Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Asta rushed into the base, carrying an armful of pot potatoes. He was just out training in the new area the Black Bulls base was stationed, when he spotted a very familiar plant. He confirmed his suspicions by digging the plant out. 

After finding one, he found several others, so of course he unearthed them and brought them back to attempt to cook them. 

He ran into the kitchen and dropped the potatoes into the sink to start getting them clean. He was going to cook up a great meal for everyone in the base! 

“Asta, la!” Charmy’s voice came. 

“Miz Charmy!” Asta greeted. 

“Whatcha got there?” Charmy asked, floating towards the sink. 

“I found pot potatoes outside!” Asta said. “I’m gonna cook them!” 

“Cook?” Charmy lit up, “Sounds good, la! I’ll help you!” 

“Really?!” Asta gasped, “Thanks!” 

Charmy nodded with a smile and summoned her sheep chefs. “Grilled meat will go great with potatoes!” She turned to Asta, “How are you going to cook them? Mashed? Baked? In wedges?” 

Asta blinked at her, then rubbed the back of his neck, “Ah well, I was going to boil them.” 

“Ooh!” Charmy grinned, “Also very nummy!” 

Asta smiled. “But… maybe I could try something else today… can you show me how?” 

“Of course, la!” Charmy joined him in washing the potatoes. “How would you like to make them?” 

“Um…” Asta thought about it. “How about a mashed pot potato?” 

“Sounds good, la! Let’s start by boiling them!” 

Asta nodded, “I can do that!” 

The two proceeded by setting the potatoes in a large pot of water on a high flame on the stove. 

Charmy turned to Asta. “After the potatoes are boiled, we’ll peel them and mash them.” 

“That’s easy enough!” Asta said. 

Charmy nodded, “Indeed! But it’ll be better if we add more to it! Follow me!” 

Asta blinked at her as she walked out of the kitchen. He shrugged it off and followed her though the base until they reached a door. Charmy pushed the door open to reveal a room with large windows full of plants.

“Woah!” Asta gasped. “Is this a garden?” 

“Yup! Welcome to Charmy’s secret ingredient garden, la!” Charmy proclaimed and went to a plant area. “Here are some herbs that’ll make our mash pot potatoes taste even more nummy!” 

Asta joined her and peered at the plants. 

Charmy started plucking leaves from the stems. “This one is parsley!” She held the leaves and moved to the one next to it, “And this one is oregano! They are both nummy in potatoes!” 

She turned to get a basket from a shelf and put her herbs in it. Asta helped her pick several more leaves. 

“Perfect!” Charmy nodded. “One more thing that’ll be great for our recipe is garlic!” She went to another plant and started digging in the dirt until she found a bulb. She passed it to Asta to put it in the basket. 

“Cool!” 

Charmy looked around the room, “I think that’s it– wait!” 

Asta jumped, “What else?” 

“Asta, pass me the scissors, please!” 

Asta complied, and Charmy went to a plant with tall skinny stalks. “Green onion goes great as a garnish!” Charmy said with a smile. She put the stalks in the basket Asta held and nodded at him. “Now that should be it! Our pot potatoes should be done boiling about now!” 

“Let’s go!” Asta said, leading the way back to the kitchen. 

They peeled the skin from the pot potatoes and set them aside. 

“Now what do we do?” Asta asked. 

“We first need to chop up our herbs,” Charmy said. She demonstrated how to chop the parsley for Asta, and watched him give it a go. 

“Asta, you’re a natural with the knife, la!” Charmy cheered.

Asta grinned, “Hehe, it’s because Miz Charmy’s a good teacher!” 

“Oh you,” Charmy blushed cheekily and nudged him in the side. “Then, we’ll take our herbs and garlic and add it to the empty pot with the butter and milk.” 

They followed the task, letting the butter melt through and milk get hot. 

Charmy turned back to the pot potatoes and started dicing them. 

“Why are you cutting them?” Asta asked. 

“It’ll make mashing them in the pot easier!” Charmy answered. She dumped the potatoes into the pot of milk and butter after turning off the heat. “Now we can mash it!” 

“Allow me!” Asta said, taking the mashing tool. He vigorously smashed the potatoes. “They’re so soft!” 

Charmy clapped her hands, “Mash them as much as you want! Depending on how chunky or smooth you want the potatoes to end up.” 

“Got it!” After a minute of quick worth, due to Asta’s strength and speed, he stopped. “I think I like this!” 

