, at a point and time he loved her a lot but now, in his mind, in his head, all that was there was Noelle. All inside of him she resonated. She stayed there, rent-free. Her smiles, her tears, her happiest moments, her saddest, all of them were bounded of him. Bounded with him, forever and always.
Just like they were supposed to be. He proposed to Noelle, they were supposed to get married, live together, maybe have children...his future always resided with her. It didn't matter that she left him, it didn't matter that in less than five minutes he'd be married, all that mattered was right now, which was currently the present, that'd he fight for her, he'd fight for them. For their past, present, and of course for their future.
"Alright," Asta says, his hands running through his hair.
"Cancel the wedding,"
4 Years Earlier
After being deployed for practically two years, both Asta and Noelle would be heading home for a short while. With their military savings, the two had been moved in with each other, buying an apartment together a year after actively being in the military. Although they weren't there a lot, they lived there happily whenever they weren't deployed or on break. For the first time in a while though, the two were deployed together for a whole month. Being in the military and not being married meant they weren't together a lot. Asta did things away from her and so did Noelle. To be completely honest, they had more benefits being married than they did while single, they just didn't want to rush things. While on one hand, it could make them closer, on the other, it could be the downfall of their relationship.
They didn't want to take a chance on that. Noelle was practically the best thing that happened to him, although he'd never tell Yuno that. She was an amazing friend and girlfriend and genuinely, until recently, it didn't dawn on him that coming up soon, Noelle would be his girlfriend of five years. Five years is how long they'd been together, which was truly a huge milestone for them both. It'd be a special occasion, or at least Asta wanted it to be one. Something extraordinary and unforgettable, something that they'd stay in not just her mind, but both of their minds together...
He didn't want Noelle to be his girlfriend anymore.
While titles didn't mean a lot, he knew that this title would mean so much to both of them. He wanted her to be something much more exceptional than a girlfriend and indeed...fiancee sounded 100 times better. He was even more sure that being called his wife would sound 1000 times greater. Making Noelle his soon-to-be wife was a priority, something he'd make sure to handle before they were deployed again. Which meant, he'd take care of it this month, close to their anniversary.
"I want to propose to Noelle soon," Asta said to Yuno one afternoon.
Yuno gives a soft hum, nodding his head. "I'm sure she'd enjoy that. You two have been together for a while.....you want me to help you plan this out, don't you?" Yuno questions, finally realizing why his friend had asked him this.
"Yeah sort of,"
And so, proposal planning commenced. Asta's idea was to take it back to where things began for them, not at their boarding school of course, instead, at the beach. That was their particular place, their special place. What way to make it even more special than proposing there?
He had already thought of a proposal idea, all that was now left was choosing a ring. Noelle liked extravagant and expensive stuff, but nothing never too expensive. She had grown up inside of a rich household where everything was costly and frankly, she didn't want to be that type of person. They had talked about this before, and she had always told him it didn't matter, only being married to him did. Still, though, Asta did want the best for her, and searching for a ring just for her was hard.
In the end, he had found a pretty perfect ring. It was a victorian opal ring cut as an oval with studded diamonds across it, the best part of it was the butterfly cuts all across it with diamonds inside of them. As soon as Asta saw it he just had to buy it. Not only was it gorgeous, but it also gave into their little saying of being each other's butterflies of happiness that they caught. He knew it'd mean a lot to her.
Suddenly though, Asta decided that just wasn't enough and so the rest of the day goes to sitting in a tattoo shop.
The day of the proposal, and also the day of their anniversary comes right around the corner. Everything was already set in stone. A preplanned picnic that would soon turn into a proposal.
Noelle had awoken that morning, particularly in a pretty good mood. She had turned to face him in bed, and despite any complaints of typically 'morning breath' she stayed there cuddled next to him and planting kisses on his face. When Asta had awoken next, Noelle's hands were in his air, finger-combing through the messiness. "Morning Dorksta," she smiles, giving him a quick peck on the lips. Asta's hands immediately go to around her waist.
"Happy five years!" Asta says as soon as they break apart.
Noelle's the first to pout. "I was supposed to be first to say it. I was even up first thinking about it and all!" Asta just laughs. "Well then, you'll just have to do it first next year,"
"If there's gonna be a next year," Noelle says, playfully rolling her eyes.
Asta however, pouts at this. "What do you mean "if?" he questions.
Noelle just laughs at that. "It was a joke," she says, sitting up and climbing out of the bed before Asta could lay any more hands on her. "Now get up so we can get our day started. Don't you have plans for me?"
And indeed, he did have many plans for her.
The first thing the two do is brush their teeth together. Noelle's the first to finish and heads to shower, which quickly turns from a single shower to the two of them together. You can only guess what happens during the said shower.
Practically an hour later they're making a light breakfast which included just eggs and bacon and of course hot chocolate. Their plans weren't till six when the sun went down, so for the rest of the day they were chill, laid up together watching tv which eventually turned into... 'other' things.
