Sword Art Online

After The Incident

Christmas Special 2 – An Invitation – Part 2

~Sinon's POV~

I had been staring down at the card for a long time, or at least that's what it felt like. All the while, Kyouji had been excitedly expecting my answer, sitting by my side. I could feel that his gaze kept shifting between the card and my face, and I hated letting him wait.

Though it was not exactly something I could control. I was stricken with a mix of surprise, shock and complete bewilderment. I was unable to say or do anything for the longest time, only staring down at the wonderful gift my partner had given me.

I gave him a quick glance, and his eyes widened as our gazes met.

"S-Shino, are you crying?!"

I widened my eyes at his words, and my fingers immediately shot up to grace over my cheek. I hadn't even realized it, but big lukewarm tears had begun running down my cheeks, spotting my skirt and my hand with silent plops.

I gulped a little and hurried to wipe my face before I smiled up at Kyouji and gave him a quick hug.

"I-I'm fine, really" I assured him, before looking up at him "And if you want me to, I'd love to go to that ball with you"

His face lightened up and he nodded quietly, a blush running over his cheeks.

"Awesome! So uhm, they're about to light the tree. Let's go"

He smiled and took my hand, before helping me up. Our arms were immediately linked as we walked over to the tree, to watch it light up. The happiness in my chest was impossible to describe with words alone.

~New Years Eve~

My stomach felt like it was twisting around itself all the way to the ball. I knew it wasn't anything fancy, the donating family had rented the town hall, letting us use the dining hall as a dance floor and buffet, so I knew it would be a big place. But I had this nagging suspicion that I would be standing out, no matter where I would be, because of this dress.

It was grandiose, elegant. And worst of all, it was attracting attention. Just in the cab ride to the town hall alone, the driver shot me several glances, looking me over, again and again. As much as I appreciated Kyouji's gesture with the gift, I doubted I would ever use it outside certain situations, like future dates with him, and for his sake only.

Finally the cab came to a halt, and I quickly stepped out, and handed the driver what I owed him. With a quick "Have fun", he smiled and drove off to the location of his next customer.

I looked down at myself for the millionth time that evening. I felt so bare in that dress. It fit my body and my "Curves" so well, I could barely have anything on beneath, not even a bra. The whole point behind the dress was to seem graceful, elegant, and sexy. Three things that had never really been a part of my image, at least not in the real world. But putting on a bra and letting it show through the dress, would ruin the graceful image the dress was trying to show off.

The dress was a perfect mix of elegance, charm, and sex appeal. And just the curious looks from the people around me as I approached the city hall was enough to send my heart racing. If this had been GGO, I doubt I would have hit anything at all in this state.

My self-consciousness was through the roof, as I didn't really think of myself as the typical "Bond Babe". Though I was so affectionate with Kyouji at this point, that I was willing to go through the nervousness at least this once. Tonight was supposed to be a magical evening after all.

"If only this was GGO" I mumbled to myself silently, as I adjusted my glasses on the tip of my nose "Having my sniper rifle in such a situation would make me feel much safer"

"I will just have to protect you a bit better, then"

I widened my eyes and yelped as a guy I had never seen before was suddenly standing right beside me, sending me a glance and a smirk. I jumped a bit away from him in surprise, and I shot a glare at him, pissed that he had shocked me like that.

"W-What do you mean by that?" I mumbled, a mix of anger, nervousness and irritation rising in my chest.

"Come on cutie, you know what I mean" He said with a smirk, stepping closer "You can't be here alone right?"

I frowned and jerked away as he grabbed out after my arm.

"L-Leave me alone" I mumbled in uncertainty "G-Go be someone else's problem"

"Come on, I can't let such a beautiful girl be alone" He totally ignored me, and grabbed my wrist "Come on, let's go inside and-!"

He never managed to finish his sentence. Before any of us had registered what had happened, Kyouji was suddenly standing right beside me, and ripped his grip off of me, pushing him backwards away from me, and standing in front of me protectively as he glared daggers into the guy's eyes.

