Reassure Me and Break My Fall
By: Trunks Lil Sis
Summary: As Kite and Elk progress in their feelings a bump in the road slows them. Roles are again reversed and through the confusion Elk will need to find his way back to Kite, if the latter waits for him.
Authors Notes: Due to happy reviews I've decided a quick sequel was only appropriate. It's taken me and hour and half to write this with the aid of my All-American Rejects CD, so don't expect an amazing story. It is also three in the morning I might add, and my Beta is out of the state. It is however what I call Flangst. A bit of Fluff and a lot of Angst. Steal my term and I'll kill you. ^_^ Read on.




"Thanks for the great adventure!" BlackRose smiled at Kite waving a tan, marked hand at him. "Call me anytime!" She paused in place before vanishing from 'The world' and leaving Kite in the solitary presence of Elk. The two boys met eyes briefly before twin bouts of giggles took them.

"I'd almost forgotten how much she likes this kind of stuff." Elk gestured to the area of the world they had just explored. "I think you'll have to invite her more often." The light blue haired boy leaned on his staff, a sort of trademark. He took a quick glance around the deserted area before risking the act of moving closer to Kite.

The boy dressed in orange rolled his eyes and rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, she likes the adventure after I've killed most of the enemies and after you've healed her to the max," Kite allowed his shoulder to brush Elk's. "But you're right, I feel kind of bad, as if we've been ignoring her for the other players."

Kite ducked down as Elk's staff came flying at his head. "Need I remind you you're only allowed two members in your party at once. Maybe if you excluded me for a while, you'd be able to incorporate others." Though Kite had dodged the swing at his head, he was taken by surprise at Elk's bold movements and felt the staff nudge him in the side. "Why not invite Mistral instead of me the next time you log on?"

Elk was jerked suddenly into Kite's side, an arm being wrapped securely around his waist. "Why would I see her when I could have you? You're always the first person I think of. Why would it be any different then before?" Kite asked, a frown on his face.

The softer spoken of the two pulled out of Kite's grasp and stumbled a few feet away. "I think maybe we're just going to fast. I don't want us to suffocate the other, and at this rate we'll do that in mere days."

Kite crossed his arms, feeling a sudden chill. "I'm just doing what feels right, Elk. You won't see me in the real world. I don't have a phone number or an address. I've been forced to resort to keeping my computer on at all times in hopes to catch you on at any time. I feel like you're blocking me out, and I don't like it Elk. I don't like the feeling you're giving me."

"It's better if we do not speak outside of the confines of this virtual world," Elk informed him softly. "Why can't this be enough for you?"

Snow had begun to fall in the area they were stationed in and Kite felt it chill his bones. "I think you're ashamed of me, Elk. In here no one knows who we are, where we live. In here no one can judge us for what we believe in or who we like." Kite hugged himself tighter. "But in the real world there isn't any hiding. You don't want to feel exposed, and I'd expose you."

Tears pricked Elk's eyes when he noticed Kite's tears had long fallen. "No, it isn't-" Elk reached for Kite but wrenched back at the cold look from him.

"I have to go, I have school tomorrow and my mother needs me to go to the store for her," Kite told Elk, with a hard-set expression. "I'll call for you if I'm in again." Elk stood motionless as Kite's form disappeared from view. Finally tears managed to find their way out and down his face, leaving them frozen in place from the extreme cold.

"I'll miss you, Kite." Elk gather his staff to his body and stood still as he gated out.

It was many days later when Elk found the time to log in. He was immediately saddened to find an empty in-box and a lack of invitation. The town was quiet in the early morning hours and aside from the few all-nighters, it was deserted.

"Kite! There you-" Elk turned quickly to meet the confused face to of BlackRose. Behind the pink-haired girl stood Mia looking stern as ever. "Sorry Elk," She apologized. "I though you were Kite, you haven't seen him, have you?"