Charmy stood over the pot and gave it a good stir. “It’s done, la!” 

“Awesome!” Asta cheered. 

A sheep chef held up a dish for Charmy to scoop the mashed potatoes in. She took the final pieces of chopped green onion and sprinkled it all on top of it.

“And, done!” Charmy announced. She handed the dish to Asta, “You can have the honors of putting it on the table!” 

“Thanks!” Asta took the dish and placed it on the table, where the center was cleared and surrounded by the other dishes that Charmy’s sheep chefs cooked. He grinned at the display, “I can’t wait for dinner!” 

Charmy tapped him on the side, holding a plate with a cheeky grin, “Sometimes we don’t have to wait for everyone else to dig into our own creations.” She passed a plate piled high with their mashed potatoes to Asta. 

Asta’s eyes sparkled, “Really?!” 

Charmy nodded with a happy smile. She passed a spoon to him and held her own. “Let’s dig in!” 

Dig in they did. 

“‘Ish ish sho ‘ood!!” Asta said with a mouthful. 

“‘Ummy!” Charmy agreed with a mouthful.

They downed the potatoes right as some of the other Black Bull members started arriving. 

“What’s for eats, Charmy?” Magna greeted. 

Charmy disposed of their empty plate into the sink with a spin and swirled into her seat. “Asta made mashed pot potatoes for everyone!” 

“Asta did?” Vanessa asked, looking over the food. 

“That’s right!” 

Asta smiled as he sat down, “Charmy helped me out a lot!” 

“I bet it’ll taste great with the meat!” Luck said. 

“Wow Asta,” Finral smiled, “On your way to becoming a master chef, huh?” 

Asta laughed, “I still have a long way to go before I’m as good as Charmy!” 

“I suppose I’ll give it a try,” Noelle said, taking a serving of the potatoes served to her by the sheep chefs.

“I hope you all like it!” Asta said as the members collected their meals and took a bite of the potatoes. 

Charmy smiled at Asta at the moment that all the members called out their verdict on the dish. 

“ Delicious !”

Chapter Text

It was another day in the Black Bulls base. 

Nero was situated on the couch, trying a new coffee drink she had Charmy concoct for her while she enjoyed herself. 

Also in the common room, unfortunately for her peace, was Luck. He was jumping around all over the room, seeming to be looking for something to occupy him. 

Spotting Nero, he jumped onto the couch beside her, but upside down. 

Nero turned her gaze to him quietly. 

“Heyo, Nero!” Luck greeted with a lopsided grin. 

“Luck,” Nero said simply. 

“Wanna fight?” Luck said.

“Not now,” Nero said and proceeded to take a sip of the drink. Hm, it certainly was strong. 

Luck pouted. He looked at her drink next. “Whatcha drinkin’?” 

Nero hummed. “Charmy said it was a double espresso.” 

“Ooh, I’ve never had that!” Luck said. “Can I have some?!” 

Nero pursed her lips, “It’s coffee, do you like coffee?” 

Luck sat up and faced Nero on the couch, “Of course I do! Charmy gives me some all the time!” He said, even though it wasn’t completely true. Charmy always gave him hot chocolate. But if Nero was drinking it looking cool and mature, then so could Luck, couldn’t he? 

Nero eyed him, then passed the mug over. “Alright, here.” 

Luck cheered and took the mug. 

“Careful.” 

Luck took a big gulp of the hot drink. He instantly choked on the taste. 

Nero snatched the mug back out of caution. She watched him. “Are you okay?” 

Luck coughed but nodded, “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. It was just…” he swallowed his saliva, “bitter.” 

Nero sat back and nodded, “Mhm. It’s stronger than usual. Not sure I like it yet.” 

“Yeah, yeah,” Luck said rapidly. “I think it needs sugar!” He jumped over to the kitchen without letting Nero respond. He used his magic to speed through the cabinets until he found the sugar jar. He rushed it back to Nero. “Here! Add some!” 

Nero stared at him. 

He opened the jar and moved to pour the sugar into the mug directly. 

Nero put her hand on the jar to stop him. “I’m fine with it. Unless you want more?” 

Luck nodded, “Yeah, yeah. It might taste better to me with sugar! Can I have half?” 

Nero passed him the mug. 

Luck grinned and poured half of the coffee into the sugar jar. 

