You know, it was only after the last chapter that I realized what I had insinuated. Oops. Also, I half want to switch to calling him Egil like the novels. Eh. Too late now.
Also… damn this story has a lot of forced suspense/angst
1 more thing, this chapter felt like a turning point in their relationship. Less angsty and more accepting.
Lunar 9 Tailed Fox- I'm sorry to hear about the account but I'm glad I can have you enjoy my stories. I'll do my best to continue to please you
Ani-me-Lol. Thanks. I try to keep my grammar as good as I can. I'm glad you're enjoying the story as well
"So… Why exactly do you live in a store?" I asked as we walked towards the teleport gate, the empty streets having only white noise to accompany us.
"Oh that? It's just my friend Agil. I pay him rent and he's able to make use of one of his extra rooms. Plus, he doesn't tell people about me either." He seemed to be in an extra good mood tonight, I noticed. Wonder why…
"I see." I said thoughtfully. "How were the front lines?" You know, you can't just dance around what you want to ask. Shush you; I can so.
"They were okay. I got some stat improvements, surprisingly. No equipment worth wearing though." He said, his walk seeming languid and content.
Wearing equipment…My mind pushed to remember what was bothering me about why those words stuck to me. "Why were the stat improvements surprising? You work hard."
Chuckling, he raised his hand and tapped the ring on his finger, flashing a 'remember?' look my way.
My brain clicking, I giggled lightly, but stopped walking. "Kirito-kun."
"Mm? What's up?" He stopped a foot ahead of me and turned questioningly. He was caught with me hugging his side tightly, my arms linked around and fingers under his armpits.
"I just want to say thank you. And that you're…amazing." I murmured out, smiling.
"Eh, it wasn't that big a deal." He said, but patted my head affectionately anyway, then ran his hand down and placed it on my exposed shoulder.
Finally, the memory of only an hour ago flew back into my head.
"OH!" I let out, surprising him. "So I got proposed to today! Can you believe that?" I asked, the feeling of him breathing over my shoulder still lingering on me.
"Con…grads?" He offered, unsure of how to react. Not that I can blame him but…
"No, not 'congrads.'" I hit his chest with my fist, my body still glued to his side. "This guy is…" I bit my tongue, holding off the word creepy. "He doesn't know anything about me. He's just… wrong."
"I'm… sorry?" He offered again, completely lost as to how to appease me.
"You should be. He was making comments about my underwear because of this stupid shoulder revealing top." I backed up to show him, pulling the strap out with my thumb for emphasis.
"I… don't know what to say now." He finished, embarrassed. His hand had reached the back of his head and he turned away.
My lips pushed towards one side pouting and thinking, then I turned and grabbed his hand to continue walking. I held it tightly, allowing his large one to engulf my small one.
We kept silent for the next few minutes, making our way out of the maze that was this particular shopping district.
"How is one supposed to get out of this place quickly? I feel like we'd need breadcrumbs to find our way back to the teleport area." I asked, not having been here before.
"This floor is actually famous for that. As for getting out, remember how I tracked you down through the town on the thirty-fifth floor?" He replied, a small smirk in his voice.
I thought back to that night. Tracking me down… tracking me down… "You mean roof running?"
"Yupp." He smiled at me.
I rolled my eyes at his confident oddness. "You're silly."
He simply laughed and left it with that.
After another minute I spotted the teleport plaza and was happy to get out of this place and back to my room and my bed. I yawned aloud, covering my mouth, and at the same time felt some prodding on my fingers. Hm?
I looked to my companion and found him holding my hand up to his face, inspecting it and poking my hand. "Um… Kirito-kun?"
"Yes Silica-chan?" He continued in his inspection of my phalanges.
"What 'cha got there?" I asked, unsure how to respond to what he was doing.
"I never noticed how tiny your hands are." He pointed out.
At this I tried to pull my stolen extremity back, but he simply held on and with his strength stats, I wouldn't stand a chance. So I substituted it with huffing and trying to pretend it wasn't happening, though I couldn't hide the fact that I enjoyed his, albeit odd, ministrations.
"Ow!" I felt a stab into my hand as I yanked my hand back, him allowing me to get it free this time. "What was that for?"
Shrugging, he walked towards the gate like nothing happened.
I couldn't tell if he was just getting sillier the later it got, or if this was one of his ways of being affectionate, but as I stomped to the gate comically and activated it with the word "Floria," I heard a light, 'yum,' behind me. What the… The teleportation gate had already taken me away.
Not even bothering to wait, trying to appear as if him biting me was too silly and young for my 'mature' tastes, I started to head off towards the inn right away. After a moment, I heard his distinct footsteps trailing behind me, slowly catching up.
Peeking again at my hud, I realized it was nearly one in the morning. I yawned wide at this, even closing my eyes to let it out. Closing my mouth, I found, instead of the expected nothing, his finger between my teeth. Not yet taking it out, though my surprise was evident, I eyed him to my side and found him grinning. What the heck kind of mood is he in?
Fighting between biting spitting his pointer out, he interrupted my thoughts with a, "tired?"
I went with a "mhm," trying to not give him the satisfaction of me having hindered speech. It didn't matter, anyway, as I found him pull his finger out instantly, reach down to my legs, and throw me over his shoulder.
People across town could have heard my screaming of, "Kirito-kun! Put me dowwwwwwn!" Not complying, the boy began to run, my body bouncing as I reached behind me to try to hold my skirt down. What the hell is wrong with this kid tonight!? The last thing any late-goer would have heard from my mouth was, "Kirito no bakaaaa!" as his sprinting eventually led us inside the inn.
Hiding my face from anyone who could have been inside, I could feel the stares of others as I felt the boy holding me maneuver around tables and eventually hopping up the stairs.
His rampage had to end, though, as we met the door, only able to be opened by me. And, course, instead of letting me down, he simply turned me towards the door so I could reach down his back to the handle and open it.
Hearing the click of the door open, he walked inside and, finally, let me down. His 'letting me down,' however, was actually throwing me off his shoulder and onto the bed. "There," he huffed out his breaths. "Thirty, five, seconds, flat."
Lying down next to me, our feet hanging off, I could feel his deep breathing shaking the bed as he calmed down. His heart monitor in the real world must have gone crazy for that moment.
I turned my head to look at the boy next to me, and at almost the same time he did the same. Slowly I reached my hand over and cupped his cheek. He smiled contently, though I interrupted that by smacking the side of his head.
"Baka…" I whispered out, not really mad. Keeping with the light mood, he simply chuckled in return. "If I find out someone learned what color underwear I'm wearing because of your stunt," I threatened, "I'll kick you're black butt myself. Got it?"
"Yes ma'am." He smiled his stupid smile. I couldn't help but be happy though, knowing I was with him, and that he was happier than I've ever seen.
Internally I freaked out slightly, remembering our conversation earlier. It stressed me a bit, but that quickly subsided, remembering how he responded.
"I love you Kirito-kun," I whispered, leaning my head forward.
"Ditto," he replied just as silently before our lips touched.
I TOTALLY FORGOT
I'm co-writing a story with another user on their account.
Username Javarack. Story- Death will follow