#yuneva

It was by the end of the preseason, few days before their first tournament game that Yuno was gliding from one goal to another with just his puck and stick as companions. He needed to practice, needed to be faster as if wind if his attacks were going to work against Asta. 

For that reason Yuno was greatly focusing on his footwork, making sure that his crossovers were immaculate and they probably looked this way from the outside, but he knew that he was wobbling. Just as with one swift movement he made a wrist shot lifting the puck of the ice and putting it in the right upper corner of the net he heard the ice rink’s door open. Another person set their blades on the cold ice surface. 

He turned around recognising her platinum blonde hair tied in a low braid, fair complexion and a purple training set. A figure skating one. Her name was Neva. Yuno knew that much. His captain William Vangeance seemed to be some sort of a guardian to the girl and she was allowed to work on her figure skating skills whenever the rink was free. 

They passed each other quite a few times, exchanged curious, shy looks, but none of them ever spoke up. Yuno was not the first one to start a conversation and Neva did not seem any better. She started circling on the opposite side of the rink warming up and starting with some little jumps.

Yuno skated over to pick up the puck with his stick, but he could not peel his eyes of the figure skater… there was just something in the way she moved. How beautifully she glided on the ice, shining as if she was a diamond and her footwork… it was amazing. 

Maybe..?

Yuno turned his head to the side. 

“Not a chance,” he muttered and started playing around with the puck. He kept to his side of the rink.

However as the practice progressed he subtly gazed at the girl much more often, admiring her balance and skills. Neva was no better than he was, Yuno could sense her eyes turning to him from time to time, before lifting into a jump and finishing a sequence. That crossover was immaculate…

Yuno furrowed his brows determined. He was going to ask. If asking Neva to give him some footwork tips was what he needed to do to get better, he was going to do so. He gripped on his stick and skated over towards the girl.

“Hi,” he raised his hand shyly, because openly asking the girl was not his strong suit. 

Neva wobbled, clearly surprised by him initiating contact. She halted catching herself. Her platinum hair slightly covered her face. Her lips were pressed together. Then Yuno felt his breath hitch… because she looked up. He had never seen such pretty eyes before. They were a light hue of purple and they shone like two precious diamonds.

He blinked, not sure how to start, completely thrown off. 

“Hi,” Neva’s eyes were narrowed. There was a question in her gaze, but strained with a drop of mistrust. 

“Hi,” he repeated himself flatly, suddenly brought down to earth.

“Yuno, right?” The girl asked. 

“Yes and you’re Neva.”

This was awkward. Why was she looking at him this way? He had no ulterior motives for approaching her, there was no reason to feel this way. Yet for some reason his breath got stuck in his throat.

“Do you need something?” she crossed her arms over her chest. 

“Your crossover,” he pointed at her skates. 

Neva looked up at him for the first time curious, not suspicious. 

“It was really good,” Yuno would brush through his hair if not for the helmet on his head. He finally raised his eyes at her. “I want to learn.”

“Learn..?” Neva blinked, not really following. 

“How to skate like you do… graciously,” he muttered.

“It’s not easy,” Neva straightened up, but she gripped her wrist with her hand. “Figure skating requires you to commit… sacrifice.”

“Will you teach me?” Yuno blurted out. 

He had no idea why he did it, but as silence prolonged he started to realize it was a bad idea. A very very bad one. After all, none of his teammates did not become friends with Neva for a reason right? He never understood it, but maybe she did not need friends. A perfect diamond, all on her own.

He turned away, gripping his stick. 

“Not a chance,” he muttered under his breath as he pushed away from the ice.

“Okay…” he heard a whisper. 

Yuno froze on the spot. He blinked surprised, before once again facing Neva. Her head now raised high and there seemed to be a challenge in her gaze. Purple eyes glittered beautifully. 

“I will teach you,” her voice was confident.

It wasn’t quite chaotic, but it was getting close, and Yuno didn’t like it at all. He had asked Lady Nero if he could have the day off, but due to how busy they were going to be, she had no choice but to refuse his request; however, she did tell him that he could take as many breaks as he needed.

And right now, he really needed one, but he had to wait until David returned from his.

“ Is that him?” He suddenly heard a woman whisper from a few feet away, and he glanced over to see a small group of women staring at him and whispering amongst each other.

“ I think so,” Another woman whispered before a third woman sighed dreamily.

“ He’s so pretty, I wish he were a butler instead of a busser!”

Yuno quickly shook his head as he tried to ignore them, he had zero intention or desire to be a butler, he didn’t like all the attention and would much rather work as a busser.

