Archive of Our Own ^beta

If you asked Finral, he would place the blame on the combined shoulders of Captain Yami, Magna, and the Black Bull’s resident psycho berserker, Luck. (He said the word ‘psycho’ with love, but also he empathized, psycho ). 

It was Yami who had assigned the mission to Asta, Magna, and Luck. A horrible triad, if you asked Finral. Sure they’d be great hype-guys but there wasn’t a level head found between them. All of them were rambunctious guys, and typically that wasn’t a bad thing when they were paired with someone who could tell them to take a step back. Unfortunately, Yami chose the three literal worst people for the mission. 

Out of the three, Asta was the level head.

Asta . 

Not only was Asta the youngest of them, but he was also the first to throw himself into danger at any given opportunity. Even on rare occasions, he knew something was going too far (Captain Jack and Yami’s battles from the Star Festival coming to mind) it usually took mass destruction for him to realize as much. 

They were sent to investigate a dungeon, a typical mission if there ever was one. 

Finral likes to believe that if he had been there when the mission had been being given out, he would have said something to change the team. Noelle would be a level head, Vanessa too (that is if she wasn’t drinking on the mission, which would have a whole other fiasco in itself), hell Finral himself would even have gone.

But alas, no. He hadn’t been around and now here they were.

Apparently, some artifact in the dungeon had done something to Asta. When Finral first heard the message, he’d been frightened. There was an array of different things those old artifacts of doom could cause. Poison, injuries, curses, instantaneous combustion . Sure Asta had anti-magic but how much could the kid take? At what extent did it protect him?

According to Magna, he and Luck had been competing over something or another (Finral couldn’t be bothered to remember another one of their many competitions) when they heard something shatter. Then they had found Asta. 

When they first arrived back and Finral had first heard the ruckus, he was confused to say the very least. 

He heard Magna shout. “He’s trying to run again! The slippery little bugger!” This had led Finral to believe Asta had turned into an actual bug . What he found turned out to be far worse. 

Swept into Luck’s arms was a tiny little boy. Tiny . A version of Asta that was even shorter than the one they’d known for so long now, a toddler version of their friend and guildmate. Finral didn’t know enough children to give a proper guess to his age. 

Asta had enough dexterity to be walking (attempting to run away, to be more precise) instead of crawling, which Finral soon found was more of a bad thing than good. 

“You haven’t been electrocuting him, haveya?” Magna demanded of the lightning mage as the small child squirmed in his arms. 

“He wouldn’t be able to fight me in this state,” Luck dismissed as if that was the main deterrent from electrocuting Asta. Hands stuffed under the pits of Asta’s arms so the boy would dangle to face him, he asked. “Would you?”

The little boy’s face scrunched in confusion. 

Vanessa, on the other hand, wasn’t confused at all. “You are so cute!” 

She was, however, drunk. 

The witch plucked Asta from Luck’s arms and hugged him tightly. “Oh my god Asta you’re so cute! Look at him Noelle, isn’t he so cute?!” 

Faintly, Finral wondered if it would potentially affect their Asta if this small one was dropped on his head. ( Potentially ? The voice in the back of his head thought. How ‘bout when ?) 

“Uh…” He began hesitantly “Maybe you outta put down the-” 

“ Vanessa !” Noelle had shouted, a bluster of red on her face as she took the tiny Asta from the other’s arms. Unlike Luck’s handling of him like an object, and Vanessa’s handling of him like a teddy bear, Noelle took another approach. Handling the toddler like he was glass . “You have to be careful with children, they are fragile .” 

Just as she had spoken, tiny Asta’s little fist reached forward and yanked at the royal’s white locks. 

Noelle, who had just been telling Vanessa how fragile children were, let out a shriek. In her shock, her grip on him slacked and the boy almost dropped. “ Ah, Asta !” She yelled, catching him just as fast as she had dropped him. This time, instead of like a fragile object, she tucked him into her arms, holding him tightly. 

“You’re loud!” It was the first time little version of Asta had spoken, and once again, Noelle screamed. Not again Noelle! Finral thought as he watched the kid tumble into the air for only a second before someone else grabbed him. 

