Quick note: The best way to read this is if you forget that Asuna and Kirito are together at the present moment (they're not together in the universe my fanfic takes place in). This is a Christmas fanfic that I couldn't wait until Christmas to post so if you want an SAO Christmas fanfic with Sinon and Kirito to read during Christmas save the link or something and come back to it later, otherwise, read on!
"He's coming." She told me, her voice was as harsh as the snow that was carefully covering the region. She had recently traded her regular green camouflage for a new snow camouflage suit which covered her more properly from the shoulders down, but sadly left everything above her shoulders to be pelted by the incoming snow. I had followed in suit, too, even exchanging my signature black armor for a set of white armor. Normally I wouldn't have bothered since I was a melee type and I didn't need to hide, but she insisted that if I was coming with her I needed to change my colors.
"No he's not, Sinon." I argued. "My sources told me that he was going the other route and it looks like they were right." We were out here hunting some high priority target for a large bounty offered by some other player. He had, apparently, killed off the other player's entire squad in some embarrassing way and the player wanted revenge so badly that he offered a large bounty. As soon as we were told a possible location Sinon rushed out after him in fear of not making it in time. I, however, was more used to the information broker business from my days in Sword Art Online so I had picked my sources more carefully and not on the first come, first served basis, but Sinon was so concerned about being the first to catch him that she ignored me.
"He has to come." She hissed in the cold air, creating a cloud of fog from her mouth. The bounty was a massive amount of credits; 500,000 to be exact so the pressure was definitely on us to be first. As a sniper it was simple for Sinon to take out one man as the bullet prediction lines didn't predict a sniper's first shot and I had come along in case he had backup and because I didn't have anything better to do at the moment.
"I already told you that no one's coming." I softly told her as I raised my arms and put them behind my head to support myself as I looked out into the horizon. Little specks of snow methodically floated down from as far as you could see into the sky and either melted away or joined a mass of white when they touched down. A large expansive field of pure, undisturbed white lay out under the cliff we were sniping from. The scene was calming, yet stressful at the same time. In this weather it was extremely easy to track someone because the snow had already managed to cover the entire ground. If he was smart he would've hidden in a cave a long time ago or just logged out.
"Then what do you suggest we do?" Sinon asked from her still frozen position with her stomach on the iced over ground and her eye glued to her scope, constantly and unendingly scanning the horizon for any signs of life.
"Stop for now and try again when we get a new lead, but this time we follow my lead." I suggested, readjusting my position against the bush to try and get more comfortable, but paying a price when more snow fell down on me.
"Fine." The ice-cold sniper huffed once again and for the first time in what seemed like hours moved from her position to join me in lying back against the bush behind her. She looked really peaceful, yet exhausted lying against the bush like that. It was a funny scene to look at.
"Are you okay?" I asked her as she brushed the snow off of her neck and head and started stretching to try to loosen up her muscles up again. After stretching she gave a quick shiver in reaction to the cold.
"Just stiff and my neck is killing me. It's so cold out here." She complained, warming up a bit to the situation now that the pressure had been lifted. I wonder if I'm the only one who has ever seen her drop her guard so far down like this; as she laid there she seemed utterly defenseless.
"Jeez, this is why you buy more winter accessories." I lightly scolded and opened up my inventory in front of me. Since she's completely vulnerable to the climate around her neck I selected my scarf and threw it at her.
"W-what's this?" She stammered being caught completely off guard by the scarf landing in her face. It slowly started to droop down and fall, but she caught it before it could land in the snow.
"A scarf; now put it on before your neck freezes." I coolly told her, unmoving from my position staring up into the sky.
"This is no good, what about you?" She asked, her voice still showing the slightest trace of stammer. Though, at the same time her voice had also gone down a few tones and she sounded really grateful, almost like she had never seen kindness like this before in her life.
"I'm fine, I don't need it." I coolly replied to her. Sword Art Online had a lot colder climates that I had to battle through so I was disciplined enough to at least go without a scarf. Still, Gun Gale Online was freezing, nevertheless.
"This is your scarf so it would be rude to just take it. The only way I'm wearing it is if we s-share." She said, barely getting out the last word. While she talked she seemed…angry? It sounded like anger, but it didn't come across as anger. What was with her words, anyways? It was my scarf so if I made the decision to give it to her, she had no right to complain. A quick look at her face revealed that she was determined and slightly red so there was no way I was getting out of this now.
"I-if you insist." I stammered myself. Even through the freezing winds I could ever so slightly feel the tips of my ears warm up. I slowly and cautiously scooted over to where she was sitting, taking a few more barrages of snow doing so, and braced myself for whatever was coming. I picked up the scarf from her offering hands, wrapped it around her and then around me while letting her head find a place to rest on my shoulder. Her face looked almost beet red at this point, but calm, a nice change from her usual icy personality on missions. Though I couldn't speak much for the color of her face, since mine might've been even redder. Apart from our faces I could only think of one word to describe this scene: serenity.
"T-thank you." She mumbled into the scarf with some difficulty. Her actions made her look kind of cute in this situation.
"No problem." I said while awkwardly smiling in her direction. It would have been a smile of sincerity in almost any other situation.
"Hey Kirito?" She softly called from her side, sending slight vibrations into the woolly scarf.
"Yeah?" I answered back from my own side.
"I know it's early, but Merry Christmas." She calmly said.
"Merry Christmas to you, too, Sinon." I said and smiled in her direction. Serenity.
Bonus scene that I originally took out for being so unrealistic (starts right where the story leaves off):
I don't remember what happened afterward. I guess we both fell asleep afterward while watching the sleepy sight of snow endlessly falling from the sky. All I remember is waking up, all alone with the scarf wrapped properly around my neck and a small present in my lap. I smiled at the sight, this time a real smile, one full of sincerity.
After notes: I got this idea from a picture I once glimpsed of Kirito and Sinon sitting together with a single scarf wrapped around their necks. I would give credit to the person who made the picture if I knew who it was, but you know who you are so that will have to do for now. If you enjoyed please leave a favorite and/or a review and check out my page since I'll be posting another SAO fanfic anywhere between two to seven days from now.