Nero’s jaw dropped as she watched Luck chug the mostly sugar concoction down. It was at that moment she realized she made a grave mistake. 

“Now that was delicious!!” Luck exclaimed loudly. “Thanks, Nero! I’ll fight you sometime to make it up!” 

“Uh– no–” 

He stared at Nero, “You know Nero, I never asked you, you were a bird for hundreds of years, weren’t you? How come you don’t lay any eggs? Then we could have them for breakfast!” 

Nero blinked at him, “I–” 

“Charmy makes yummy eggs for breakfast! Or like she says, nummy eggs! Hahaha!” Luck burst into laughter. 

“Luck–” 

“Nero, I’m feeling all zingy right now!” Luck said. “Are you? How about you? Is it just me?” 

Nero grabbed his arm quickly, she could feel something about to happen, “Let’s go outside–” 

Luck’s eyes went wide with energy and he faced Nero with one of his energy filled crazed smiles. “Nero, I feel like lightning right now!” 

And all went to chaos. Bright light filled Nero’s vision, causing her to lose her grasp on Luck, who turned into a ball of lightning stronger than when he fought the toughest enemy. 

His energy streamed through him, causing him to literally bounce off the walls within the interior of the base’s large common area. Laughter followed at each crash of the wall which shook the base at its core. 

Nero ducked her head from the debris and watched as the mug she had put down fell over, pouring out the rest of the contents to the floor. She held in a sigh at the destruction the innocent seeming drink caused. 

Footsteps and shouts rushed into the common area at the ruckus. 

“What’s going on here?!” 

“Luck!? What the hell is wrong with you?!” 

“Stop it, Luck!” 

“Nero!” Vanessa called from the doorway, “Are you okay?”

Nero nodded at her. She suddenly ducked from an oncoming lightning bundle of Luck. She ran out of the room. 

“What happened?” Vanessa asked. 

Nero covered her face, “I may have let Luck have some of my coffee.” 

The faces of the Bulls present paled. 

“That’s not good,” Finral said. 

“Why the hell would you do that?!” Magna shouted. 

“He told me he liked it,” Nero said. 

“And you believed him? He’s a hyperactive lunatic without coffee!” 

“It was a double espresso, la!” Charmy piped up. 

“A what?!” Even Vanessa shrieked. “Okay, that’s not good!” 

Nero grimaced. “Sorry.” 

Vanessa shook her head, “It doesn’t matter now. We just need to get him out of the base before it gets…” she looked at the practically destroyed common space, “completely unsalvageable.” She cleared her throat. “Finral?” 

Finral’s grimoire was already out, “On it.” His eyes traced Luck’s rapid bouncing and maniacal laughter and he suddenly opened a portal. 

Like a ping pong ball, Luck fell into the portal and all was silent in the base once more.

The bulls breathed heavily. 

They all calmed down for a moment. 

“So… that’s why Luck isn’t allowed near coffee,” Vanessa said.

Nero sighed, “So I see.” 

They heard a loud booming of destruction in the distance. 

Finral rubbed his head, “I sent him not too far from here. He should be good for a few hours.” 

Charmy trotted to the destroyed kitchen, “I’ll cook up some nummy dinner for him to help him settle all the caffeine!” 

“Thanks, Charmy,” Vanessa said. 

“Ugh,” Magna groaned, “And now we’re stuck with cleaning up Luck’s mess!” 

“Sorry,” Nero said. 

“It’s okay, Nero,” Vanessa said, “you didn’t know. Let’s just start cleaning up.”

Magna groaned again as he started pushing large blocks of broken brick away. “Maybe we could start with the kitchen, so Charmy can cook us some mana replenishing meals for Henry to fix this place with his magic!” 

“Not a bad idea,” Finral said, “but we still need to clear the inside out. 

Magna groaned again. 

“I’ll go get some brooms,” Vanessa said. 

Nero started helping Magna with the fallen pieces. “I promise I’ll never give Luck coffee again.” 

Finral sighed, “Let this be a reminder for us all.”

Chapter Text

It was already late evening, but Finral was still up in his room, getting paperwork done. He cursed in his head at the number of documents that needed work from their squad. It was so complicated. 

And to top it off, he wasn’t even the co-captain of the squad! He so desperately wished that whoever it was would appear and take this work from him. He had no desire to continue doing this for Yami. 

Finral dropped his head on the papers and closed his eyes. He just needed a break for a minute. Maybe he could go outside for a second to relieve the stress. 