Thankfully, not Noelle. 

Surprisingly, Gauche . 

Unlike before, this time Asta wasn’t squirming or tugging. Perhaps he was worried about his safety after Noelle’s incidents Instead, his little arms held onto Gauche with his head tucked into the man’s neck. It looked like Noelle’s numerous almost-droppings of him had tired the kid out. 

Gauche, to Finral’s amazement, actually held Asta like a child was supposed to be held. Perhaps a child a bit older given the loose hold on him, but Gauche seemed confident in his grip. “Do you know what turned him into this?” Gauche asked, surprising Finral with his calm demeanor in regards to the situation. Not only that, but he had asked the question Finral had been meaning to. At least until he started worrying about little Asta’s safety. 

“Y-yeah!” Magna sputtered, raising in his hand what looked like a cracked vase. “This is it!”

It seemed Magna’s yelling was finally the straw that broke the camel’s back. 

Tiny Asta let out a squelch of a scream. “I’m sleepy , stop yellin’!” He roared the words as high as his voice would go before plowing his face back into Gauche, attempting to drown out their nose. 

There was an obligatory beat of silence that came with being yelled at by a little child. 

A silence, which little Asta used to pull his head back and for the first time, take a good look at the people surrounding him. “... who are you people?” 

Somehow, on his tinier face, Asta’s green eyes looked even bigger. And with the small tilt of his head in confusion, he looked all too adorable . 

All of them stared at him in unity. And continued stared. Until soon enough, there was a light stream of blood coming from Gauche’s nose like when Marie was being particularly cute. 

In all fairness, Asta was pretty damn adorable. 

Instead of answering, Gauche let the kid down on the ground. “Marie, my angel, I am so sorry!” He said the words like he was cheating on his sister and just got caught in the affair. Which, sadly, was pretty on-brand for Gauche. 

The former criminal took another look at the rather confused tinier version of their teammate, before covering his nose and dashing toward the exit.

Well. There went the most capable of actually handling a kid. Besides Asta himself of course who had a ton of siblings back in Hage. Oh, wait . 

 “That Golden Dawn kid grew up with Asta, right?” Finral remembered. “Maybe he’ll be helpful?”  There, that was something . 

“Ah, my Prince of Meals!” Charmy’s face beat red at the mention of the boy. Charmy, who Finral hadn’t even noticed was in the room, she’d been so consumed with her meal. “Could I get him?” she asked with excitement, only to pause. “ Why am I getting him?”

Finral sweatdropped. “Uh… Asta?”

Charmy remained to look confused. 

“Have you been listening at all?!” Magna screamed. 

“Of course not! that would mean ignoring my wonderful meal!” She exclaimed without regret. 

It seemed for as much as Finral hadn’t noticed Charmy, she hadn’t noticed them or Asta’s situation. 

“Doesn’t Asta seem a bit different to you?!” Magna waved wildly. 

The tiny girl frowned. “Is he… invisible?”

Was there something obscuring her view of him? Finral took a look down where Asta had been set down by Gauche. 

The empty spot. 

“ Wha ?!?!?! Where did he go?!” Wow, that was an octave Finral didn’t know his voice could go. 

“You mean this?” Held up by the scruff of his shirt by Captain Yami, was their little Asta. The boy was squirming with his legs trying to kick out from where they dangled. 

“Speaking of… WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED ?!”

Ah, Captain Yami and his kind way with words. 

“Let me go, you weirdos!” Asta shouted, trying to take a punch toward whatever he could reach. Which, with Yami holding like he was, wasn’t anything. “Let me go!” He cried once more, and this time there were tears gathering in his eyes. 

Oh god no . 

And then, little Asta broke into sobs. 

This time, Finral blamed all of them. 

Dealing with a fussy little kid was one of the worst things Finral had ever had to do.

This included fighting The Eye of the Midnight Sun. 

Fighting an enemy was easy in comparison to making sure his guildmates didn’t mentally scar or accidentally maim the little child. Once Asta broke into sobs, Yami was quick to set him down (also very fast too, just as fast to get leagues away from the distressed kid). Instead of running as he had before, tiny Asta sat where he was placed and wept . 

