strengthened, Kite took initiative though didn't steal the moment from the boy and scooted a tad closer to Elk, till the two avatars were sitting shoulder-to-shoulder.

Round eyes widened and cheeks flushed (Kite never really knew blushing was even possible within The World) before Elk caught his bottom lip between his teeth, obviously deep in thought. Whatever it was he was pondering, it didn't last long. The Wavemaster let go of the little blade of emerald green in his hand and, an audacious act by his standards, leaned towards the Twin Blade and placed a soft, barely-there kiss on his cheek.

Despite being able to anticipate the nmotion, offline the teen couldn't help but blush almost furiously, his reddened face exponentially brighter than his seemingly cool avatar, who perhaps had a mind of his own after all because Kite's face was only a tinge pinker than usual.

Elk's tender features weren't spared either; he turned his away from his companion, face hidden by his milky blue bangs. The beginnings of a sentence were uttered; his usual "Ums" and "Uhs" and "I, uhs" stuttering forth, eyes misting over with a hue that seemed to be tinged with regret for his action. Really, how could he have been so silly as to think such a gesture was acceptable? But the compress-and-swell in his chest, on and offline, were both so incredibly undeniable. Was it crazy? Perhaps, but so was everything he had endured with the Twin Blade next to him. Was it real? Most certainly; Elk couldn't say otherwise.

"I-I know that was...weird, but..."

"N-No! It wasn't..." Kite fidgeted, suddenly feeling like such a teenager; unsure of what to say although he knew what words he had to get in.

"You...really think so?"

"...Yeah."

Elk gave Kite a soft smile and their idle banter continued; uncommon questions of where one lived, what school the other went to and the like comming up every now and then, and even the date to meet on the Sunday after next with the idea of getting to know the person behind the neurogoggles. Because in The World, there was usually very little difference between the avatar and the mundane behind them. Kite liked Elk; Aya liked Hikki, and there was nothing fabricated or synthetic about it. The feelings stirred within them were final and true and nothing would change that; cyberspace or thirty-minute distance between towns or anything of the sort.

Their love was the real thing.