Caring For A Rat Part 7
Neither of us spoke as we hurried back, neither of us trusting that Argo would tell us how she truly felt over a message. She was too good at not asking for help. Before we knew it, both of us were running, our strides eating up the ground in front of us, our feet unerringly finding clear spots amongst the forest floor, and our bodies following trails we couldn't consciously process in our haste to get to Argo. As we ran, doubts plagued my mind.
Maybe Argo's doing just fine, and you gave up on your date with Asuna for nothing. Or maybe Asuna was just looking for an excuse to end the date; you didn't really think she'd enjoy a walk in the woods, did you?
As the dark thoughts started clouding me, I started using a technique Asuna had taught me when I spoke up about my doubts.
One: Even if Argo is fine right now, she might still need help later that we couldn't provide if we're not there. Two- I ducked under a low-hanging branch, throwing my body into a tumble and coming up running- Asuna was more eager for this date than I was, and put much more effort into it.
I jumped over a log in the middle of the path, Asuna's auburn hair catching my eye as she jumped beside me. She was a beacon of determination and drive in contrast to my mess of doubts. I never felt lost when Asuna was by my side, and she made the final refutation to my dark thoughts obvious.
Three: Asuna is just as concerned about Argo as I am.
With my resolve firmed, I settled into the rhythm of running, keeping my eyes ahead of me for any obstacles. The woods seemed to blur in my periphery as we ran, and before I knew it, we were at the teleport gate in Rovia, and Asuna was inputting our destination.
"Teleport: Algade!" Asuna shouted, and the two of us were swallowed up by a pale blue light. When the light cleared, we were standing in the familiar courtyard that formed the teleport park for the 50th floor.
Argo had returned here, and to my house, probably to continue her work on her newspaper. Hopefully her work was going well, and Asuna and I were hustling through the streets for nothing.
It was only a few minutes before we reached my home, and I just about bolted up the steps, Asuna right beside me. I opened the door, and felt my heart leap into my throat.
Argo was sitting in one of the corners, staring off into space, one hand clutching her knife. She seemed tiny, like someone had sucked all of the life and presence that could fill up a room out of her.
I cautiously stepped into the room, trying not to startle my friend. The second my foot hit the floor, her head shot up, and I felt her stare fall on me. She scooted along the wall a bit, placing my kitchen table between me and her. It felt like she was looking through me.
"Argo?" My wife said, stepping around me, before rushing into the house. As she moved, Argo's gaze cleared, and she let her knife slip through her fingers, the blade clattering onto the floor as she dove into Asuna's arms.
I hesitantly crept further into the room, listening to Argo's hitching breaths and Asuna's murmured reassurances. Catching Asuna's eye with a wave, I indicated the couch.
My wife nodded, and started gently guiding Argo so that they could sit down on the couch. I hovered nervously around them, not wanting to make the situation worse somehow. And if there was one talent I had, it was making situations worse. Just look at what had happened with the Black Cats.
What a mess I was, desperately wanting to help, but with no idea how.
Therefore, it was great trepidation that I sat down on the couch at Asuna's insistence. She could be quite communicative with her glares when she wanted to be.
"Closer, Kirito," Asuna said, frowning at me when I sat down as far away as possible from where my wife was comforting Argo. Hesitantly, I scooched further towards the cuddling pair, until I was just outside of arms reach.
Asuna sighed in exhaustion, then grabbed me by the arm and pulled me closer. When she was done, I was almost nestled up against her and Argo.
The info broker raised her head to see what her pillow was doing, and then grabbed me with one arm so fast I didn't even see her untangle her limb from Asuna.
I found myself smushed up against the two women, one of them still taking heaving breaths. I could feel Argo's heart beating rapidly against me, only growing more prominent as she burrowed further between me and Asuna.
It was a precarious position we were in, with me half-draped over Argo, who herself was sitting on Asuna's lap. I felt like I would fall off the couch at any second if Argo's hold on both me and Asuna was any less strong. Still, I was taken aback when Asuna decided to pull us down.
It was a tumult of elbows and knees at first, but we quickly settled into a somewhat comfortable position, me and Asuna beneath Argo; who had cuddled herself into as tight a ball as she could over our bodies. The only thing to escape that sphere was one of Argo's hands, which was gripping onto my coat as if she was falling off a cliff.