Their guildmates weren’t too helpful. 

Luck was ready to electrocute the kid (“Not to fight me, but to shock it out of his system!” “That different reasoning doesn’t make it any better!”), Vanessa wanted to give him a drink (“He isn’t even of-age at his actual age!” Noelle had shouted in response with red cheeks, though she hadn’t actually offered a solution herself), and it was Magna who suggested taking him out on his Crazy Cyclone (“You do know that kids his age need special seats for vehicles, right?”). Funnily enough, it was Charmy who succeeded. Feeding the little kid desserts upon deserts seemed to wear him out enough to calm down. 

Somehow, it was Finral who ended up with the kid in his lap, napping away. (Briefly, he wondered to himself, if he and Langris could have had moments like this if things were different). 

Now seemed as good of a time than any to get that Golden Dawn kid here. 

The only question came in the form of ‘Who was making sure Asta didn’t die while Finral was gone?’. Vanessa, Magna, and Luck were out of the running for obvious reasons (Vanessa was drunk, Luck was a berserker and Magna was… Magna). 

“Uh, Captain Yami?” 

“Nope.”

Well . There went that. That left… Noelle, Gordon, and Grey. Charmy wanted to come with Finral to grab that Yuno kid, so she was out of the running. Not that he was sure she could have been trusted to begin with. He looked toward who remained as candidates to watch Asta. Grey, who was huddled in the corner ( kind of scary ). Gordon, who was staring so intently ( kind of creepy ). And Noelle, whose face remained red when she caught sight of Asta and was trying to remain hidden ( kind of tsundere ). 

Maybe he should take the kid with him. 

“Uh….” Finral debated his options as the tiny Asta cuddled up to him a bit more in his sleep.

Yeah, he couldn’t let anything happen to this little one, he decided. “Charmy, if I make the portal for you do you think you could get back on your own?” 

The tiny girl waved him off. “Of course I can! I could do anything for my Prince of Meals!”

“Uh...  and Asta, right? Him too?”

“Hm?” Charmy looked lost for a moment before giving a fervent nod. “Yep! Him too! Of course!” 

It was funny, Charmy said Of course! but Finral still felt all too uncertain. 

It was a little less than an hour later when things changed. Well, their guild remained relatively the same despite the presence of the tiny boy. Magna and Luck were still yelling and competing, Vanessa was drunk and asleep, with Grey and Gordan doing their own things, Yami was taking a shit and Noelle was off somewhere. She had said something with a red face and a stammer, but Finral hadn’t caught it, too consumed in his new role of babysitter

(Yami had called him mom and Finral had pointedly chosen to ignore that). 

Charmy came in with the Golden Dawn boy, Asta’s childhood friend Yuno, following behind her. He couldn’t help but wonder what Charmy had said to them about the situation to so easily get them to come to help out. But, it couldn’t have nearly covered enough given how wide Yuno’s eyes became at the sight of Asta.

It was almost a funny sight considering his typical stoic nature.  Any other time, Finral would have been fascinated in the difference of demeanor. Right now, however, he was tired . It took everything in him not to toss Asta like a potato sack towards Yuno and say Your turn . Of course, it didn’t help that Asta looked mighty adorable in his sleep. 

Lightly, Finral shook the boy on his lap awake. Already regretting it the instant he had done so. Maybe he should have left him asleep... 

Well, too late now. “Asta,” He said softly. “Your friend is here.”

Yuno didn’t even dispute the friend title as Finral had seen him do before. 

The little boy rubbed his eyes as he awoke, before settling them on Yuno. The sleeping bundle became a bundle of joy once he set eyes on the other. He leaped from Finral’s lap, stumbling in a run as he headed towards Yuno and hugged as much as he could reach.

Which, given Yuno’s height, wasn’t much. 

The wind mage pried the little fingers from around his leg and knelt down to be eye level with the boy. “You’re very small Asta.” He said, not an inaccurate observation. 

