Aincrad Floor 64: Village of QROW 10:12 AM AST (Aincrad Standard Time)

'Relief' was such a simple and generic term, yet it was the only emotion Kirito could muster as he stared at the still sleeping form beside him. Yuuki was tucked against him, her head resting on his chest and her petite frame curled in the foetal position, close to his own exhausted body.

Yuuki was looking considerably better, the sickly tapestry of festering red lines the boss had dealt her way had all but faded with the coaxing of healing potions and times grace. Unfortunately, the warrior's equipment had not fared so well; the well maintained durability of her armour all but drained: the fabric itself looked as tired and downtrodden as their slumbering owner.

"Then again." Kirito thought wirily, "I didn't exactly come out in top form."

Kirito, while still faring far better than his female companion, had sustained his own share of scars that bore the proof of a frantic battle; various lines still marred his arms and torso from the bosses frenzied close-quartered attacks and his equipment had also taken an annoyingly noticeable beating.

"That's going to hurt my bank account to fix..." Kirito groaned.

While some damaged items were an exceptionally good trade off for saving Yuuki's life; he could almost see the delighted gleam in Agil's eyes when he presented them to the barley concealed con-artist for a hefty repair.

He groaned again.

Kirito realized however that Yuuki's extensive set would be another matter entirely; he wasn't even sure items that damaged could be fixed, even by someone as highly skilled as the gargantuan trader.

"We'll cross that flaming bridge when we come to it." He forced the subject to the back of his troubled mind and returned his watchful gaze to his bedmate.

Yuuki's usually wide crimson eyes were closed, normally ordered lavender hair splayed across the surrounding bed in a hazardous collage of beautifully coloured strands. Her already pale skin had lightened further; but he was relieved to see some colour had returned to the soft curves of her face.

He poked an experimental finger into her cheek, the flesh slightly rosy from a combination of potions and the outside chill.

All Kirito got was a slightly muffled mumble of irritation from her for his efforts.

He chuckled quietly to himself at her instinctual juvenile actions and took in her sleeping face; from the gently curving cheek bones and button nose, to the ever present bangs that lay strewn across her forehead.

She was undeniably, criminally cute.

He reluctantly began to try to shift away from her; the urge to rise from bed and shower the remaining damage and stress away, gripping his focus. Moving slowly, he gently lifted her dainty head from his chest he placed it gently back down on the soft surface of her pillow and shifted, equally slowly, to the edge of the double bed and stood up; careful not to wake her as he did.

A warm smile came to his face as he glanced back down at Yuuki, her expression one of peace and serenity, something warm and welcome glowed to life in his chest as he turned towards the inns small bathroom; that smile never faltering.

The Black Swordsman emerged from the showers warm embrace under protest; the warm water and soap had provided an instantaneous bliss on contact with his bedraggled flesh.

The Cardinal System of Sword Art Online, while impressive, still struggled to replicate some of the more intricate senses of day to day activities. Showering was unfortunately one of them. The familiar heat one would experience in a real shower was still present; but the feeling of the falling water actually making contact with an avatar's skin was dulled to an extent, somewhat lessening the experience to a user.

Still, in a world full of so much torment and so little luxuries Players found themselves thankful of any relief the game could provide; as such, complaints on such minor details were minimal.

Lazily re-equipping his base clothing of a black shirt and matching trousers, Kirito walked through the steamed room and exited back into the main bedroom; Yuuki's form still visible underneath the bedclothes on the other side of the small space. Kirito moved towards her with a smile.

Sitting gingerly back down on the vast bed he gently raised a hand to caress the side of her face in a soothing motion; the soft and supple feeling of her skin warming his own as he continued.

Stirring slightly under his touch, Yuuki's eyelids gradually fluttered open; revealing scarlet eyes that swivelled sluggishly for a moment without focusing. After a short while the clouded orbs landed on the ebony clad figure.

