"Welcome! Ah, Jaymes…" Lisbeth looks at the red swordsman, half of her wanting to scold him for coming in her shop a dripping, wet mess, the other half desiring to tease him for getting caught in the rain. It's when he starts wheezing and barely able to hold himself up that she drops both attitudes. "What did you do to get so out of breath? Do you need something urgent?"

He points towards the outside. "It started raining when I got back into town...and I figured I shoud wait it out, so I headed here, but it got stronger. So I sprinted for the last bit… Thanks to that, I didn't get too wet, but I'm exhausted…"

Lisbeth smiles and helps her boyfriend to her feet. "You didn't have to do that! If you'd gotten wet, I'd have lent you clothes to change into...or none at all."

Jaymes scoffs and unequips his weaponry from the inventory menu as Liz walks away. "I'll remember that next time. I was supposed to meet Sanya, Liten, and Shivata here, but as you can see… You don't mind if I wait out the rain here, do you?"

"Of course not. As long as you remember that this isn't a cafe." Lizbeth returns and hands Jaymes a cup of tea, much to his happiness.

"Thanks. That's my Liz. She even brings out the tea right away--how thoughtful."

Lisbeth rolls her eyes and takes a seat behind her counter. "Flattery won't get you snacks. And neither will love. I'm still embarrassed by what you did the other day."

"You started it, knowing customers could come in… Guess I'll take the tea, though." Jaymes sits beside her, looking around the shop. Besides him, there aren't any customers present at the moment. "I thought there would be customers here when I came, but nobody's here. I guess people don't go out much on rainy days, huh."

"Nope. The people that do come out in the rain don't buy anything. They only drink the tea. Kind of like someone I know."

Jaymes rubs his arms where Lisbeth poked him. "What a jerk that person is… He would think his loving girlfriend would enjoy his company not as a customer from time to time."

"True, but he's only here from circumstances, so she isn't all too happy about it."

"...Good point."

"Without slow days like this, I wouldn't be able to take stock of my inventory, so it's perfect. I have plenty to keep me busy."

"You're as serious as ever. Though now that you say that, I've noticed your stock is always neat and organized. You haven't sent me on supply runs like we used to back on the lower floors… Hey, Liz, besides the time you made this armor for me, do you usually make armor? I see weapons displayed, but not armor."

She shakes her head. "It's not that I couldn't make it, I did make yours and maintain it still, but I'm just so busy with weapons…"

"That's not like you, Liz. You should give it a shot more often. Especially on days like this when you're suddenly free, you should allow yourself time to spend on hobbies."

Jaymes has a point. She always wanted to make more armor, and he is the only bearer of Lisbeth-made equipment. It wouldn't hurt to experiment more since her stock is plenty. "Yeah, maybe… In that case, will you give me a hand?"

Jaymes nods. "For a snack, I'll help you do anything. What should I do?"

"Measurements."

"Measure...ments? But don't you already know mine?"

"That was more than a year ago, dummy. And though I have plenty of visuals to guesstimate, I must get this right, so let me take your measurements."

Jaymes sighs follows Lisbeth around the counter. "Fine… Just don't start acting like yourself."

Lisbeth smirks as Jaymes starts to take off his armor. "Not much to measure there, anyway." Her boyfriend grumbles as he's left in his clothing underneath his armor, but Lisbeth needs more. "Take it off."

"Even what's underneath my armor?"

"What did you do when they measured you in school?"

"In America, we didn't have uniforms made to our exact measurements...but I guess I did get measured when I transferred to Japan… Okay, okay." Jaymes drops the last bit of clothing, showing his dark. bare chest. Lisbeth would usually take some glee in seeing such a rare, beautiful sight, but she's not in girlfriend mode right now. Well, maybe partially, but she's his blacksmith first and foremost.

"Now stand still. I'll work from top to bottom." Lisbeth starts with Jaymes' right arm, stretching measuring tape across the limb. They're long in wingspan, but he isn't muscular by any means. Guess it wouldn't matter in Aincrad, stats are vastly more important than physique, and to be honest, she likes him as is. If this is truly how he looks in the real world, she'l like him all the same. Well, he may be a little taller in his real body.

As she works her way down his left arm, he begins to chuckle. "What?"

"That tickles."

"Deal with it."

"Hmm, you say that, but…"

Lisbeth hides her smile beneath a serious frown. True, she is messing with him a bit, intentionally stimulating the hairs on his arm, but he doesn't need to know that. After she's done, she takes a step back. "Can you lift your arms a bit? I need to measure your chest." He does so wordlessly, and she gets straight to work, intentionally getting closer than necessary for the measurement.

"...S-Some thunder, huh?"

"Yeah."

"...Is this going to take a while?"

"Wait a minute. I can't get a good measurement… There… EEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!" A sudden crack of lightning and drum of thunder frightens Lisbeth, instinctively throwing herself against Jaymes. They fall to the floor and Lisbeth sticks close, her arms locked around him, her head planted on his somewhat defined pectorals.

"Liz?"

"S-Sorry…"

"I'm fine, but…" He silences himself, raising his arm to pat Lisbeth's head. "Well, that was some thunder, haha."

Lisbeth starts to blush but relaxes in his ministrations. It has been a long while since he has held her like this...matter of fact, she can recall the moment perfectly, right before he left their former home to join Asuna and Kirito at the KoB headquarters prior to the 75th Floor dungeon raid.

"Jaymes."

He stops and turns back, confused as to why she calls him. "Huh?" Lisbeth stares at him with a determined glare as she walks up towards him. He doesn't move an inch as she fluidly wraps her arms around and kisses him on the lips. Like a firework going off, the initial contact excites her, but a second later she realizes what she has done and it fizzles out. Yet, before she can remove her lips, his own claims hers.

He's kissing her back.

But as quickly as the magic comes, it fades as their lips separate. Still holding on to him, she gazes up to his matching brown eyes. "Jaymes… I-"

"Save it," he says as he steps back. "Save it for when I come back. It would suck if I died today after all that, wouldn't it?"

"Say, Jaymes… Can we stay like this for a bit longer?" He says nothing, but his silence speaks volumes. He wouldn't deny holding on to the girl he's spent the last year with and swore to protect and love. Even if the danger is a little lightning and thunder, or as big as the assassin who almost hurt her during the raid on Laughing Coffin, he wouldn't let her go.

Her hands begin to wander asif this is the first time they've made contact with his bare chest. "You look skinny, but you're pretty sturdy, aren't you? Thin, but flexible. Your muscles move nicely. Touching you like this… You're incredibly warm… You always protect us with this body of yours, covering it with cuts… You suffer, spilling blood, putting your life in danger to continue clearing the game… And all I can do is make weapons. I'm sorry. I should be of more use to you…"

"I prefer you stay right where you are. It's safe here. I lost Koharu, I lost Sachi, I lost Diavel, and I can lose any of you that remain at any moment. You aren't a fighter like them, so don't regret not being able to do so. But you've done more than enough for me, Liz. Ever since we met long, long ago… My swords, my shields, my armor, they're your works, so, from a point of view, you're protecting me while I'm out there. You're protecting Asuna, Kirito and everyone else as well. And to the end, you protected Koharu. Thank you for making the weapons and armor that I trust with my life, Liz. I couldn't ask more from the girl I love."

"Jaymes…" She pecks him on the cheek and holds him even tighter. Yes, through all her creations, as long as he wears them, she is always with him. "I love you too."