Asta pouted, the first time Finral had seen him do so. “No, you’re just really tall.” A pause, as realization swept into the boy how much Yuno had grown. “You’re really really tall!” 

Yuno gave a gentle smile in return to the comment, hand fluffing atop the young boy’s head. “Yeah, you should get used to that.” If their Asta was here, he would have picked up on the jab. However, for this Asta, it quite literally, went over his head. 

“So Yuno.”

“Yes, Asta?”

“I think these guys kidnapped me.”

Finral sputtered at the boy’s proclamation. 

Yuno’s face remained passive. “Oh. You think so?” In all fairness, it wasn’t a totally crazy assumption. Being a little kid and awakening in the care of strangers, it kind of made sense. (Regardless of how much Finral disliked it.)

The child nodded firmly. “Yep! And they keep trying to kill me too!” No child, hell- no person should say such a sentence with such cheer. 

Yuno’s gaze settled on Finral and he instantly felt a chill . Yeah, that guy was pretty damn scary. No wonder he was on the same squad as Langris. 

“It’s not how it sounds.” Finral defended, albeit weakly. “It wasn’t on purpose .” Yeah, that wasn’t really the best defense. 

Yuno took a long look at Finral’s fellow guildmates of the Black Bull, eyeing each one of them with scrutiny and vigor. Wordlessly, the wind mage plucked the small Asta from the ground and into his arms. Asta, for his part, seemed all too happy to cling onto Yuno- the only familiar face he knew. Wrapping his tiny arms around the other’s neck and curling into him. Yuno seemed to freeze at Asta’s motion, the action halting him. Finral could only guess what was going through the other boy’s mind. Well, actually, that was a lie. Finral knew exactly what he was feeling, as Finral had felt before. And that was a grand need to protect Asta. 

Once the moment passed Yuno tightened his grip around Asta, holding the boy close. Then, he began walking. Walking towards the guild’s exit. 

Oh.

Oh . 

“Yo- you can’t just take him!” Finral sputtered, opening a portal to place himself between Yuno, little Asta, and the exit. 

Yuno stared at him blankly. “Why not?”

Finral opened his mouth to retaliate, only to find himself at a loss for words. Why couldn’t Yuno take him? Technically, he and Asta were family. (Though family didn’t mean everything, Finral thought, thinking of Langris and how little he would care if this had happened to Finral instead of Asta). 

“I’m not leaving him here.” Yuno spoke of it as a fact. “He’s small and you all-” He caught himself, stopping the insult he was ready to fire. Rather, Yuno said. “I don’t trust anyone who isn’t me to protect Asta when he can’t protect himself.”

Which, still pretty insulting, even if it wasn't intended as so. Though, it was sweet in its own way. 

“Yami?” Finral probed, probably hoping their guild master could say something all-knowing and put an end to this discussion. 

Vanessa let out a garbled laugh. “He left like sooooo long ago~” She let out a hiccup, extending her arms in a stretch. She was drunk out of her mind. Which, admittedly, was per the norm for them. But Finral doubted it did much to deter Yuno’s idea that the Black Bulls headquarters were no place for a small child.

A notion that was seeming to be entirely correct. 

But… Finral couldn’t stomach the idea of just letting someone else deal with his guildmate. Cart him off like he wasn’t their problem, no way. 

“How could you keep track of a child when you can’t even keep track of your guild master?” Yuno demanded, not pulling a single punch.

While Finral struggled to come up with a solid response, Yuno spoke to Asta. “You’re going to stay with me for the night, alright Asta?”

The small boy pulled back, a curious expression on his face. “Are we going back to the Church?”

Yuno sombered somewhat, having to tell the boy. “No, we aren’t.”

“Why not?” It was said so innocently and without understanding. So entirely like Asta, the one Finral knew. For the first time, Yuno wasn’t entirely focused on Asta or glaring at the guild. Instead he seemed to struggle for an answer. 