Elk shook his head and was forced to find his balance as the ground shook. There was a quick wave of power before his surroundings turned fuzzy for a moment. "What was that?" He asked, eyes wide and just then beginning to focus. The people around him were recovering as well, proving to Elk that it had not just been him who had felt the strong imbalance.

"That's why we wanted to know if you had seen Kite," Mia told him. "He hasn't been logged on for a long period of time and several data bugs have appeared. The areas that they appeared were gated off but too many are here now. We've all received e-mails asking us to leave 'The World', but we think Kite can take care of them before the damage is irreversible."

Elk's brows furrowed together. "Didn't Kite say that people who were damaged in the game were known to slip into comas?" Elk certainly hadn't been a believer of Kite's theory at first, but if the main towns were malfunctioning then he wasn't about to become an experiment.

Mia's character's paused form became blurred. "I'm being disconnected!" She was angered as a forced logging off was initiated. Elk turned to BlackRose who had paused as well. Immediately following Mia her character was terminated and Elk found himself strangely alone in the town.

Fearing for his life and his character's data he quickly attempted to log off himself. He became panicked as The World' fuzzed again and he could not. After multiple attempts he had earned himself a mere headache and red character face.

"All right, what's the problem?" Elk turned sharply to see Kite gating in, an annoyed expression marring a normally beautiful face. "Elk?" Both males were sent crashing to the floor as a large shock wave rolled over the town, distorting features and damaging data. "What's going on?" The anger and annoyance was gone and replaced with worry and concern as he helped Elk off the floor. "It took forever to get logged on, and then I got a weird e-mail telling me to leave immediately."

"Since you haven't been here tons of Data Bugs have appeared and spread viruses. Everyone has been logged off, I think they're trying to fix the problem."

Elk felt himself intoxicated by his close proximity to Kite. The lightheaded feeling of joy whenever he was near enough to smell Kite's cinnamon smell. Part of him knew that the smell was merely a simulation of the spice, yet he felt as if it were more powerful replicated, then real. "Lets go then," Elk was pulled forward by Kite, close enough to the Chaos Gate so they could travel to another area and stop the Bugs.

"Wait!" Elk implanted his feet into the ground; his heals creating a dust cloud. "Why're you bringing me along?" Hadn't Kite stormed off earlier that week, angered at him? Was he being brought along simply for his spells?

"You're in my party, and we always work together!" Kite told him slowly. "Why would this time be any different?"

Elk gripped Kite's arm as the power wave washed over them again. "You were angry at me," He told Kite breathlessly. "I though we were through."

Kite's eyes widened in realization and slapped a hand to his forehead. "Elk, we did have a fight, but that doesn't change what I feel towards you. I was wrong to assume you would want to have a relationship outside of 'The World'. I pushed and it wasn't fair to you. I just though I'd give you some time away from me, you know?"

"It isn't your fault," Elk assured him, both ignoring the deteriorating world around them. "I know what we have is real, but I couldn't trust you enough to tell you," He wrapped his arms around Kite's waist. "I was afraid of you, afraid that you wouldn't want me when you found out the truth."

Kite pulled the male into his warm embrace, willing to stay as long as possible to help his friend express his feelings. "I don't have a mother like you, Kite. I don't have a home either. I can't really remember anyone loving me. How can you like me? A weak person like me?"

Kite let out a low chuckle and rested his head on Elk's shoulder. "I guess things eventually become reversed at some point. I remember you having a similar conversation with me earlier. You had confidence in me, and believed in me. It's your heart that I love, Elk. You make me see what is really in front of me. You make me whole. And if you do all that, how could you possibly be weak?"

"We're going to be deleted if we just stand here," Elk said, Kite's words warming his heart. "Could we get rid of the bugs and then talk some more?" His voice was hopeful and was rewarded with a quick kiss to the lips.

"Sure!" The happy Kite was back and in full swing, Elk observed. "And I'll get a date out of you yet!" Elk rolled his eyes at his exuberant Kite and followed him off to do what they did best. He made a quick mental note to save back money as he felt Kite's hand wrap around his. Like he had assured Kite before, they would hold each other up: some how, some way.