“ Excuse me,” He heard a soft voice ask from beside him, and he turned slowly to see one of the women standing there with a mock shy but still flirty smile on her face. “ May I ask you a question?”

“ Of course, ma’am,” He replied, and for a split second he saw a look of annoyance in her eyes before it disappeared and was replaced with a warm and flirty one.

“ Is there a café rule against the staff dating or going on dates with customers?”

Seriously? That’s your question? Yuno thought in annoyance but slowly shook his head.

“ No, ma’am, I don’t think there is, as long as it doesn’t affect our work here at the café.” He explained simply, and he watched as her eyes lit up.

“ Well then, since there isn’t a rule forbidding it; would you like to go on a date with me tonight at the White Day festival?” She asked, giving him her brightest and flirtiest smile.

She nearly reminded him of Ms. Zera, except not as funny or subtle in her intentions.

“ No thanks.” Yuno told her with a deadpan expression and a cold, serious gaze before he picked up the container full of dirty dishes and began to carry them back to the kitchen.

He heard the woman stammer and sputter in disbelief behind him, but he ignored her and when he saw David coming back from his break he immediately handed the container to him.

“ I’m going on my break.” Yuno told him before walking past him and into the break room.

As he walked into the empty break room he glanced up at the clock, it was 3:30 and his shift didn’t end until 5:00; he groaned, that meant he had to deal with the large crowd of customers for another hour and a half!

But, at least he had something good to look forward to at the end of his shift: his date with Neva.

A small smile appeared on his face, this would be their first time celebrating it as a couple, and he wanted it to be special; so, he asked the chef’s of the Black Bird if they could help him create a small box of chocolates just for her.

Of course he did use one of the chocolates for the White Day event, a lavender flavored white chocolate shaped like a diamond to be precise, but the other flavors in the box were exclusively for her.

Would she like it? He wondered as he tilted his head. She probably would, considering she had one heck of a sweet tooth, however, he couldn’t help but be a little nervous about it. She could hate the flavors, or the chocolates, or maybe even the box they were in-!

“ Brandon,” William’s voice called as he poked his head inside the room. “ Your chocolates for Neva are finished, and I put the box with your things in the back.”

Yuno turned towards him and nodded.

“ Okay,” He replied, and just as William was about to leave he suddenly stopped. “ Hey, Johnathan, can…I ask you something?”

William blinked in surprise before stepping into the room with a nod.

“ Of course, what’s going on?” He asked as he closed the break room door behind him.

Yuno hesitated for a moment as he turned around, his amber eyes glancing away and towards the floor awkwardly.

“ Do…you think she’ll like them?” He asked softly, his voice conveying the anxiety he was trying to hide.

William blinked again, but a small, amused smile worked it’s way onto his face.

“ I think she’ll love them, and it won’t be because they’re chocolates,” His words made Yuno’s gaze shift towards him.

“ She’ll love them because they came from you.”

Yuno felt his cheeks heat up at his words, she would like the chocolates just because they came from him? Was that true, or was that something he was just saying to make him feel better?

“ So, if I were you, I wouldn’t worry too much. Just go out and enjoy your day together once you get off work.” William told him as he patted his shoulder briefly before turning around and walking out of the break room.

As he was left alone in the break room, and William’s words echoed in his head, he couldn’t help but feel some of his anxiety melt away; he was still nervous about whether she would like them or not, but now it was a lot less.

“ She’ll love them because they came from you.”

Yuno hoped that was true, because that little bit of hope helped him get through the rest of his shift.

—————

After Yuno’s Shift

Yuno stood at the back entrance of the Black Bird café waiting for Neva, he thought about waiting for her at the front of the café, but immediately disregarded that idea since it would cause unwanted attention on them.

So, he then thought about waiting at the Flora and the Fae, but also disregarded that idea as well; if they met there for their date, he could only imagine the teasing they would get from Zera and her friends that worked there.

A sigh escaped him, just the thought of the playful teasing from The Wives made a slight chill go down his spine.

“ Sorry I’m late,” He heard a familiar yet slightly out of breath, say as they came up to him.

“ It’s okay, you’re not-.” Yuno began as he turned towards the voice, and his eyes widened.

Neva was standing there wearing a lilac purple slip dress with a pair of white shoes, her platinum blonde hair was loose and wavy around her shoulders, and she wore a simple necklace and earrings as well as their couple ring on her right ring finger.

He felt his face flush and his heart rate pick up slightly, she was wearing the couple ring he had given her a few months ago…

“ I’m not what?” She asked with a confused frown as she walked up to him.