The answer, however, was the same reason Finral himself hadn’t even considered bringing Asta to his childhood home. They didn’t know the full extent of the magic used on him, they couldn’t risk civilians near it. Hell, Finral wasn’t even too sure about Asta going through one of his portals. He feared any kind of magic disruption on the initial curse or spell on him could screw the whole thing up completely so it couldn’t be undone. These things were kind of delicate like that. 

“Because… “ Yuno began. “We’re going somewhere else.” A smile warmed his lips, more teasingly he added. “Giving Father and Sister Lily some time off from you.”

“Hey!” The little boy protested, cheeks reddening. “Just because you’re randomly big now doesn’t mean you should be mean !” 

“I’m not mean.” The wind mage responded instantly and childishly, and oh god , Finral realized Yuno completely believed that.

Well, he wasn’t totally mean in this instance. This time, with the kid in his arms, he was mostly jesting. But more often than not Finral had seen the other boy have the capability of being dismissive and downright rude. Both qualifiers of ‘mean’. 

“Yes you were!” Asta argued, something he seemed mighty good at even as a kid. “And you were mean to Rindral too!” 

“Uh… it’s Finral.” 

Little Asta waved him off. Pulling back from Yuno, despite remaining in the taller boy’s arms, Asta pointed to him accusingly. “You’re a fake!”

Yuno stared at the child. “What.”

“Yuno would never be mean to nobody!” Asta declared. “So you’re not Yuno!”

It was… some kind of logic. Though, it was arguable to call it sound . 

There was a look on Yuno’s face though, a look that betrayed his typical exterior of someone who couldn’t care less. 

If Finral knew him a bit better, he’d even be willing to call it something akin to hurt . 

“Hey hey…” Finral changed his beat, still not intent to let Yuno leave with Asta but wanting to break down the accusations. “People change, right? And it’s been a while Asta, though it doesn’t feel like it for you. Everyone is capable of being a lil differ-”

“Not Yuno!” Asta insisted stubbornly. “He’s too much of a crybaby to make other people sad!” It wasn’t said insultingly, rather it was said like it was something to be proud of. “So no way this guy is Yuno!”

Yuno? A crybaby? That didn’t sound anything like what Finral knew of the guy.

Though… Yuno wasn’t denying it. Actually, his expression seemed rather thoughtful whilst he considered what the little boy had said. “Asta,” He addressed, tone patient. “I’m a lot taller than you.”

The boy huffed. “I noticed!” 

“Don’t you think there’s a reason for that?”

Come to think of it, it was odd Asta hadn’t instantly started in on that after having seen Yuno. The guy was obviously not the same height as Asta anymore, he was surprised the kid hadn’t brought it up. 

The boy went silent, deep in thought for only a moment before proclaiming. “You’re making my head hurt Yuno!” Quickly, he caught himself. “Or not-Yuno!” Not a super original name, but Finral would give him points for sticking to his guns on it. 

Finral could only wonder what Yuno intended to say to the boy. Even their current Asta would have trouble wrapping his head around this current predicament. 

“You’re in the future Asta.” Oh well, now that Yuno said it like that it seemed simple.

“The future?” His green eyes went bright with wonder. 

“Yeah… that’s why I’m so much taller, and why we aren’t at the Church.”

“Then why aren’t I taller?” The boy frowned, only for a moment before his eyes shone with light. “If this is the future do I have magic now?!”

Oh god, suddenly everything was so much worse . 

“YOU WANNA SEE SOMETHING COOL?!” Finral shouted at the top of his lungs, saving Yuno from having to break the heart of the boy in his arms. 

Asta looked in his direction, his initial question soon forgotten. “Yeah!”

Damn , this kid was cute. 

Quick to summon his own Grimoire, Finral did a simple and easy spell. One he knew, however, would impress Asta. Opening a small portal, with the other side being right beside where Yuno stood with Asta in his arms. Finral’s hand went through it, appearing on the other side and giving Asta a small high five. 

“So cool!” the little boy expressed. 

“You think that’s cool?” Oh damn, where had Magna come from? Vanessa was snoozing on the couch but Finral had been so sure Magna had left to go somewhere with Luck. Or maybe they were back from that place, and it’d been a short adventure. They did just walk through the door after all. “I’ll take you on a ride on my Crazy Cyclone, now that is co-”

“No.” That was Yuno. 

