A few things. 1- I now love word porn. Got me in the creative and deep mood tonight-hence, writing chapter. Look it up (imgur has good stuff)

2- this reminded me of my "nights" story a bit. Idk

3- italics don't work with standalone elipses…

4- I totally intended for this to be cute/fluffy and happy "yay we're back together" esque. I SWEAR I did!…. Well, that… didn't happen.

5- silica is getting more… ooc the more I write. And im sorry for whoever that bothes. The only justification I have is that having a kiri in your life affects you greatly, and this one is changing her.

6-longest chapter. hope that it helped

Guest- :D

This… can't be the place… Right? I stared up at the sign with a helmet on it, currently located in the shopping district. This is a player owned shop, not a… house? I continued in my befuddlement. Looking down, my map still had the cursor pointed a few feet in front of me. Hesitantly, I walked forward to knock on the door, only to have it open with a player carrying a large sack of… something. Stepping aside to allow him passage, I poked my head inside the door. My face was met with a large torso. Raising my head, I found myself staring straight up at a very tall and muscular bald black man. Instantly feeling much smaller, I lowered my head into myself, almost trying to hide.

"Why, hello there little miss. How may I help you? I'm just about to close, but if you need something, I'm sure I could help you out."

So… big. "Uh… uh." I squeaked out nervously. How could there be someone so big…

"Um, are you alright there? You seem to be a little lost." I blinked a few times, the man's intimidating exterior being falsely advertised with his deep but gentle voice.

"Uh… I was just… looking for someone…" I replied meekly not really sure why I was sent to this spot. "Are there any other customers in there?" I asked hopefully, trying to make sense of the situation.

"Customers? No, that was my last one." He seemed a little stuck in thought for a moment, scratching the only hair he had, on his chin. "You're not by chance here to see Kirito, are you?"

At the sound of his name, I perked up instantly, losing any remaining feeling of intimidation, it being replaced by enthusiasm. "Hai! Is he here!?" Please be here.

The tall man chuckled at my enthusiasm. Holding the door open and allowing me entrance, he pointed towards the back. "Up the stairs, second door on your left."

"Arigato!" I replied cheerfully. So close. Almost there.

"Oh, and he might be asleep, so make sure to knock hard." He closed the door behind him, changing the settings to locked, leaving the store officially closed. "Let me know when you're going to leave."

I nodded resolutely and turned towards the stairs.

"If you leave that is." Another chuckle.

I stopped dead in my tracks, face full of liquid fire before slowly regaining composure and continuing forwards. Ending up in front of a small wooden door, I reached my hand up and held it there, knuckle barely touching the face. I can do this. This is the right choice… I know it. I held my other hand to my chest in soft resolution. Taking a deep breath, I knocked loudly. No response. Well my loud knocking is probably a soft tap for the big guy…

"Kiri…to?" I raised my voice slightly. Still no response.

Disappointment creeping under my skin, I tried the handle finding it unlocked. I guess he trusts the tall… Crap. I forgot to ask his name. Quietly I opened the door and stuck my head in. As expected, the room was completely bare save for a desk and a bed, the latter of which I found to be occupied by none other than my black swordsman. Did I just say my?

Tinges of redness on my face, I crept forward towards the sleeping teen. Laying on his back with one arm sprawled towards the side and the other under his blanket, he was breathing deeply, though his face showed slight discomfort. "S…"

'S?' He's not… saying my name, is he?

I got closer, bending down and hovering my face over his. "S-…" His eyes tightened a bit as his brows furrowed. He's not… dreaming about me is he?

"Kiri-" I reached a hand out to his face as I spoke. Touching his chin with my forefinger, he sprang up and after clonking his head to mine leaving me sprawled on the floor, he backed up to the wall hastily and, once against searched for a blade and scabbard that were not there. His eyes screamed and engulfed, his solid and resolute soul nowhere to be seen, only terror and guilt adorning his ovals. This, all together was surrounded by a resounding outcry of, "SACHI!" then silence.

Finally having stopped squirming and hugging the wall for defensive reasons, the boy escaped his dream entrapping thoughts and lowered his hand from his back to his lap.

Rising from my forced seating on the floor and rubbing the dull throbbing that the game used to replace pain, I slowly walked to him and looked towards the wall. "Go..men." It's all I could get out, a pathetic whisper at that. I wished to fall to my knees. I begged to be scolded and just fall into his arms. I yearned to embrace him and make everything better, wiping his mind clean of any misgivings he may have about his past. But I just stood there, a feeble apology left floating, while I stared at the wall, too cowardly to meet his gaze. Absolutely- I took a moment to search for a word to describe my feelings- wretched.

I heard a deep breath and then felt the penetration of a strong look onto the side of my face, urging me to glance towards it. My one second glimpse turned into needing a second, closer look. I stood there in awe as the boy, who was awaken in terrible states and was met with the presence of someone he thought he might never see again, was… smiling. Not an obscenely large grin of glee, but a softer rising of the lips and slight narrowing of the eyes that showed contentedness and hope. "No problem Silica-chan" He reached one hand out to me, which I caught, feeling it's vibration like movements in my fingers. He's trembling. He's trembling… and smiling. He's smiling for me. He puts up a show for my sake and mine alone. He's so… I couldn't help but smile brightly and feel my eyes fill with salty water a bit.