Yuno quickly shook his head and cleared his throat.

“ Late, you’re not late.” He replied, and he frowned slightly when she sighed.

“ That’s a relief, Zera and the others practically made me put on a fashion show for them before they let me leave the apartment.” Neva explained with a small chuckle and shake of her head, her tone light-hearted.

Yuno nodded in understanding, anytime they were going to go on a date The Wives would go by William’s apartment and help her get ready, and if he went and picked her up they would practically drag him inside and interrogate him and playfully tease him.

The Wives were chaotic, but fun and well meaning, and only wanted the pair to be happy and have a good time.

“ So, what do you want to do today?” She asked as she tilted her head slightly, her voice pulling Yuno out of his thoughts.

“ Well…we could go to the White Day festival and see the different stalls,” He replied as he reached up to rub the back of his neck.

Neva blinked in surprise.

“ Will you be okay? I know you don’t like crowds…” She told him, and his gaze shifted away from her.

If Yuno were being honest, the last place he wanted to go was the festival, but he remembered her saying that she wanted to go and see it, and he wanted to make her happy…so he was going to put his anxiety and discomfort aside and take her there.

“ I’ll be fine, and besides I don’t think it’ll be too crowded now since it’s getting late.” He replied as he began to walk away from the Black Bird and towards the festival.

However, once the couple arrived, did Yuno realize how wrong he was; the festival was even more crowded than it was earlier that afternoon!

He felt his heart begin to race in his chest and his hands begin to sweat as he stared at the large crowd. He thought he could handle this…he thought that he could push his anxiety aside just for today…but the more he stared, the worse his anxiety became.

What if he was in the crowd? Just watching and waiting for him to be alone before he attacked? Or what if he didn’t attack him directly, but psychologically? Or what if he attacked Neva in order to get to him?

As his mind raced over and over, and the worst case scenarios began to play on repeat, he felt a flutter of a touch against the back of his hand. He jumped slightly before looking down to see Neva’s pinky gently grazing his.

It was soft and subtle, reminding him of a feather, but it was also warm and comforting, and caused him to reach out with his pinky before gently hooking his finger around hers.

They just stood there silently, neither one feeling the need to say a word even as families and couples walked past them and a gentle breeze swept through.

“ C’mon, I know a better place we can go,” Neva suddenly said as she wrapped her hand around Yuno’s and began to lead him away from the festival.

His eyes widened in surprise as she dragged him away, confusion clouding his mind; where was she planning on taking him? At the moment she was leading him further and further away from the hustle and bustle that was the center of town.

Eventually they came to a bus stop, and she led him onto it and towards the back where they sat down together.

“ Where are we going?” Yuno eventually asked as he turned to look at her.

Neva smirked slightly before also turning to look at him.

“ Do you trust me?”

It was a light and playful question, but for him it was a heavy and serious one; he didn’t trust easily, nor did she, so for her to ask him that…

“ Yeah, I trust you.”

He watched a brief glimmer of surprise shine in her amethyst colored eyes before it quickly disappeared and was replaced with something akin to honor.

“ I’m glad.” She replied softly as she looked away, he noticed a faint pink color on her cheeks and the corner of her mouth trying to twitch up in a smile even as she tried to suppress it.

Who would have thought those three little words would make her react like this?

After the bus drove for a while, Yuno began to notice that they were getting further and further away from the city, and he grew confused; they weren’t staying in the city? As he was about to ask Neva that question he immediately stopped himself, he told her that he trusted her, and even though it was difficult, he was going to do it.

He owed her that much.

The bus drove and drove for a while longer before it eventually stopped at a café just outside of town, and when the couple got off and stood in front of the building did Yuno realize where they were.

“ You brought me to Elysia?” He asked, the confused frown on his face and the tone of his voice mirroring each other.

Neva slowly shook her head.

“ Nope, but it is close by!” She replied as she led him away from Elysia and towards the woods nearby.

“ Isn’t this private property? And only the owner’s and worker’s at Elysia can go in here?” Yuno asked as he followed her.

“ It is, but Ms. Zera called in a favor so we’re allowed to be here.” Neva explained with a bit of a shrug.

He wanted to ask what she meant by that, but something told him that it was probably best that he didn’t know.

They walked deeper and deeper into the woods, until finally they came upon a clearing; a beautiful meadow.

“ I thought that maybe we could spend the day here, it’s quiet and no one will bother us, and we can see the city fireworks tonight.” She told him before she reached up and rubbed the back of her neck.

