⠀ he’d remain on her back , holding on a little tighter so as to not get knocked off . ⠀ ⠀❝ but did you expect that THIS would happen , huh ? ❞ ⠀

⠀ ⠀ ⠀❝ or maybe i’m just smarter than you ! ❞ everyone knows that’s not true . he may not be the smartest , but he won’t be letting go ! ⠀

⠀ when she fell on her back , bringing him down as well , he hit the ground but his arms stayed around her . ⠀ ⠀❝ oww , that hurt ! what was that for ? ❞ ⠀

⠀ still not letting go . . . his arms are firmly wrapped around her . ⠀ ⠀❝ and i won’t get off until you can get me off of you ! this is an exercise , now ! ❞ ⠀

⠀ ⠀ ⠀❝ hey ! ! i may be stupid , but i still have feelings , you know ! ❞ still holding on . his grip isn’t too tight , almost . . . comfortable , in a way , because he doesn’t want to squeeze TOO tight . ⠀

⠀ finally , he actually let her go , remaining face up on the ground . ⠀ ⠀❝ i won’t let you go so easy next time ! i’ll choke you out if i have to , you won’t get away ! ! ❞ ⠀

⠀ ⠀ ⠀❝ but if you’re always expecting the unexpected , then the unexpected becomes the expected and . . . you know ! ❞ no , asta , she doesn’t . he thought he sounded smart , but really what he was saying was nonsense . ⠀that was his intention . ⠀

⠀ ⠀ ⠀❝ maybe it won’t be a headlock next time ! you never know ! ❞ noticing her face being flushed , he tilted his head slightly . maybe the exercise had taken more out of her than he thought ? ⠀ ⠀❝ are you alright ? you’re looking pretty red . ❞ ⠀

⠀ his head remained tilted to the side , looking closer . ⠀ ⠀❝ are you sure ? you’re redder than a tomato ! see ? you might pass out if it’s from exhaustion ! ❞ getting real close , to put a finger to her cheek . just to show that it’s red . for some reason . ⠀

⠀ when he saw that little head motion , he quickly got behind her , as if preparing for her to faint . ⠀ ⠀❝ see ! i told you , you’re exhausted ! and you’re gonna faint ! ❞ what an idiot . ⠀

⠀ when he heard her stutter and saw her get more red , he reached his arms out in preparation for her to fall . he was really sold on this exhaustion thing . ⠀ ⠀❝ but you’re gonna faint and hit the ground ! and that’ll hurt a lot more than my arms ! ❞ ⠀

⠀ ⠀ ⠀❝ Noelle , you’re hyperventilating and you’re beet red ! ! ! if you faint , i’m sure you’d rather be in my arms than on the ground ! ! ❞ the shrimp was both oblivious AND stubborn . a total idiot . but with good intentions . ⠀

⠀ and there it was . he felt like the smartest guy in the world . but really he was just so stupid it looped back around . catching her , he picked her up to carry her bridal style into the hideout and to his room . ⠀ ⠀❝ i told you so ! if you’d have only listened ! ❞ ⠀

⠀ he would’ve taken her to her own room , but he had no idea where it was . and the rooms constantly shifting didn’t help . so instead , he took her to his own room . ⠀ lying her on his bed , he looked down at her for a moment . ⠀ ⠀❝ damn , now where will i sleep ? ❞ ⠀

⠀ Asta was out training for a while , basically forgetting about Noelle . however , an hour or so later , it’d gotten dark , and he was exhausted . ⠀and so , into the hideout and to his room he went . collapsing onto the bed , he made sure to keep his distance from her . ⠀

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