The guy who had "Assaulted" me glared back at him after he regained his composure, and pulled his shirt and undershirt back in place, before stomping up to Kyouji and getting all up in his face.

"What the hell, you little shit!?" he growled angrily "What are you doing!?"

"I'm sorry, but you're annoying my date" Kyouji said, even though I could physically see how much his knees were shaking "It would be much appreciated if you would leave now"

The guy laughed a little and pointed into Kyouji's chest hard, making him visibly winch.

"Oh yeah?! And who's gonna make me?" He asked, puffing himself up and making himself seem as big and as strong as possible "A little weakling like you?"

I could see the frustration in Kyouji's eyes. As much as I liked him, he wasn't any bodybuilder or weightlifter. I could almost see how the confidence he had earlier from his building anger, had disappeared the minute the guy got all up in his business.

I decided not to simply be a damsel in distress and took Kyouji's arm, letting him know that I was here as well to give him moral support.

"If you don't get out of here, I might just get you kicked out for disturbing the peace" I said, giving Kyouji's arm a little squeeze "There are bodyguards here after all"

He raised an eyebrow a little before looking around. Truth be told, several guards were standing by the door to the entryway, and one of them was looking his way.

He cleared his throat and huffed before pushing past Kyouji and getting out of our way. I sighed and felt my anger be replaced with relief, as I looked up at Kyouji.

"Are you okay, Kyouji?" I asked silently, looking up at him in worry "That guy was such an asshole"

He nodded silently and took a deep breath to calm himself down.

"I should ask you that, Shino" He mumbled silently "What a gentleman, huh?"

"Ha, what a joke" I mumbled in irritation "Well anyway, let's just get inside before we attract any more attention"

He nodded quietly and smiled before we turned and walked up the steps to show the guards our invitations. We quickly got inside, and found a place to settle down, in the dining hall to the entranceway's left.

Once we settled down at a table, Kyouji smiled over at me and immediately took my hand over the table, to make the both of us relax. I noticed a faint pink rose up in his cheeks.

"I haven't had a chance to say it yet, but…" he said, obviously distraught "You look amazing Shino"

I blushed quietly and smiled as I squeezed his hand.

"You did choose this dress after all" I mumbled, a little embarrassed "And I'm glad I chose to wear it. I might need to get used to go over my own boundaries"

"You were considering to put something else on?" He asked in confusion.

"Well, yeah…" I mumbled, poking and pulling a little at the dress "it is very… Revealing, don't you think?"

His smile curled up into a smirk.

"Something like that has never seemed to bother you in GGO" He said with a chuckle.

I blushed dark red and glared at him.

"That's because it's not my actual body!" I said, embarrassed "Besides, people don't know who I really am in GGO. Who I am underneath…"

I trailed off a little, getting reminded how weak I used to be before I began playing GGO. The girl that let other people boss her around. The girl who never refused, the obedient little girl without a backbone, the girl who could be beaten into submission.

I felt a squeeze at my hand and I looked up at Kyouji with a blush.

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with you" he said with a warm smile "You're stronger than you think. If you were so weak like you think you are, how could you show that guy off earlier?"

I blushed quietly at his praising words. It is true, several months before, I would probably not have had the guts to put my feet in the ground against that guy.

"I guess you're right" I mumble silently "Sorry Kyouji, I have my moments, you know…"

He nodded quietly and smiled, once again squeezing my hand protectively "How about we forget about all that, and go get something to eat? They have a buffet! I'm gonna eat like crazy today!"

I giggled quietly at his overexcited banter, and followed after him as he jogged up the buffet table, shaking my head at him a little. As childish as he could be at times, that was just one of the quirks I liked about him. His parent's pressure on him had made him mature rather quickly despite his age, so it was nice that he let out the childish excited side of himself I knew from childhood every once in a while.

When I finally met him at the buffet table he had already scooped over several servings of fancy shrimp with some kind of red sauce, and a big helping of salad on the side. At least he thought of being healthy while stuffing his face.