My hands hovered in the air, uncertain of where they might go. Carefully, I nudged Asuna with my shoulder, and waved one of my hands.
With a snort, she guided them down over Argo's back, and I felt the small info broker unwind a little, almost oozing into my embrace. It was strangely comforting, being surrounded in bodies like this. I felt my eyelids trying to drift closed and forced them open. As I did so, my mouth opened in a yawn.
I shook my head as well as I could. I needed to stay awake. Once Argo had recovered, she wouldn't want me to be doing this. It would be better for all of us if I... sli...pp...ed… a...w...ay…
…
…
I woke hours later to the sound of Asuna making dinner, while listening to Argo talk. The first thought that crossed my mind was that there should be something I needed to do. The second was that I had probably made the girls uncomfortable, falling asleep like that, and probably drooling all over them.
It was only then that I noticed the blanket draped over me.
It was the blanket from the bedroom.
I carefully slipped out from underneath it, my feet making a loud *clunk* as they hit the floor.
"Oh, hey Kii-bou!" Argo called, swirling in her seat, the shadows in her eyes almost eclipsed by her beaming smile, "Did ya' get a nice rest?"
"It was nice, yes." I started folding the blanket, preparing it for it's return trip. Folding a blanket properly gave it a +5 warmth temporarily, so I made sure to fold every blanket after I used it.
"I bet it was, especially with some very nice pillows to rest against, eh?" I fumbled the blanket, barely catching it before it hit the floor. I spun to face Argo, my hands moving of their own accord.
"Argo!" Me and my wife yelled in unison, the two of us uniform in our blushes.
"What?" Argo laughed, her grin growing even wider, "Do I not make a good pillow, Kii-bou?"
I steadfastly refused to meet her eye, gripping the blanket so tightly I heard it taking durability damage. I marched quickly across the room, suddenly wanting to lock myself in the bedroom until I could think of something that wasn't the very pleasant sensation of Argo and Asuna pressed up against me, the heat of our bodies merging together…
No, stop. I had gone over 300 days without masturbating before, this would be nothing. Hopefully.
As I closed the door behind me, I heard Asuna trying to lecture Argo.
"...can't tease us about-"
"-Was I not a good pillow, Aa-chan?"
"That is not the question here!"
"I'm not hearin' an-"
*click*
Safe in my bedroom, I dropped the alarmingly low durability blanket onto the bed. Why was I letting Argo get to me like this? I should have been able to shrug her teasing off like the last time she teased me about us having to sleep close to one another, back when we were investigating the rumors of the item drop for the White Wyvern on the 55th floor.
So why was I so embarrassed by her friendly jabs now? Was she better at ferreting out what would get a reaction out of me? Or was my relationship with Asuna somehow making me more vulnerable to teasing?
No, I still didn't react when Klein messaged me every other day to ask me how my honeymoon was going, although he had stopped after I told him we were taking care of Argo.
Whatever, why I was responding the way I was wasn't important. I needed to shut it down so that I could function around Argo, without a permanently red face. Carefully composing myself, I opened the door.
"C'mon, tell me how he is in bed!"
And closed it again.
Why was Argo even asking about that? I thought, once again blushing furiously. I turned and slid down the door, clutching my face in embarrassment. I would wait here until Asuna told me dinner was ready, given that Argo appeared to be in a teasing mood, and my dignity would not survive another encounter with her.
It took five minutes of fiddling with the menu for me to become bored. Normally I could immerse myself in the systems that made up Sword Art Online, but now I just couldn't do it. What was the world coming to?
Carefully, I stood up, grabbed the brass doorknob, and opened the door an inch.
"You can't keep covering up your injuries with all this teasing, Argo!" Asuna was standing like some righteous god, her concern and anger radiating out from her in equal measure while Argo sat hunched over in one of the chairs next to the table.
"I know that you're used to relying on yourself, and some self-sufficiency is good. But you can't do everything alone. Let us help."
The room was silent after my wife finished speaking, and it hung in the air like a man weighing the decision to take another hit of the drug that he has grown so dependent on, and will kill him if he keeps using it, or go through the painful ordeal of going sober. I felt the moment that Argo decided to cast aside the needle and call out for help.
"I don't know how."
The words were quiet, barely above a whisper, but I still heard them, and Asuna stepped in close, kneeling down before the Info Broker, and grabbing the other woman's hands in her own.
"Then we'll figure it out together."