“ENOUGH WITH THE CRAZY CYCLONE IT IS NOT CHILD SAFE!” Briefly, Finral wondered if Yuno would have been as exasperated as he was if he had any idea of what else the Black Bull’s had been up to with pint sized Asta before his arrival. Actually, Finral didn’t dare dwell on that. The idea felt scary . 

“Sheesh!” Magna expressed. “I’ll baptize-”

“ No !”

“Just showing-”

“N.O. Do you even know what that spells?!”

Magna huffed. “What about my Extreme Killing Vanishing Fireball ?” 

Finral sighed. “I really wish that didn’t have the word ‘Killing’ in it...” 

“It’s fine,” Yuno said  like his word was something final, an authority Finral wished he could achieve. “If anything happens I could protect Asta.” 

“Bu... but I’m your superior. I’m all your superior…” Finral tried to object, and as always, no one listened. 

So what started as Finral showing little Asta a trick to deflect his attention turned into a contest to see who the little kid thought was the coolest. Of course, somehow , the word got out and suddenly there were more than just the Black Bull’s vying to impress the kid. Their headquarters was fuller than it’d been in a long time. 

“Ah, my little rival is so adorable!” Leopold Vermillion gawked at the boy. He had attempted to take him from Yuno’s arms only to stop at the other boy’s grave glare. Finral had lost count at this point of how many people had attempted to take Asta from Yuno, all of which being failures. The wind mage was protective . Finral couldn’t help but feel it potentially stemmed from Asta’s mention of the Black Bull’s attempt at ‘killing him’. 

“He really is, isn’t he?” Mimosa Vermillion agreed with a kind smile. She had her own turn at being denied holding the tiny boy but she was quick to get over it. Instead, cooing at him and playing with the kid whilst he remained in Yuno’s arms. 

“Ah… it sorta looks like he wants to go down?” Finral couldn’t help but notice the tiny child pushing his fist’s against Yuno’s chest in an attempt for the other to let him down. 

“Hn.” Yuno said in response, which may have been the only response Finral would have gotten hadn’t he pressed for more. 

“So maybe let him down?” He prodded, only to be met with Yuno’s intense glare once again. Though, after he had used it so many times the glare was starting to lose effect. Take that Yuno!

“Do you want to go down Asta?” Yuno asked plainly, the little boy nodded. 

“Yea yeah!!” 

Yuno didn’t move.

He really didn’t want to, Finral could see it. 

Still, the wind mage sighed and set the boy down. “Don’t go too far.” He ordered.

Asta pouted. “Fine fine…”

Yuno’s eyes remained fixed to the kid as he ran off. “He’s going to go too far. Give it ten minutes.”

“Uh- how do you know?”

“He’s Asta .” 

Which, admittedly, was sound logic. 

“So…” Finral trailed off. “Is there a reason you’re acting like an overprotective mother hen towards Asta?”

 “I am not.” Yuno denied.

Finral gave him a look. “You literally have just let him down for the first time since you saw him like this. Which was hours ago. You haven’t let him down for hours.”

Oddly enough, Yuno didn’t brazenly dispute it this time. Rather, he looked thoughtful. As if he hadn’t realized it until Finral had pointed out. 

“....  oh.” And yep, he actually hadn’t realized it. Wow. 

“So, is there a reason?” It felt like there could have been. Yuno didn’t seem like the type to do something thoughtlessly. He was a fancy pants Golden Dawn’s member after all. 

Yuno thought only for a moment before a frown settled on his face. “Yes.”

Silence.

“Are you going to tell me?!”

“You didn’t ask.”

“It was implied !”

Yuno sighed. “I think…” Something caught his gaze, and Finral followed it. It was little Asta tugging at that Golden Dawn member’s robe, Finral was pretty sure his name was Klaus . The guy looked bashful at the sight of the kid, it sort of reminded Finral of Noelle. 

“My most vivid memory from when we were around this age was when Asta was beaten half to death.” Yuno confessed. 