He didn't even know why he was doing paperwork after he helped everyone clean up the common area earlier since Luck destroyed it in his coffee-high. The sounds of the forest getting destroyed had calmed down and Finral hoped Luck would make his way back soon for dinner. 

A knock came from his door at that moment, which pushed opened. 

Finral opened his mouth to yell at the intruder for not waiting, but paused. 

Luck entered the room with a pensive look on his usual smile. He was holding something behind his back. “Hi Finral,” he said. 

Finral stood and faced him with a smile, “Back from your outing already, Luck?” He noticed how calm, even tired, Luck was looking.  

Luck hesitated. 

“What’s the matter?” Finral asked at his attitude. 

Luck pulled around a basket he was holding. “Can you wrap my cuts up, please?” 

Finral softened, “Of course. How did you get cut?” He motioned for Luck to have a seat on his bed. 

Luck sat down while Finral pulled his chair up beside him. “From my training in the forest! I decided to try to destroy some trees without my magic!” 

“Without magic?!” Finral gasped. He knew Luck’s magic gave him boots that protected his legs. “No wonder you got cuts!” 

“I didn’t know I got cut until it started getting itchy on my legs and I finally looked!” he tried to reason at Finral’s look.

“Itch?” Finral looked worried. “If it’s itching, we should get you washed up first.” 

“Wash up?” Luck frowned. 

Finral nodded and stood again. He grabbed the basket of aid items and put a hand on Luck’s shoulder. “Come on, to the washroom.” 

Luck pouted but didn’t say anything as he complied with Finral’s directions. 

They reached the bathroom of the base, which was fairly large to accommodate many of the members at a time if they wished to bathe at the same time. 

Finral directed Luck forward, “Go wash up, I’ll wait out here.” 

Luck turned his pout to Finral. “Myself?” 

Finral looked into his eyes, then sighed. “Fine, fine, I guess I can take a bath too.” 

Luck’s eyes brightened. 

“Come on,” Finral urged.

The two undressed and wrapped towels around themselves. 

Finral examined Luck’s legs. He gasped, “How did you not realize those cuts earlier?!”

Luck shrugged. 

“You didn’t take your clothes off, did you?” Finral asked tentatively. 

Luck shook his head vigorously, “Nope!” 

Finral hummed. Maybe he’d request Captain Yami and Henry to relocate the base a little bit, seeing as the forest around them wasn’t the friendliest to their energetic and outdoorsy members. 

“Alright, let’s wash up.” 

Finral helped Luck with cleaning up, noticing him wince as water touched his cuts but did not say anything. 

The two washed up quickly and got out of the bath. Finral helped Luck dry off and carefully began applying medicine to the various cuts on his legs. 

“It's a good thing we washed up,” Finral said as he spread the cream on the cuts. 

Luck nodded with a grin. 

“There,” Finral said when he finished. “Now we can wrap it up.” He grabbed the white gauze and started unrolling it. 

Luck pulled his legs away. 

“What?” Finral looked up at the boy. 

Luck frowned. “They're plain.” 

Finral blinked at him then at the gauze. “...Yes? They are. They're to protect your cuts.” 

“I don't want them.” 

“Luck?” Finral frowned. “It's fine its just to cover the cuts for a little while.” 

Luck crossed his arms. “In that case, the cuts look better.” 

Finral's jaw dropped. “Come on, we have to cover them.” 

Luck didn't make a sound. 

Finral paused. He turned to the medicine basket and dug around. He found an inked pen and held it up to show Luck. “What if I doodle on it after I wrap it?” 

Luck’s eyes widened. “Yeah!” 

Finral smiled and began wrapping the gauze around Luck’s legs finally. Once wrapped, he used the ink to start drawing small symbols. Careful to avoid spots where the cuts were, he drew lightning bolts, bull heads, flames, swords, and other symbols representing some of their members on both legs of gauze. 

He pulled back after finishing. “What do you think?” 

Luck kicked up his legs. “I love it!” He fixed his pants, tucking the bottoms in so that the gauze would stick out to show the doodles. “I'm gonna go show Magna!” 

Finral laughed as he put the medical supplies back into the basket. “Sure thing.” 

Before he could properly stand, Luck suddenly wrapped himself around him, causing Finral to fall back on his bottom. 

“Thanks, Finral!” 

Finral relaxed, returning the hug. You're a real pest sometimes, but you're welcome Luck.” 