“ Though, maybe I should have thought this out a bit more, since we don’t have food or a blanket with us…” She muttered the last part to herself as a frown appeared on her brows.

Yuno’s lips twitched up into a bit of a smile, before he let go of her hand for a moment so he could shrug off his backpack and look through it.

“ Actually, I have some food,” He told her before standing back up and handing her a box.

Neva’s eyes once again widened in surprise before she gently took the box from him; it was a lavender purple box with a green ribbon tied around it and white along the edges and a small card at the top right corner.

She pulled the card off and opened it, and as she read the letter she smiled:

“ Happy White Day, Neva. I hope this will be the first of many for us.”

She looked up and saw Yuno’s face was bright red, his gaze was averted, and his hand was rubbing the back of his head awkwardly.

“ I love it Yuno, thank you so much,” Neva told him as hugged the box to her chest.

“ Open the box,” He instructed softly, his gaze drifting back to her briefly.

She blinked in surprise before doing as he said; she gently untied the green ribbon and lifted the lid, and when she did a shocked gasp escaped her.

“ Chocolates~!” She squealed in delight as her eyes scanned the different varieties in the box.

Yuno could help but smile and chuckle in amusement as she did a small happy dance and her face lit up like a child’s on christmas morning. This was so unlike her, but instead of finding it annoying or off-putting, he found it cute and endearing.

He watched with bated breath as she picked up one of the chocolates from the box and brought it up to her mouth to take a bite.

Silently, he hoped that she would do a happy dance and smile brightly like she usually did when she tasted something delicious…

Suddenly, he heard a satisfied hum escape her, and he felt his anxiety and nerves melt away; that was her ‘this is one of the best desserts I’ve ever had’ hum.

“ This is amazing, here, try it!” Neva exclaimed excitedly as she walked up to him and held the other half of the chocolate up to his mouth.

Yuno’s face flushed immediately, his eyes wide and brows raised as he looked between the chocolate to her and back again.

Without thinking, his hand reached up and gently held her wrist in his hand before leaning forward and taking the piece of chocolate from her hand with his teeth.

He stood up straight and let go of her wrist as a soft hum escaped him; the chocolate was light and creamy, and the caramel inside was rich and salty enough to balance out the sweetness of the milk chocolate.

“ Mmm it is delicious,” Yuno agreed after he swallowed the chocolate. “ What’s wrong? Why is your face red?”

Neva, who had been watching him this entire time, stared at him with wide eyes and a red face, completely taken aback by his action.

“ I-It’s nothing!” She tried to say as she looked away.

Yuno stared at her with a deadpan expression, not believing her for a second.

“ Really?”

“ Really!”

“ Uh-huh…”

Neva cleared her throat and set the box of chocolates down before sitting down on the ground beside them.

“ Anyway, it’ll be dark soon, so we should get ready to watch the fireworks.”

Yuno, still not convinced that it was nothing but deciding it was better to leave it alone, nodded and sat down beside her on the grass.

As the sun began to set the two laid back on the grass, sometimes they would talk about their day, and other times they just laid together quietly and enjoyed each other’s company.

During one of their moments of quiet, Yuno turned to look at her.

“ I’m sorry.”

Neva frowned in confusion before she turned her head to face him.

“ For what?”

“ For ruining White Day,” He began softly as he rolled onto his side. “ I know how much you wanted to see the festival, but then I screwed it up and made us change our plans.”

She slowly shook her head and rolled onto her side as well.

“ You didn’t ruin White Day,” She told him with a frown. “ I’ve had a really great time so far even though we didn’t go to the festival,”

“ Because I’m spending the day with you. That’s all I wanted.”

Yuno stared at her for a moment, all she wanted from today was to spend time with him? That was it? Suddenly, he was reminded of what William said earlier.

“ She’ll love them because they came from you.”

Yuno almost laughed; he was right, as usual.

“ Something funny?” Neva asked with a confused yet half amused frown.

He smiled a bit before slowly shaking his head as he rolled onto his back.

“ It’s nothing.” He replied in amusement as he repeated her earlier words.

Neva pouted as she moved closer to him.

“ You’re a terrible liar.” She muttered as she rested her head on his shoulder.

Yuno chuckled as his arm wrapped around her and began to gently play with her hair.

“ So are you,” He countered playfully with an amused smile on his face as he pressed his lips to the top of her head.

He heard her mutter something under her breath, but he didn’t quite catch what it was as the firework show began.

The once dark sky lit up in various bright and beautiful colors, however, Yuno wasn’t paying attention to them; instead, his gaze was solely on the girl in his arms.

What did he do to deserve this little bit of happiness?

————