Black Clover - By My Side (Asta X Noelle)

Chapter 36: Shore

[It appeared as though humanity would be destroyed by demons. But a single mage saved them all. He was called the wizard king, and he became a legend.]

Noelle POV:

A cool breeze hits my face as Asta carries me through the forest. We're close to the lake. It's been a while since we both came here together alone. A feeling of excitement tingles throughout my entire body. Spending the day with Asta will be fun. 

"Oh, look ahead," Asta points forward, "we're just about at the lake."

I look to where he points and see the light piercing through the treeline, signifying the upcoming clearing. 

"You're right," I say excitedly, "hurry!"

"I'm on it!"

Asta picks up his pace, tightening his grip around my thighs. The sudden gesture causes me to flinch. However, I can't say that I didn't like it. As we break through the treeline, the lake breeze hits me once again. I'll always love coming to this lake. After all, it's where Asta and I started our relationship.

Asta walks around the perimeter of the lake before finally coming to a stop. "Where should I put you down, Noelle?"

I survey the area and look for a spot that looks comfortable. As I look around, a place stands out to me. It's right next to the water, and there are several large rocks that we can sit on. 

Pointing to it, I urge Asta to go over, "right over there, by the water. We can go dip our feet!" 

Asta perks up, "sure, that sounds like fun!" 

He readily makes his way towards the rocky shore. As we get closer to the water, I feel a growing urge to go swimming. However, If I remember correctly, Asta can't swim. Maybe I should ask him. I wonder if he'd let me teach him?

"Asta, you can't swim, can you," I question.

Asta shudders in reaction to my words, and with a cheeky smile on his face, he responds, "no, I don't. There wasn't any place to go swimming in Hage. So when we went to the ocean temple, it was my first time seeing it." 

"Do you want me to teach you to swim," I start to feel myself get excited thinking about teaching him to swim, "it'll be a lot of fun!" 

Asta looks ahead at the lake and doesn't say anything. After a few seconds of thinking, he responds, "sure, I'll be in your care then," he smiles. 

In that instance, his smile completely melts my heart. A huge wave of happiness hits me, causing my face to heat up. Hearing Asta say that just made my week. Out of happiness, I start humming. Today is going to be a fun day. 

When we reach the shore, Asta sets me down on a nearby rock. After being piggybacked for so long, I stand up and walk around. Asta takes this chance to sit down on the rock and catch his breath. He carried me for quite some distance, so I'm not surprised that he's a little tired.

As I walk along the rocky shore, I decide to take off my shoes and set them aside. I walk over to the edge of the water and let the waves crash into my feet. The water is cold. Instinctively, I move back. Despite my reaction, It feels refreshing. These past few days have been hot, so this is a nice change of pace. I start to kick my feet and play around in the water, and that's when it hits me- I don't have my swimsuit on me.

"Are you ready to go swimming," Asta places his hand on my shoulder, catching me by surprise, causing me to jump. 

I turn around, and Asta is shirtless and in his boxers. "W-What are you doing!" Suddenly seeing him half-naked catches me off-guard. Reflexively, I cover my face with my hands. 

Confusion fills Asta's face, "what do you mean? We're swimming, aren't we?"

 I peak through my fingers, "w-w-well, the thing i-i-is," I constantly stutter. Seeing him like this seems to have caused my brain to stop working. And despite covering my eyes, I can't stop myself from stealing peeks of him. "I don't have my swimsuit! I didn't even think about it, to be honest." 

"Just take off your clothes. It'll be fine."

"T-Take of my clothes?" The bluntness of his response confuses me. 

"Yeah, it's just us, so it won't be weird."

I stare at Asta, perplexed at what he just said. I think to myself for a while. Maybe it will be okay? He is my boyfriend, after all. Now, I find myself trying to convince myself that stripping down is the best choice. 

After contemplating for a while, I begin to take off my clothes. I lift my shirt up, slightly revealing my stomach. I catch a glance of Asta and see that he starts blushing. This, in turn, starts to make me flustered. As I strip down, I can feel Asta's gaze on me. My heart starts to race in response to this situation. I toss my shirt down on the nearest rock. I then look back to Asta, who's still staring at me. When we make eye contact, I look away quickly. Still flustered, I begin to pull down on my skirt. I shimmy the skirt down my legs, step out from them, and throw it to the side along with my shirt. 

With only my bra and panties on, I try to cover as much skin as possible with just my arms. I cross my legs together in an attempt to hide my bare thighs. I do this despite knowing nothing I do will help. This entire time, I've been staring at the ground because I don't have the courage to look at Asta. Why did I decide to strip in front of Asta on the shore? I fidget around for a while, questioning my life choices before I finally work up the courage to look at him.

I slowly fix my gaze to meet Asta, and when I do, I'm surprised. His face and his ears are completely red. After staring at him for what feels like hours, he still says nothing and only stares. His lack of response causes my embarrassment to overflow, and I bend down and curl myself into a ball. I can't believe I'm half-naked in front of Asta. Why did I do this? It's too embarrassing. 

Asta walks over to me and bends down next to me. He pokes at my side to grab my attention. I look up at him; his face is still red all over. "C-Can you teach to swim now?" He scratches the back of his head while averting his gaze. "You look b-beautiful."

His compliment makes me feel even more flustered. My heart begins to stir even more than it was before. However, it also calms me down, almost like a sense of relief. With a smile on my face, I stand back up.

"Let's begin," I say as I reach out for Asta's hand.

[Chapter 36 end]

{Author's note: Hey everyone! Quick update- If there's a gap between chapters, it's because the school semester has started back up again, and I'm busy. The story is not over yet!}