100 Prompt Challenge - Astelle

Prompt: Noelle losing a bet is forced to serve Asta for a day. Something Slowly awakens in Asta.

—

Noelle was having a bad day.

Scratch that—Noelle was having the worst day of her life.

It had all started with a dumb bet. Just a stupid, idiotic, completely unfair bet. And she had lost. Of course she had lost.

And now she was here.

Standing in front of Asta. In this.

A frilly black-and-white maid outfit.

She wanted to die.

"C-Captain, I'm calling for an official review! This is cruel and unusual punishment!" Noelle snapped, her face a brilliant shade of red.

Yami, leaning lazily back in his chair, yawned. "A bet's a bet, kid. Now put some effort into it. Can't have you half-assing your new job."

Job.

Her job.

As Asta's maid.

For the whole damn day.

She wanted to crawl into a hole.

Finral, Vanessa, and Magna were watching from the sidelines, barely containing their laughter. Even Nero, perched smugly on Asta's shoulder, seemed amused by her suffering.

Noelle clenched her fists. "You're all enjoying this way too much."

Asta, for his part, was still frozen in place. His eyes had been wide as dinner plates ever since Noelle had stepped into the room in her humiliating outfit.

"Noelle…" he breathed.

She stiffened. "W-What? What are you staring at, you muscle-headed moron?!"

Asta blinked. "You look amazing."

Dead. She was dead. Her heart had stopped. Her brain had short-circuited. What was she supposed to do with that?!

"D-Don't say such weird things, idiot!" she sputtered, gripping the hem of her skirt as if she could wring Asta's words out of it. "I'm only doing this because I have to!"

Asta beamed. "Right! So, uh… What do maids do, anyway?"

Finral coughed, fighting a grin. "They serve their masters, of course."

Asta frowned. "That sounds kinda weird…"

Vanessa smirked. "Oh, it definitely is."

Noelle groaned. Kill me now.

—

Hour One: Breakfast Disaster

Noelle's first task as Asta's maid was simple: bring him breakfast.

It should have been easy. Should have been.

Except Asta ate like a starved beast. His portions were massive. His appetite was endless. The tray she had to carry was so overloaded that she could barely see past the mountain of food.

And, of course, the moment she took a step—

CRASH!

Eggs, toast, and an entire jug of orange juice everywhere.

Silence.

Then—

Finral and Magna howled with laughter.

Vanessa shook her head. "Terrible form."

Even Yami muttered, "Tch. Weak."

Noelle's entire body trembled with rage.

Asta, meanwhile, just stared at her in concern. "Uh… Noelle? Are you okay?"

Noelle snapped.

"SHUT UP! I HATE THIS! I HATE YOU! I HATE EVERYTHING!!!"

Water magic exploded out of her, soaking the entire room—and, most importantly, Asta himself.

So now they were both a mess.

Asta blinked, dripping wet. Then, suddenly—

He grinned.

"Noelle! You'd make a great maid if you just practiced a little more!"

She picked up the nearest intact croissant and threw it at his face.

—

Hour Three: Cleaning Duty

Yami, being an absolute menace, had assigned Noelle extra chores as part of her maid duties.

Which was how she ended up on her hands and knees, scrubbing the floor of the Black Bulls' hideout, while Asta stood behind her, watching her work.

It was mortifying.

"This doesn't feel right," Asta muttered. "I should be helping."

"You should be the one doing this!" Noelle snapped. "I don't even live here anymore! This place is disgusting!"

"Hey, we clean! Sometimes."

Noelle looked up at him, scandalized. "There's mold on the ceiling."

Asta scratched his cheek. "…We don't clean a lot."

Noelle groaned and went back to scrubbing.

Asta watched her for a moment before suddenly crouching beside her.

Noelle stiffened. "W-What are you doing?!"

"I am your master today, right?" Asta grinned. "So I order you to take a break. Here."

He handed her a cloth.

She blinked. "What…?"

"We'll clean together," Asta said simply. "That way it's fair."

Noelle stared at him.

Her heart did something.

Some weird, unexplainable thing.

She quickly looked away.

"…Idiot."

—

Hour Five: Something's… Off

At some point, things started to change.

Asta stopped treating this like a game.

At first, he had been awkward about the whole 'having a maid' thing. But as the day wore on, Noelle started noticing the way he looked at her.

Not in a bad way. Not in an annoying way.

But in a way that made her nervous.

Asta was staring at her a lot.

Like, way more than usual.

And every time he did, his expression was different.

Like he was thinking about something.

Like he was realizing something.

And it was weird.

Because Asta never thought about things like that.

Did he?

Noelle told herself she was imagining it.

Until—

"Noelle."

She turned.

Asta was looking at her again.

Really looking at her.

No teasing. No jokes. Just a quiet, thoughtful expression.

It made her stomach flip.

"…What?" she muttered.

Asta hesitated. Then, slowly—

"You look… really cute in that outfit."

Noelle's brain promptly shut down.

She made a sound. A noise. A high-pitched, inhuman squeak.

Asta blinked. "Noelle? Are you okay? Your face is—"

BOOM.

A geyser of water erupted from beneath her feet.

Asta was sent flying.

And that was the end of that conversation.

—

Hour Ten: The End of the Day

By the time Noelle's maid duties were over, she was done.

Physically. Emotionally. Spiritually.

She tore off the stupid apron and collapsed onto the couch, groaning into the cushions.

Asta sat beside her.

"…You did a good job today," he said.

She shot him a glare. "I'm never doing this again."

He laughed. "Yeah, I figured."

Silence settled between them.

Then—

"…Hey, Noelle?"

She looked at him.

Asta hesitated. His expression was serious again.

Then, quietly—

"I think I really like you."

Silence.

Noelle's heart stopped.

Asta immediately panicked. "I mean, I always liked you! But today felt… different? Like, maybe I—"

Noelle shoved him off the couch.

"DON'T SAY WEIRD THINGS, YOU MUSCLE-BRAINED IDIOT!!!"

Asta groaned from the floor. "Ow…"

Noelle buried her face in a pillow.

Her heart wouldn't stop racing.

She was never making another bet again.