Hey guys, MT here!

Sorry I've been so sporatic with the chapters but I'm nearly going to college (and by nearly I mean next week) so next week's week chapter may be late. Hopefully I'll be back on a regular schedule by September because I really hate this random posting cycle.

Anyways, I'm sorry this is a short chapter but I've been having trouble thinking about what I want to happen next. I've been building up my relationship with Aiko but I'm not sure how I want to proceed. We'll have to see.

Well, ENJOY!

Chapter 21

The next day…

Aiko and I were on our way to meet Asuna, Agil, and Kirito at a nearby bar. They insisted on celebrating our marriage despite our appreciative protests. Liz had apologized because she couldn't leave her friends to run their new blacksmith shop alone.

"Well, well, how're the newlyweds doin' today?" asked Agil, happily, when we walked into the relatively empty bar. We sat down at the table our friends were at and an NPC waitress came to take our orders.

"We're doing alright, Agil," I said, happily. Asuna slid in between us and smiled brightly.

"Did you two make good use of Liz's present? She wouldn't tell me what it was but she said you two would have had a lot of fun with it," said Asuna, smiling brightly. Aiko and I tensed and blushed, brightly, causing Asuna to look at us with a confused expression. As if some kind of divine miracle, the waitress came with everyone's food, interrupting the awkward silence and causing Asuna to sit back down.

"A-Anyways, so Agil, how's the shop doing?" I asked, wanting to stray from the previous conversations.

"Hm? Oh! It's doin' great. When there was that hiccup on the 25th floor, where a bunch of people didn't make it, I lost some business but it's been picking up again since everyone wants to get back to floor clearing," explained Agil.

"Yeah, I heard that the 25th floor boss was a nightmare. I'm glad things are picking up again, though," I said, before scooping into some of my food.

"So what are you two going to do after this? Are you going to go on more romantic trips?" asked Asuna, swooning over some thought about a romantic honeymoon.

"C'mon, Asuna, stop teasing them. Knowing Shikai, he'll probably drag Aiko around this floor again. I've seen him swoon over some of the old architecture," joked Kirito, causing all of us to laugh.

"Actually," began Aiko after the laughing had subsided. "Shikai and I were thinking about going to back to the front lines. Not anytime soon but we thought we'd start preparing for our return. I'm planning on joining one of the major guilds."

"Really? Didn't know you two were so eager to get back to fightin'," said Agil, surprised by our eagerness to return to the battlefield.

"And what about your honeymoon?" asked Asuna, pouting as all her romantic fantasies died.

"We feel like we've been lounging about long enough," I said, chuckling a bit. "Aiko is going to join the DDA and they probably want to get her up to speed with all the guild rules and regulations."

"You two should be careful with that guild. I heard they can be pretty rough," warned Kirito.

"We've heard," I said, a serious expression.

"But one of Shikai's friends is in the guild and he seems higher up so I think he'll help us out. The second-in-command seemed nice too, though he was a little strict," said Aiko. Everyone finished their food by the end of the conversation, Kirito and I exchanging rumors about the guild and Aiko and Asuna exchanging love advice. Well, the latter was more Asuna teaching Aiko since Aiko didn't have much love experience.

Aiko and I made our way back to the DDA HQ and I was checking my messages again. I sent Bradley a message we were on our way so Aiko could join them and he seemed ecstatic.

"Well, well, well, if it ain't my bestest friend and his lovely new bride! Congratulations on yer marriage and now there isn't gonna be any kind of problem," said Bradley, a bright smile on his face. I high fived him and then followed him in.

"Bradley," called out a familiar voice just a few minutes after entering the base. We turned and found Schmitt strutting over to us. "I trust you've brought these two back for a proper reason."

"'Course, boss man. I brought'em back 'cause this young lady here is gonna join us. Oh, 'n' before yuh say anythin' this guy here is her husband so there isn't a problem," said Bradley, a smug smile on his face. Schmitt grinned at him and then turned to us.

"You'll make a fine addition to our guild, Miss," said Schmitt, eliciting a serious nod from Aiko, before turning to me. "Be sure to cherish her. She seems like an amazing woman."

"She is," I said before grabbing Aiko's hand. We smiled at each other and, by the time we looked back at Schmitt, he was already gone. We turned to continue following Bradley and he let us into the guild master's office. We walked forward into the small office which was filled with books in the stone bookshelves that lined the room. There was a large stone desk in the middle, near the back and a chair behind it.

"Uh?" I said, into the silence of the room. The large chair suddenly spun around and a light brown haired man, who also looked a bit on the feminine side, stared at us. They set down the book they were reading and linked their hands together before leaning into their hands.