Luck giggled happily. He held onto Finral for a moment longer then released him and helped him up. 

Once Finral was on his feet, Luck was out of the dressing area to find Magna in the base. 

Finral smiled at the interaction and headed to put the medical supplies away. He hummed a small happy tune, his mood lifted. Perhaps he would make some progress on the documents he had left for the evening after all.

Chapter Text

Liebe was in his usual chibi form outside of the grimoire, hanging around the Black Bulls base. Asta was off training and Liebe had grown bored and wanted to explore the base some more. 

He was passing by one of the odd shaped windows of the base when he noticed something flash by. 

Curiously, he peaked out the window and saw a bundle of blue light bouncing on the rooftops of the base. Liebe went out the window himself to get a better look. 

All the way at the top, finally stood Luck, cupping his hands around his eyes as he peered into one of the windows of the base. 

“What are you doing?” Liebe asked the boy. 

Luck turned around, eyes lit up with his magic. “Oh, it’s you!” he grinned. He turned back to the window. “I’m poking around.” 

Liebe frowned and crossed his arms, “You can’t do that.” 

Luck shrugged, “Why not? I can do anything I want! I’m cute! Vanessa even said so!” 

Liebe’s mouth dropped. “Wha– Well, Noelle says I’m cute!” 

Luck swirled around and grabbed him around his abdomen, causing him to yelp. He pulled him to the window. “Look, Liebe!” 

Liebe recentered himself after being manhandled and peered inside. It was a room with bookshelves and papers everywhere. “It’s just an office room?” 

Luck nodded, “Yup! The scroll on the table says there’s a dungeon nearby!” 

Liebe’s ears perked, “A dungeon?” 

Luck looked at him, “Let’s go together! No one’s fought me in a long time. You’re good at fighting!” 

Liebe pushed himself out of Luck’s grip. “What are you going to do? Steal the map?” 

Luck nodded. 

Liebe frowned. “Well I can’t fight without Asta’s grimoire.” 

Luck hummed, thinking. He suddenly gasped, pointing a finger up, “Okay, I’ll steal the map and you steal your grimoire! We’ll meet up behind the base right after!”  

Liebe thought about it. Asta was busy doing his daily training and wouldn’t notice the grimoire gone. And if Luck failed to get the map, he could just return it. But if they were successful, they probably wouldn’t take too long in the dungeon anyways. He shrugged, “I'm not stealing because it’s mine too, but okay.” 

“Great!” Luck started tugging the window open, and Liebe took that as his cue to get his task done. 

He flew down to the forest in front of the base, searching for the clearing that Asta was in. It didn’t take too long, seeing as he was loudly shouting during his exercises. 

Liebe watched his brother from a distance. Luckily, it seemed that he had tossed his extra belongings to the side. Wordlessly, he went to the discarded grimoire belt and pulled out his grimoire. It was a bit heavier in this form, but he took it and flew away as silently as he had arrived. 

He went around to the back of the base to look for Luck. 

“There’s the other one,” he heard a deep voice speak that did not belong to Luck. 

Liebe looked up to see Captain Yami holding Luck by the collar with one hand and the map with the other. 

“Uh oh,” Liebe said. 

Luck giggled, “Oopsie.” 

Yami sighed, releasing Luck who jumped away and faced him. “You twerps thought you could just take the map and leave, huh?” 

Liebe floated closer to Luck, “No– uh…”

“Yup!” 

Liebe looked at Luck, shocked. 

Yami rubbed his face. “Well, whatever,” he sighed. He tossed the map to Luck, who eagerly caught it. “I guess you two can go. Needed to send someone to check it out, anyway.” 

“Really?” Liebe gasped. 

Yami waved his hand, “Yeah. The dungeon’s already been secured, just need to make sure it’s good for other teams to go in for research. Go get your energy out, and don’t get killed or anything of the sort.” 

“Yessir!” Luck cheered and started running off. “Come on, Liebe!”

Liebe transformed to his full self with the grimoire, his Black Bulls cape fluttering around his shoulders, and raced after the other. 

“I hope I don’t regret this,” Yami muttered while shaking his head as he watched the two boys disappear.

~0~

Asta strolled into the common area of the base, wiping his sweat down with a towel. “Hey,” he called out to the members lounging, “has anyone seen Liebe? I think he took my grimoire while I was training.” 