A coldness swept over Finral. What ? It wasn’t something Asta had ever mentioned before, then again it wasn’t the type of thing that came up in conversations. 

“He got hurt for me.” It wasn’t something Finral had ever known of before, and he had a feeling it wasn’t something anyone else knew of either. No one besides Asta and Yuno. He wondered if it meant anything that Yuno was sharing it with him, or maybe he’d just been the first to ask. “What happened that night was what inspired me to get stronger, strong enough to become Wizard King. It changed a lot of things.” Golden hues refused to meet Finral’s gaze any longer, instead staring toward the ground with clenched fists. “I’ll never forget it. And seeing Asta that age again... “ He sighed. “I can’t watch him get hurt again, not when he’s like this.” More determined, Yuno added. “I won’t . So, until he could protect himself again, I’ll protect him.” Once more, his gaze caught Finral’s. “If that means taking him away from the Black Bulls, then so be it.”

This time, Finral wasn’t insulted at such words (okay he was a little , but he was better prepared with his reply). “And what if it means spending the night here?”

The suggestion took Yuno by surprise, that they’d allow him to spend the night at the Black Bull’s headquarters. Briefly, Finral thought about the fact Yuno didn’t even hesitate on the idea of taking Asta to the Golden Dawn’s headquarters. Captain Vangence wouldn’t mind, he was sure. Not only that, but Yuno wouldn’t take no as an acceptable answer. Langris wouldn’t be a fan, Finral was sure of that much. 

“That… would be okay.” Yuno relented. Score . There, one problem was solved. Now the only one remaining was the small boy sitting on Magna’s lap.

Magna, who had the Crazy Cyclone underneath him. 

“MAGNA WE SAID NO CRAZY CY-… clone?” Whilst Finral was screaming his lungs off, Yuno was already in action. Grimoire by his side, glowing with magic, and was that his spirit ?

“Yuno no -”

As it turned out, Yuno really and truly meant it when he said there was no harm to come to little Asta. As Magna found out very very well when Yuno sent him flying through a herd of trees, using his magic to keep little Asta in the air, the boy floated like the spirit at Yuno’s side. Giggling at the use of magic and being in the air. 

“Eh? What happened to the runt?” The spirit questioned as Yuno approached the floating Asta.

The little boy seemed to be having a blast surrounded by Yuno’s magic, Yuno couldn’t help but smile. 

“Why is it always him?!” The spirit exclaimed examing the expression Yuno didn't typically wear. 

Though he didn’t seem much caring about her words, Yuno spoke toward her (without sparing her so much as a glance). “Quiet down Bell.” 

The spirit, Bell, let out a whine. “ But Yunoooooo-”

“ Yuno !” This time, it was Asta calling his name. Extending his arms forward, trying to reach the other, and paddling like was trying to swim through the air.

The wind mage sought forward till he was in front of the boy, releasing the spell so he’d fall right into his arms. Asta clung onto his neck, energy seemingly depleted. “I’m sleepy… “

“Then sleep,” Yuno responded simply, keeping a comfortable handle on the child. 

“Ah fine!” The spirit seemed to relent, pink blushing cheeks. “He’s pretty cute like this- but what’s cuter is Yuno being such a good big brother! That’s my Yuno! The best big brother!” 

Did girls really find being a good big brother attractive? Finral wondered if he should take notes. (Briefly, he thought about taking little Asta into town and seeing the ladies’ response. He stopped that train of thought abruptly when he thought of how Magna went flying and Yuno’s scary glare ). 

Speaking of Magna flying, the other Magic Knights who had dropped in to take a look at little Asta or simply be apart of the hang-out had much to say about what had happened. 

“Wow look at how he flew!” 

“So cool!” 

“That is very un-Magic Knight behavior!”

“That broom didn’t look very child safe though…” 

“Why are we here again?” 

“So this is the Black Bull’s hideout…” 

“Hahaha what grand fun!” 

There were a lot more Magic Knights than Finral had realized. Lucky for them (not so lucky for everyone else) the noise seemed to finally bring forth their Captain. 