"May I help you?" asked the man in an annoyed voice.

"My friend, Bradley, said that my wife could join your guild and just sent us in here. The second-in-command, Schmitt, also seemed to like her," I said, speaking out for Aiko.

"Schmitt liked her? He never likes anyone," said the man in an intrigued voice. "My name is Lind Rockwell. I'm half Japanese, half American, and the leader of the Divine Dragons Alliance. What's your name, girl?"

"Y-Yes! My name is Aiko! I've been training to be a tank and hope to be under your care, sir!" shouted Aiko, nervously, before saluting to Lind. I snickered in response and received a light glare from Lind, silencing me.

"Well, hello there, Aiko," began Lind before opening up his menu. A moment later a request appeared in front of Aiko. She hit the blue button and Lind smiled. "Welcome to the DDA."

"T-Thank you for accepting me!" shouted Aiko before bowing to Lind. Lind rose up after a few seconds of silence, smiling.

"Can I assume that you," began Lind, pointing at me. "Are her husband?"

I nodded, curtly, and he smiled.

"Then both of you come with me. It's not often I do this, but I'm in a good mood today because of a good raid on an Area Boss. I'll be your tour guide for today," said Lind, causing Aiko to smile brightly and beam at me in excitement. I smiled back and we laced our fingers together as Lind led us out of his office.

Lind led us around the entire base, showing us the training rooms, recruit quarters, cafeteria, blacksmith shop, etc. Aiko seemed so excited, bouncing from one thing to another. Lind also told him about himself. He talked about his obsession with rare items that could only be retrieved from special quests and Area Bosses. I felt slightly uncomfortable as I was kinda wearing my one of a kind Cloak of Alucard that I had received back on the second floor.

After we had looped around the base, Lind stopped in front of one of the training rooms and turned to us.

"Well, that's basically it on my part. I have to get back to work. Please try out the training room. It would be good for you to start getting used to some of our fighting styles and tactics, Miss Aiko," said Lind. Aiko nodded and he smirked before walking off. We entered the training room to find 7 guild members sparring with each other. Two stopped to take a break while the others continued. We wandered around to see what was in it. There were a plethora of dummies as well as a few punching bags and someone was standing in the corner near the entrance who was presumably that training room's coordinator.

"Hey, you guys new?" asked one of the members who was taking a break.

"She is. Would you mind sparring with her? She wants to see how people in your guild fight," I explained.

"Sure, why not. It's always good to help out the newbies. That way when they get good they can save you," said the member, grinning brightly. "I'm Shak, by the way. Hope we can be friends, Miss…?"

"A-Ah, my name is Aiko. I hope so, too," said Aiko before shaking his hand.

"Mind if I join in?" said the other member who was with Shak. "The name's Marucho. I'll spar with your boyfriend here."

"Actually he's my husband," said Aiko, proudly, before clinging to my arm. The two exchanged a glance and shrugged.

"Good for you. Glad people can trust each other like that," said Shak. "Anyways, why don't we go ahead and start out with sparring?"

We spared with Shak and Marucho for a couple hours before we were finally too tired to continue. We left the training room, waving them off, and returned to our room.

"That was fun, actually. The members seem nice," I said as I fell down on the bed. Aiko was standing in front of a mirror, brushing her hair, and she smiled.

"I'm really happy they are. They even seemed to like you, too. I would have hated it if people were mean to you," said Aiko, causing me to smile. I moved over to her and wrapped my arms around her waist just as she finished brushing her hair. She giggled and turned her head to look at me. "What?"

"I love how sweet you are, always worrying about me," I said, happily, as I nuzzled my face into her hair.

"Of course I do! I care about you," said Aiko, sweetly. I smiled and she turned in my arms to face me. She wrapped her arms around my neck and I pecked her lips.

"I would hope so. I mean, you did marry this one," I said, causing her to roll her eyes, a bright smile on her lips.

"Well I just love this one so you don't have to worry about anything," she said, causing me to chuckle before kissing her again, a bit longer this time.

"I love you so much. I can't imagine getting through this hell game without you," I said, seriously. Aiko giggled at my seriousness and my expression softened.

"You must be so happy that you saved me from those wolves back then," said Aiko, smiling at me.

"Best. Decision. Of. My life," I said, my emphasis causing Aiko to giggle again. We continued to tease each other into the night before falling asleep in each other's arms, exhausted from the day's antics.

So? What did you guys think?

Cute ending? I hope so.

Also, I've been wondering but do you guys care much about lemons? I plan to put at least one later on but I was wondering if you guys would like them or if they'd just be useless. If you don't want them then I'll just put the one and insinuate any others.

Review and let me know what you guys think!

Anyways, until next time...byeee :D