The early morning wind in Hage Village carried a scent Asta could never forget—earth and woodsmoke, simple and sharp. It clung to his skin as he stood at the edge of the cliff where it had all begun. The place where two boys once shouted their dreams into the heavens.
Behind him, he could hear the familiar rustle of wind magic.
"You're early," Yuno said, stepping beside him.
Asta didn't look over. "You're always early. I figured I'd beat you for once."
Silence stretched between them, but it wasn't empty. Not anymore. It buzzed with unsaid things—things that had grown louder over the years, louder than their rivalry, louder than the cheers of a thousand people who now knew their names.
Yuno finally spoke, voice soft but clear. "I thought about this place. Every time I thought I'd lost you."
Asta turned slowly, his eyes sharper than anyone gave him credit for. "You really thought I'd let something take me out before I beat you?"
Yuno gave a small, almost invisible smile. "It wasn't about beating me anymore, was it?"
Asta stepped in, his boots scraping gravel. "No. Not for a long time."
They were inches apart now—warriors who had bled and fought and screamed for their dreams. But here, on this quiet cliff, they were just two boys again. Two boys with nothing between them except the space that had grown… and was now begging to be closed.
Yuno's eyes flicked down—just for a second—to Asta's lips.
And that was all Asta needed.
He closed the gap, hand gripping Yuno's waist—not forceful, but grounding. His touch was heat, solid and alive. Yuno's breath hitched as Asta leaned close, not kissing him yet, just letting his forehead rest against Yuno's.
"You ever gonna say it?" Asta whispered.
Yuno's voice was nearly a breath. "Only if you're ready to hear it."
Asta's lips quirked. "Try me."
"I think I've loved you," Yuno murmured, "since before I even knew what that meant."
Asta pulled back just enough to look him in the eye—then smiled, slow and certain. "Good. Because I'm not letting you go. Not now. Not ever."
Yuno didn't resist when Asta finally kissed him—strong and sure. It wasn't sweet. It was something more raw, more honest. Like everything Asta did, it demanded a response.
And Yuno gave it.
When they parted, their foreheads stayed together.
"We still have to fight for everything," Yuno whispered.
Asta chuckled, hand still firm on Yuno's hip. "Yeah. But now we fight together."