Oh boy.

“WHAT THE HELL ARE ALL THESE PEOPLE DOING HERE?!”

Well. That was one problem solved. 

It was decided fairly fast that Yuno was staying in Asta’s room with him. And when Finral said ‘decided’, he meant Yuno decided without leaving any room to argue. He couldn’t help but wonder if Yuno was the same to Captain Vangence and Langris (though, the mere thought of Yuno acting this way towards Langris with his casual disrespect and how livid the other would be. Finral would admit, it was pretty funny.) 

They didn’t know how long it would last, which was slightly worrying. It wouldn’t look good on the Black Bull’s to have a kid on their team (not that they did many things that made them look good but… ) on top of which, it would be a fierce battle to pry Asta from Yuno’s side. 

The guy was a pretty good big brother, Finral would admit. Not that he had much experience with being one, but he did all the things Finral would bet an older brother would do. He made his eat his vegetables (also, specifically requested Charmy to make them along with Tatoes, and the girl made tons ), he kept an eye on him when Asta requested to be put down, and even gave him a bath (though, Yuno came out of the bathroom with his clothes completely soaked in water as well so Finral could only imagine how well that experience went). 

There was the fear though, that there wasn’t a reversal or time limit on this. That Asta was potentially stuck as a little kid. It wasn’t something they had yet to discuss, and with good reason. Discussing such a future made it so much graver, much more real. If Asta was stuck like this, he no longer had a place in the Magic Knights (Well, not until he turned 15 again in which the Black Bull’s would instantly snatch him up). 

It was a day later, Mimosa visited. 

The Black Bulls were up to their usual shenanigans, sans Finral who was keeping an eye on Asta rather then womanizing. An eye he didn’t technically have to keep considering Yuno remaining at the other’s side. It was simply that there was a small part of completely fearful that Yuno would kidnap Asta from the Black Bulls very successfully. 

Finral considered it a valid fear. 

Yuno was playing with Asta, which felt weird to say let alone watch. He was using his wind magic to amuse the boy, and the boy was amused. Asta seemed to find joy in almost anything they threw at him. Just like he was as a teen, he was a ray of sunshine. 

“Yuno!” She addressed. “Could I talk to you for a moment?” When he looked at her expectedly, Mimosa clarified. “Golden Dawn’s business.”

Ah, so she couldn’t say it in front of them. It wasn’t too surprising though given how her cheeks flushed a bit guilty at having to say so. 

Yuno hesitated only a moment, before turning to Finral. “Watch him for me.”

“Hey, I am your superior !” Despite his response, there was no way Finral would deny the chance to hold Asta once again. In fact, he would admit to being slightly honored when Yuno left Asta in his care. Given everything Finral had witnessed, it was a strong display of trust. 

The official Golden Dawn’s business lasted about ten minutes before Yuno returned. He didn’t demand Asta right away, which Finral counted as progress. At least until Luck and Magna strode into the room, and suddenly Yuno had the tiny boy in his arms with an intense watch on those two.

Which. Fair . 

The whole affair of it all came to an end that very night, not that anyone would realize until morning. 

Noelle had journeyed to the dungeon where the event took place (apparently that was where she talked about going when Finral had been too consumed with watching Asta to pay attention). 

To the vase, she found a cap. Which made Finral doubt it being a vase at all. Upon arrival back at the Black Bull's estate, Noelle simpled capped it. That was it. That was what ended the spell. That. 

The rest was simple. Well, their version of simple.

“Eh…  Yuno?” Groggily, Asta’s eyes descended upon his rival who was sleeping in his bed. Only for a moment, he thought they were back at the Church before he realized they were in his room at the Black Bull’s headquarters. 

To which Asta decided to go back to sleep.

He shared a bed with Yuno for 15 years, he didn’t mind another night. 

And Yuno happened to notice Asta having changed back and not left, it wasn't something he would admit. 

The event, however, was something Finral had proof of. Not just one, but quite a few pictures of little Asta with Yuno in many of them as well. 

And if he used the pictures to tell the ladies about his darling baby brother well.. what could go wrong with that?