After we ate, and the sky outside had already turned a pleasant dark blue hue filled with stars, Kyouji looked over at me with a smile.

"hey Shino, would you like to go for a walk?" He asked with a smile "They have a very pretty garden out back"

I nodded quietly and raised myself from my seat with a smile.

"That sounds lovely" I said, drawing a hand over my forehead to wipe a drop of sweat "It's gotten surprisingly hot in here"

He smiled and walked up to my side, and offered me his arm, which I immediately accepted. And soon enough, we were on our way to the gardens.

It was not a very big place, but it was still peaceful and beautiful out here. The back garden opened up to a small wooden area, tall trees with vines hanging off of their branches, giving the whole area a sense of serenity and silence. A breeze ran over the area, and I closed my eyes as I listened to the wafting of the trees, their song silently whispering to the couple walking among them. We were all alone. This place was ours, and ours alone.

I sighed silently and shivered a little from the wind, and Kyouji smile as he wrapped an arm around me, and let me lean into his body. I smiled quietly and hummed in satisfaction.

"This is so nice…" I mumbled silently "The crowd was getting to me in there"

"The peacefulness of silence, huh?" He said with a smile "I'm just happy that I'm here with you, you know? I'm not even sure how long I've been crushing on you…"

I blushed quietly and smiled as we walk under the branches of a large tree in the back of the garden, with the view expanding to the entire garden, and the big towns hall. It was quiet out here, and it seemed like the two of us were completely alone.

"You know, I still don't know why that is the case" I mumbled as we leaned against the trunk of the tree "I really don't know what is so great about me…"

His eyes turned dead serious and he grabbed both my hands in his as he turned to me, making me look up at him.

"You want to know why?" he asked, his piercing gaze keeping my own gaze in place "Because you're you! You're the only person who's ever cared about a weakling like me. You are the strongest person I know! Even when you're beaten down, you get back up, stronger than ever!"

I widened my eyes as he continued his rambling. Every statement, every point, and every word made me blush more and more, making me feel more and more overwhelmed with feelings. I gazed downwards so he wouldn't see the tears that I could feel creep up into the corners of my eyes.

As he finally put a finger under my chin and lifted my face up so he could see me properly, I quickly wiped away the tears and locked my gaze into his once again.

"…And I might be young and inexperienced when it comes to love," He mumbled "But I know that the feelings I store here, right here, in my heart, are real. And those feelings tell me that you're the girl I want to be with, forever if that's possible"

I got overwhelmed once again, but didn't bother wiping the tears this time. I suddenly felt an overwhelming want, a want to embrace and to touch my partner. I wrapped my arms around his neck and leaned my body against his chest, our faces only mere inches apart.

"You know what?" I asked silently, letting the scent of his cologne run through my mind.

He smiled softly and shook his head, the contact between us unbreakable.

"No, what?"

I leaned up and whispered in his ear, my breath tickling his skin.

"I love you…"

He blushed and looked down at me with a surprised expression. We had been dating for months at this point, but I had never told him so directly or openly about my feelings. None of us had ever told the other directly that we loved each other. Now here at this magical New Year's evening, I had finally said it.

His surprised expression melted into a smile and he teared up as he looked down at me.

"I love you too Shino… I always will"

I smiled quietly and closed my eyes. I wanted him to take the final step. I wanted to see more of the brave boy I had seen earlier that evening, and I wanted to help him build up his courage in the future. And I smiled a little as I felt his lips press against my own.

'Finally…'

That thought ran through my head in a moment of relief and happiness. It had been something I had wanted for a long time, but also something I had been unable to find the right situation to do. To feel his lips against my own, in our very first kiss ever.

It was perfect.

Fireworks began lighting up the sky over us in an explosion of every color of the rainbow, but I didn't hear the thunderous bangs. Everything around us was shut out, leaving only us in a space that belonged to us, and only us, if only for a few fleeting seconds. The world was ours. And no one could take it from us.

"Happy New Year Kyouji…"

"Happy New Year Shino…"