Yami didn’t look up from his newspaper, “He went on a dungeon mission with Luck.” 

Asta blinked, “Oh, he– what?” 

“ Luck ?!” Finral gasped, “You sent Luck on that mission?! With Liebe” 

“I–I hope they’re–they’ll be okay…” Grey stuttered from behind the couch.

“Relax,” Yami said to Finral, “they’ll be fine. Those brats love these types of missions.” 

Finral face palmed, “That’s not the problem, it’s the destruction they’ll cause, that is!”

Asta glanced between them. “I'm sure they'll be okay!” he said optimistically. “Luck and Liebe can be mature sometimes!” 

Finral gave him an exasperated look. “Somehow I doubt they'll be able to control themselves in an empty dungeon.” 

Yami crushed the newspaper between his hands, glaring at the two. “I'm the Captain and I sent them. Now get lost before I crush you like this newspaper!” 

“ Yessir !” 

~0~

“Liebe, Liebe! Look at this one!” Luck cried, jumping to a wall with holes that activated to shoot blasts of energy out randomly. 

Liebe worked to punch them, his antimagic erasing them upon contact. “Easy one!” he retorted, dust settling behind him from the ones that he didn’t catch. He stepped on a loose stone that began dropping shards of something pointy. “Take that!” 

Luck quickly weaved between them, destroying several as they fell. 

Manic laughter echoed through the stoney space from the two teens. 

“Let’s go make sure there aren't any monsters!” Luck said, speeding around the open dungeon space. 

“Sounds good,” Liebe said, “I'll follow you.” 

Luck nodded and blasted off, powering up his magic to its fullest. 

It wasn’t long before the two had made sure every trap had been set off and defeated and creatures lurking in the dungeon. 

In the end, the researchers who came to study had to become adventurers in order to navigate through the rubble that was left behind. 

~0~

Finral sighed at the document on top of the pile. A report of the destroyed dungeon. He knew it would happen. With another sigh, he threw it to the top of the “bills they couldn’t afford to pay for” document pile.

Chapter Text

The Black Bulls base’s office room was one of the quiet places in the base. At this time, there were sounds of frantic scribbles and paper rustling from tall stacks of paper. 

Finral sat at the desk against the window, a hand in his hair and another holding a feathered pen as he read a document. The words were starting to become mundane and he was finding himself reading the same line twice or thrice over. The flickering candle nearby was not much help. 

After dinner with everyone, Finral had gone up to the office to try to get some work done that needed to be submitted later in the week. However, maybe he should have declined the glass of wine from Vanessa at dinner or maybe the stress of thinking about the work was getting to him. 

“Finral,” came a voice close behind him. 

Finral jumped, nearly falling out of his seat. He spun around. “Vice Captain Nacht!”

Nacht held his usual pensive expression. “What are you doing?” 

Finral felt his eyes water, “I’m doing mission paperwork that we’re supposed to have in by this week! We’re so behind they were only nice enough to give us until then!” 

Nacht took the document Finral was holding and scanned it. He hummed. “Move,” he said. 

Finral blinked at the older man, but quickly stumbled out of the chair. 

Nacht replaced him and began scribbling on the document. Finral quietly watched him for a minute. 

Finral cleared his throat, “Well… since you’ve got it covered now…” 

“Stop,” Nacht said. “You need to tell me about these missions so I know what to document.” 

Finral sighed and slumped against the wall. 

Nacht peered at him. “Does no one else do this?” 

Finral ran a hand through his hair, “I’m sure you’re aware of the personalities of the members in this squad. Not that it matters, this is supposed to be the job of the Captain and Vice Captain anyways.” 

Nacht narrowed his eyes at him. 

Finral straightened up, “Uh, I mean! Captain Yami did his best!” 

Nacht turned back to the papers. “...I’m sure.” 

“...I mean Nero helps out, sometimes. Gordon too. But usually it’s me and Captain Yami.”

“Alright,” Nacht said. 

Silence fell between the two again. 

Finral slumped down to crouch on the ground as he waited for Nacht to ask him about the documents. They really needed to get another chair in the office. Then again, that would mean he'd have to be in there too. Probably best not to get the extra chair. He hoped Nacht would take over his duties, to be honest. 

“Hm,” Nacht hummed, flipping through some of the documents Finral had finished. “You’re a lousy flirt who struggles on missions most of the time,” he said. 

Finral's jaw dropped. Was Nacht seriously insulting him right now? Was his work that bad?!

