He was the only reason she was glad she had ever put on the NerveGear.

"Dammit, Rose! I love you. Please don't leave me." He muttered incoherent words into her chest as his mouth swept across her collarbone leaving hot open-mouthed kisses and gentle bites. He was an avid gamer who found RoseFire only four months ago in a dungeon by herself facing down a level 45 Kracken, locked into inaction by sheer terror. If he had been seconds later, she would have disappeared with the rest of her party. The only indication she'd ever even been there would be the server population number dropping one more digit. No one would have noticed this late in the game.

It had taken a week and a half for him to break her out of her shell-shocked stupor. Her three previous party mates she had known in real life. Close friends from college. It was their junior year – well it had been when SAO launched. NoirWolf had learned all this much later, two months later, when RoseFire finally opened up to him slightly and could tell him about how she had come to be in that dungeon, much higher than was wise for her level.

During that slow beginning to their relationship, NoirWolf had been patient. Just wanting to feel like he really mattered to someone in this hellish game. Like he had saved at least one person. Made a difference here. He wasn't a brave, high level player in the clearing group. Hell, he was scared shitless just like everyone else. But he continued pushing himself forward so that he would at least have the strength to help someone, so he wouldn't be dead weight to anyone, or just another drop in the server population.

RoseFire was thankful for Wolf's companionship more than she could ever express during the time after she lost her friends. He would bring her food at every meal and paid for a room at the inn for her on floor 35 so she wouldn't be worried about the player killers. He would sit at the end of her bed holding her hand, or in the chair always positioned right next to the night stand and brush her hair away from her tear stricken face. His small comforts meant the world to her.

After nine days, when she looked up into his beautiful green eyes full of emotion, his hair falling forward over his forehead as he leaned over her to brush her bangs aside, she reached up to cup the side of his face and slowly bring his lips to hers. His eyes had gone wide and his cheeks rosy with the unexpected gesture. She could tell he was surprised, and maybe not too experienced when it came to women. Wrapping her other arm around his shoulders, she urged him down onto the mattress with her. He moved smoothly but with a hint of uncertainty. He kept tension in his forearms on either side of her, unsure to lay all of his weight on top of her while they continued to press their lips together in a chaste, sweet kiss. Rose tried to bring him closer by wrapping a leg around his hips which coaxed a shuddering breath from his open mouth. Her warm lips crashed onto his, taking advantage of the opening, tongue sweeping in to run along the back of his teeth.

He ended the kiss and raised his upper body further from hers. A small smile itching its way up from the corners of his mouth.

"Heh. Uh…. Hi." Rose realized that in all the days he had watched over her, they had never spoken to one another. She blushed to the roots of her brunette hair.

"Hi." She managed to squeak out.

That was the starting moment of their relationship. On day 10, RoseFire left the inn with NoirWolf and they meandered through town unhurriedly. Noir kept their conversations to the world of SAO to avoid bringing up her departed friends. He never asked for her real name, or about her family back home, if she had a boyfriend, what other hobbies she had. They were content to just be in each others' company.

Now, at day 127, Wolf felt like he knew Rose better than he'd known anyone else in his life, maybe even himself. She was a kind person, who cared and worried deeply for those close to her. She wasn't vain although she had beautiful, rich, dark chocolate colored hair and striking hazel eyes. She was even somewhat shy when it came to her skills as a player in this game. Wolf loved having her near him, loved waking up to the scent of her hair on his pillow, the way she coyly batted her eyelashes at him to make him blush when he was unsure… he loved her.

Today was the day he wanted to tell her all of his. He took her to a pretty gazebo in the castle's outer grounds on floor forty with a small speech he had prepared, and then completely garbled. But she was beaming none the less. Her petite hands tugged his tall, lanky frame down to her level and kissed him with all her might, smiling so large he could feel her dimples pressing against his skin. He staggered forward slightly as she jumped onto him, wrapping her legs around him and peppering his entire face with excited kisses as he chuckled and clutched onto her for dear life. He was so happy he could float away.

She raced him to the nearest inn (they hadn't accrued enough col to buy a house yet). Once they were inside the familiar rooms, they couldn't keep their hands off each other. Rose was leading his movements towards the bed and guiding his hands where she wanted them.

Tangled in sheets, muffled moans pouring over each others' skin, suddenly they heard a loud canon in the distance. Then silence.

"What was that?" Rose whispered, still frozen. They could hear all the normal sounds of a bustling town come to a halt. The birds stopped chirping, the voices of NPCs selling their wares were gone. Then all of a sudden, sobbing from someone somewhere outside their window. Then broken laughter. Cheering and bawling and triumphant shouts echoed around the town.

Rose and Wolf looked at each other in bewildered concern. What did this mean? Slowly, Wolf lifted himself off of the mattress and glanced towards the window. Rose reached for his arm, eyes pleading him to stay with her. He gave her a comforting kiss and walked to the window. Printed in the bright blue sky –

Congratulations!

Game Cleared. Logout enabled.

…

Was this real? Wolf stood there stunned, mouth agape.

"What is it?" Rose's nervous words reached his ears.

"It's over. The game's been cleared."

Rose lifted the sheets to her chin, eyes shining with unshed tears. "Wha… what does that mean?"

Bright light filtered in through the window growing in intensity. Wolf turned back around. Outside the window, the scenery began disintegrating. Evaporating into bright shards of light then shattering into nothingness. Wolf checked his menu, and a red circle that had never been there popped up – Do you wish to log out?

"Everything is disappearing." He turned back around to stare at Rose as he stood near the window, light cascading down his naked torso. Rose was shivering with quiet tears slowing falling down her cheeks. Striding back to the bed and pulling Rose into a tight embrace, kissing the top of her head. She continued to shiver in his hold, shaking her head back and forth.

"No. I don't want to leave. Please don't leave me!" He brushed butterfly kisses down her nose, over her tightly shut eyes.

"I won't. I'll find you in the real world." As Wolf continued to caress her hair and stroke up and down the sides of her body, he realized he could feel less and less of her. He looked into her eyes a sense of urgency gripping him. The same fear was staring back at his from Rose's beautiful hazel eyes. She was frantically trying to grab at him but couldn't feel the heat of his skin or his touch at all.

"Your name!" Rose shouted. "I don't know your real name! How will I find you?!" Rose could only hear a dim echo of her voice. No. Wolf couldn't hear her. Fear gripped her hard now, her eyes pierced his in pleading and anguish. His mouth was moving quickly but she couldn't hear a thing.

Wolf was staring at Rose's mouth, trying to read her lips. He kept repeating his name as calmly as he could manage, over and over, hoping in vain that should would understand and use his name to find him when they woke up. As hard as he was trying to understand what Rose was saying, he couldn't make out a thing.

The room erupted in light as the walls around them began falling apart. They clung to each other madly, hoping they could anchor themselves a few moments longer. Wolf smashed his lips hard down onto Rose's, craving to leave an imprint of himself there, but not able to feel anything in return. Between his fingers, Rose began to dissipate.

"No. No! Don't leave yet! I love you! Don't leave!"

His arms were empty. He was surrounded by white. The whiteness gradually faded to black and a message appeared before him –

Logout Successful.