Around four is when they began getting ready, taking another shower. Noelle blow-dried her hair before putting it in a half up half down hairstyle with a purple scrunchy that matched the purple dress she'd be wearing today. The dress was a mid-thigh purple lace dress with mid-length sleeves that flared. Asta wore black pants with a regular plain red button-up shirt. After getting dressed, the two-headed straight to their destination.
"Isn't this oddly familiar?" Noelle questions, a smile on her face as she sees the place.
"Is it? I don't remember..." Asta says, playing along.
The two remembered clearly what this was though. They'd never forget this place. It wasn't where their first date was or when they decided on finally becoming boyfriend and girlfriend, but it was where they professed their love for each other and actually said the L-word. It was also where they first dived into their sexual feelings for each other.
"We were complete idiots for having sex here," Noelle says, cringing a bit. "Really? You think so?" Asta questions, taking a seat on the laid-out picnic blanket. "I know so," Noelle says, sighing while taking a seat next to him.
"But if that were the case, this would never be our special place,"
"Well...true," Noelle says.
The two dive into the basket, pulling out and eating the food that's in it. Their conversations aren't awkward, but Asta sure as hell is scared. Sure he had decided on proposing here? But when? Forty minutes into their date they were done eating, and now Noelle stood ready for a walk on the shore of the beach. The sun had long gone and set, revealing the dark sky with a mixture of reds, oranges, yellow's, and purples.
"My feet are killing me!" Noelle complains, whining.
"Who told you to wear heels?"
"I just wanted to look good for my boyfriend!" she smiles.
Noelle removes her heels, now walking barefooted on the shoreline of the beach. Her hand intertwines with Asta's, who gives her a firm reassuring squeeze. "Should we go play in the waves?" Noelle asks, pointing towards the ocean. "Yeah...but, before that, I have to show you something," Asta says.
He lets go of her hand, his hands unbuttoning his shirt. Noelle stares at him, confused, all until his shirts open wide, revealing his chest. Her eyes widen in disbelief, and her hands self consciously trace around the area. She lets out a gasp. "You didn't!" she says, a hand going over her mouth. And Asta just nods, smiling with his signature grin. "I did!" he says.
The tattoo he had gotten of her, in honor of her. She was his everything and forever, it only made sense for something of her to be a part of him. The tattoo was a butterfly, a purple and silver one. Those special colors reminded him of her. Under the butterfly tattoo was her name: Noelle Silva, written in cursive. Noelle was amazed and in awe. He loved her so, so much to get a tattoo of her?
"I-it's beautiful but why...?"
"You know better than asking that," he says, playfully rolling his eyes. "Noelle Silva, you're my favorite person, my one and only, my forever, my whole heart, my butterfly full of happiness that I somehow caught. I knew you were the one I'd always want to be with when we first bumped into each other that day. When you insulted and called me an insect. Without you, I'm sure my days would be so much darker. You've brightened them all, you've brightened everything. Things aren't always perfect between us, but when we're together everything's right. I'm so thankful for you being in my life..." Asta pauses, his hand going to wipe Noelle's beginning to form tears.
"I love you, so, so much. As the days go forward I can't picture myself liking anybody else, loving anyone else, being with anyone else. You're the only one I see in my future. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Forever and always, and forever doesn't even amount to how long I want to be with you. Eternally, to infinity, past our deaths, endlessly, everlastingly, our love will be timeless," he says, his hand going to the box in his pocket and pulling it out. Asta gets down on one knee, opening the box and revealing the ring.
"Noelle Silva, make me the happiest man alive today. Will you marry me?"
Noelle wipes away any stray tears as a smile plays onto her face.
"You're so cheesy...of course I'll marry you Dorksta," she says, letting him slide the ring onto her finger.
She wraps her arms around his neck, pulling him into a hug. "I love you so much," she whispers, not for anyone else but for him, her best friend, her fiancee, her soon-to-be husband, her forever, her timeless love of her life.
Back to Present
Noelle had sat there waiting and waiting for the wedding to begin. She had already made up in her mind that they'd be getting married. That she would lose Asta. That her telling him that she still loved him wasn't enough and didn't amount up to enough, or at least not as much as he loved Mimosa. She was sad, but she decided that things were over between them.
So, she waited for it to begin. It was only delayed at first, for thirty minutes. Those thirty minutes quickly turned into an hour. After the hour had passed, no one was talking about delays anymore, they began talking about cancellations. Noelle tried to stay hopeful. Maybe one of them had gotten sick or hurt...? She had never been the type to wish badly onto others but now of all times, she had finally acknowledged that Asta was happy with someone else. She was wishing him the best as always.
"Do you know what happened?" Noelle questions Yuno nervously. "You look nervous...you shouldn't be. Asta's canceling the wedding. He doesn't want to get married to Mimosa anymore,"
"Why...?"
"Why else? For you Noelle, duh."
A/N: Shorter chapter, next one should be def be longer!
See you all then!!!
~Jas