“But,” Nacht continued, “you do a good job handling these tasks.” 

Finral's frown fell. He stared at the side of Nacht's face in shock. “R-Really? Thanks… I think.” 

“I'll take over the documenting from now on,” Nacht said. “Perhaps you can assist me in the future.” 

Finral continued staring at Nacht in surprise. “I… yeah I wouldn't mind helping you out…” He stood and looked around the room. “Oh, I know how I can start!” He went to one of the shelves and pulled a notebook out. He brought it in front of Nacht and plopped it on the table over the other papers.

“What is this?” Nacht asked. 

“It's a collection of notes of all our members!” Finral declared, pulling the cover open. “Everyone's got their own section, see?” 

There indeed was a section for each member, some thicker than others. 

Finral began flipping through the pages, “Here's a few. Like Gauche, do not take his pictures of Marie to motivate him to work. Trust me, it will not work and he destroys the place instead of doing his job.” A few more pages. “Oh this is Luck's list of allergies, he's kind of got a lot of them... it’d be good for you to memorize them just in case. Charmy knows this too since she does most of our cooking.” More pages were flipped. “Vanessa’s got a whole list of favorite wines, this is useful during the holiday season, to be honest.” 

Nacht’s eye twitched as he stared 

“I recently added yours, too!” Finral announced, pulling a tab that indeed had his name on it. It only held a profile page which was empty except for his name and ranking in the squad. 

Nacht shut the file. “There is no need for that.” 

“Oh,” Finral blinked. “I guess we don't know you that well yet, anyways.” He shrugged. He straightened the binder and left it in front of Nacht. “You can keep this, I have it practically memorized anyways. You'll find it useful for some of our more troublesome members.” 

Nacht pushed the file back to Finral. “I will not have a need for this.” 

Finral stopped, realizing what Nacht meant. “Ah, I see…” He folded up the file carefully and returned it back to its place on the shelf. “I’ll just leave it here as usual…” He stared at the file on the shelf as Nacht turned back to the documents to finish. “I just… got caught up making them because everyone became like a family to me and I wanted to do my best to take care of them. I'm sure you'll become a part of us as we spend more time together.” 

Nacht was quiet. He put a document on the finished pile and grabbed another from the pending pile. “Why don't you go rest for today,” he finally said. 

Finral's face fell. “Yeah… okay.” He turned away from the bookshelf and headed for the door. 

“Finral,” Nacht said again. 

“Yes sir?” Finral turned his head back. 

“Thank you for your dedication to the squad.” 

Finral's face brightened. “Yessir!” 

With that, Nacht was left alone in the office room. He worked on the documents, the sounds of paper and ink scratching the only sounds accompanying him. 

Several minutes passed before he paused and turned to the bookshelf. The binder stood out, being much thicker than other books on the shelf. It was also well worn from use, rather than age compared to the neighboring books. 

With a sigh, Nacht stood and took the binder. He found it to be well organized. 

Finral’s passion for getting to know the members really did come through. He found a section for every member with details about their habits, likes, dislikes, and motivating information. Like the younger man had mentioned, there was even a new section for Nacht. 

There was no information in it, other than his title as Vice-Captain. 

The feather pen next to him, Nacht lifted it and started writing on the next page. 

“What are you writing, Mr. Nacht?” Gimodelo appeared to speak right at that moment. 

Nacht was not surprised. “I’m writing about you,” he answered truthfully. He wrote the names of his accompanying devils, and their likes and dislikes. He didn’t know when this would ever be relevant. 

“I like Mr. Nacht and peanuts!” Gimodelo supplied. 

Nacht hummed. He would only write down peanuts for his likes. 

After writing some things about his devils, he put his pen down. They’d have to figure out the rest of his own likes and habits. He would be curious to see what Finral could find out. 

At that, Nacht noticed no section for Finral himself. Holding back a sigh of disbelief of what he was doing, Nacht flipped to the back and added Finral’s name. 

He formatted it similarly to the other members’ sections. He didn’t know much about the young man, so most of it was left empty. At the end of the page, he scribbled down a single line, then shut the binder. He would look over each member’s sections over time. For now, he would go back to the documents. 

Gimodelo popped away and Nacht was left in silence again to work on the pending documents.

Deep inside the binder, that now sat on its spot on the shelf again, was the newest page with the small message, ‘ A hard working young man. ’