"I think I'm falling in love with you, Kirito-kun." I SAID WHAT!? Nonononononononono. I did not just say that. I did not. Not out loud. No, it was my imagination. Yea, I'm imagining it. I totally didn't say that. In a second I'm going to wake up hugging (drooling) Quiet You! on my pillow and everything will be as if those words did not just slip… out… of my. Realization slowly dawned on me as Kirito's eyes exploded open, confirming my worst nightmares.

"I… um. I…" His words were less than extraordinary in their construct, but I who could blame him.

Speaking with too much urgency and a rapid stringing together of words, I slipped my hand out of his, began to back away and reached my hand towards the door handle. "Yes. Well. That is out now. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to find the edge of the floor to kill myself. Sayonara!" My sadistically cheery tone and too high pitched voice were just the starting signs that I was actually about to lose my cool. I would prefer to do that alone thank you very much. I found the handle and whipped open the door, sprinting through the corridor and down the stairs. This is so childish! Why am I… such a child?

Finally reaching the front door to the shop, I yanked on the handle, only to find it locked. Attempting to turn said lock, I found myself denied the authority to alter state of a shop I did not own. That, however, did not cease my attempts to do so, I found out as I put one foot on the doorframe and pulled with the most of my meager strength stats, all the while cursing the door for its refusal to follow desperate orders.

A hand grasping my shoulder, I spun around panting, both out of frustration and from the miserable amount of might I had exerted. My state ignored, I was enveloped in a tight hug, one that was actually crushing me, but I wasn't going to bother voicing it. "Don't joke about that, ever. I couldn't…" words whispered in my ear left unfinished as I froze in my mental tracks, realizing how inconsiderate I was, knowing what had just been running through his mind not a minute before.

"Kirito! I'm so… I didn't." My voice cracked broken sentences to the teen holding me.

"I know. Just, stay. Okay?"

Nodding lightly into his shoulder, I responded with a guttural, "mhm."

"Good." He said, letting go and looking down to me. Then, after a moment, he took his stance of embarrassment and began to mutter himself, "I think… I… also… you."

! "You...do?" My insides began to jump for joy, threatening to burst from my body and take off as their own entity. "You're not just saying that?" I asked, hopeful but slightly worried.

"Yes, I think so. And no, I'm not." His voice was stronger now that all the cards were on the table, confident that he wasn't opening himself to someone who didn't return the feeling.

I'm sure my eyes were shining brightly as I looked up at him, my fingers intertwined. "Kirito-kun…"

He retracted from his embarrassed look entirely and beamed right back, covering my hands with his own. I undid my own fingers so as to interlace them with his, dropping them to our waists now that we were connected.

Inching forward, I felt my heart pound, knowing that while I've kissed the boy before, this would be nothing like those previous engages. Our lips met, brushed gently, and then held together. For once, however, I felt him take the initiative, moving his lips against mine. I accepted his proposal, turning out chaste kiss into something deeper and not suitable for public. Our briefly linked hands became wrapped around one another as we grasped at each other's bodies, trying to get closer, become one being. My tongue raged through his mouth, greedily satisfying the sustenance I had been starved from. He decided to lift me up, leading me to wrap my legs around his waist, something I knew I should have held back against, but couldn't help not doing.

I found my bare thighs connect with soft wood as he sat me on the clerk counter. Hand resting just above my backside, I felt him do my favorite fingertip teasing as he was about to-

"Ahem"

Paralysis items are pretty rare in Sword Art Online, usually requiring either great luck or a high enough alchemy skill to relate. A brief clearing of the throat, however, seemed to be a viable alternate if one were to look at how instantly we both froze in place.

Daring a look over my shoulder, I craned my neck behind me, only to find the large man looking at us from what appeared to be a back room. He just saw… We were…

Carefully, Kirito lifted me off the counter and stood slightly in front of me protectively. Studying his back, I hid my face, my cheeks the same hue as my armor, while brushing my skirt off to try to maintain some decency.

"My alert went off that someone was trying to break down my shop door, so I came to find out what was going on. Everything okay?" Is everything okay? Is he crazy? No, he's trying to respect our decisions and let go of what he just walked in on...

"Yea, Agil. Everything is fine. We were just going out." We were? "Thank you for letting Silica in, we needed to talk." He added, a slight buckle under the word 'talk.'

So his name is Agil. Good to… Wait. He's not the same shopkeeper Agil that Kirito-kun bought all my…. Oh my god he is! I tried to hide even further in his coat, finding myself unsuccessful and once again, acting like a kid.

"Okay. Just let me unlock the door." He replied, calmly walking by. As he passed me, I couldn't help but look down in embarrassment and shame, knowing I had already given the man several reasons to think little of me. At the last second though, I poked my eyes upwards, seeing his smiling, albeit uncomfortable face.

Stepping outside, Kirito-kun waved behind him, telling him he'd return soon.

"It's really late already, past midnight." He stated, looking up towards the sky and probably his hud. "To the inn?" he queried.

Now able to speak, I confirmed his idea, "to the inn."

That is the exact way I told my ex that I loved her. Not the crying or saying 'kirito-kun' (god that'd be awkward) but the other words. This isn't relevant at all. sorry