"K...Kirito?" Yuuki asked, her speech impaired slightly by a small yawn. She brought a hand to her face to unceremoniously expel the sleep from her eyes with a few vigorous rubs. Kirito smiled softly, moving his hand to rest in her downy hair.

"Yeah, I'm here Yuuki." he spoke quietly, stopping for a moment as she instinctively nuzzled closer to the warmth of his palm.

"You gave me quite the scare..." Kirito trailed off as she squirmed slightly, eyes falling to her lap.

"L..look Kirito, I'm so... so sor-" she choked as the words stuck in her throat. "I shouldn't have y'know... especially after what happened with... Asuna." tears glistened on her cheeks in worryingly large quantities.

Kirito retracted his hand from her entirely, before gently swiping away the falling tears with a curled finger; Yuuki's breath hitched abruptly.

"Stop that Yuuki, we both know full well that I should be the one apologizing, not you." the swordsman spoke evenly; and after a moments deliberation wrapped his arms around the girl, dragging her into a comforting embrace.

Yuuki squeaked at the sudden contact, her mind falling flat as every possible terrible scenario she had imagined were swiftly, and mercifully crushed.

"I... I used to think that after Asuna died I had to be distant and alone to preserve her memory; to hold onto what we were." Kirito paused as his own dark eyes watered with the salt of long barred tears, and he mustered the strength to continue; "But I realise now that being alone being angry with everything and everyone just goes against everything she strove for... and everything I truly want."

Kirito pulled back slightly from the stunned girl; pulling her gaze to his. "Yuuki... I can only ask for your forgiveness and..." he paused momentarily, "To allow whatever is between us two to grow."

The girl in question was frozen solid, her mouth agape in something which amounted to stunned amazement.

Whatever she had been expecting, this wasn't it.

Not that she minded.

This was far better than the outcome she expected.

Gradually, she felt herself recover from the initial shock; a smile formed from the mist of the previously slacked jaw, bright and jubilant as the morning sun.

Yuuki simply pulled the raven haired boy closer; his thin frame fitting against hers with a comfortable ease that both welcomed with earnest.

"Your terrible Ki' making be worry like that." she chuckled softly into his feathered hair, lips curling into an even larger smile against his scalp. "But I forgive you."

Yuuki was the one to pull back this time, both parties simply staring at the other. It was a good while before they moved together again; and when they did they did so together.

Lips brushed, first hesitant but growing confident with each passing moment; heat radiating from one set to another, melting together in a show of pent emotions that were finally nurtured; something blossomed anew.

Neither wanted to be the first to break the passionate exchange, the feeling of the other too intoxicating to loosen from without considerable effort.

It took a good while to for the two warriors to separate, words failed both of them as eyes stirred once again with emotion that stumped the both of them.

Kirito finally broke the pleasant silence, "Sooooo..."

Yuuki grinned, "Breakfast?"

The two burst out in fierce laughter, the room's atmosphere turning a few degrees more pleasant; the sunlight streaming through the thick curtains seemed to intensify as more sounds of amusement leaked from the couple.

Kirito recovered slowly from his fit, ruffling Yuuki's messy bed hair as he did. His chuckles returned briefly as she growled at his movements; relieved to see the morning's events had done little to dull her attitude to his teasing.

"Alright, alright, I'll head out and grab some breakfast for the both of us." he said his grin growing as she pouted, attempting to fix her dishevelled hair to no avail. Eventually, after a few more moments of fruitless battle with her lilac locks she replied.

"Mph! Okay... just don't take too long." her finger jabbing through the air to indicate the in-game clock; a look of fake severity playing across her features.

Kirito laughed, "You've got it ma'm."

The two shared a genuine, shy look of a deeper meaning before Kirito swept from the room. His mind free of chains and shadows.

Authors Note: Sorry for the long wait for this chapter, but expect the next far sooner, work has been a tad overloading at the moment.

Please leave a review, they motivate me and help shape this story for the better.

Till next time!