A/N: Welcome to the third (and for now last) part in the Helios x Lizbeth what if ship! Next time I update will be a new ship so get hyped!

Chapter 3: Heated Metal part three

-Floor 48 Lindarth. Lizbeth's Smith Shop-

'Stupid Helios. Stupid Restaurant. Stupid people. Stupid rain. Stupid warm jacket.'

These were the thoughts floating through Liz's head as she threw the jacket that Helios gave her onto coat hanger on the back of her door and stomped her way to behind her counter. This day was a damned confusing mess for her from start to now. First some perverts come and harass her then Helios saves her and then she decides to reward him for some reason and now she has a jacket belonging to him.

'None of this is making sense! Why am I even thinking about that insufferable jackass!? He's been nothing but an asshole to me since I met him and now he's helping me and giving me clothes so I don't get wet? It doesn't make any damned sense and I hate not understanding his motives!' She growled hard as she hit her head with her fist to shake the thoughts from her mind. 'I have to get him out of my mind… Thinking about him will only make it worse…'

The sound of the front door belling ringing brought Liz out of her reverie as she looked to see the friends in Wyvern's Inferno sans Helios enter the door. "Hey there Liz is my order done? I'd like to see how much better Inferno Blazer is now." Ren asked as the door closed behind them.

"Ah yes it's in the back. One moment please."

The group watched Liz walk into the back of her smithy for her to retrieve the weapon Ren commissioned for her to upgrade. Dagger looked around and observed the weapons on display. To the untrained eye they looked like they could compare with the current top tier loot from Floor 61 monster drops but the merchant could see past this. In reality the weapons were rather middle class in terms of stats, the reason they looked so good is that Liz seemed to like putting in the extra effort to give her weapons a good shine. Shiny things tended to catch the weaker minds off guard when it came to sales.

"Dagger why are you looking at those swords as if they're some exotic animal in a zoo?" Alice asked with a raised brow.

The merchant merely giggled in response and tried to look as innocent as possible. "Oh no reason, just appreciating the fine craft of these blades is all. Nothing more than that."

Alice knew better than to trust her word when it came to wares as Dagger had a habit of knocking down on other's prices and quality to one up them in the market. But getting in her way was an effort in futility in of itself so she let it go. The scythe wielder's eyes fell back to the door they came from and found a sight that interested her. A coat that looked very similar to Helios's own was hung up upon a coat rack with a few others. She remembered how insistent he was to Ashley, the best seamstress in all of Aincrad to get it to fit all his expectations. Ignoring Ren's queries as to what she was doing Alice poked at the jacket for it's information.

Wyvern's Flame

'A custom made coat made for Helios of Wyvern's Inferno. The warmth it gives represents the burning soul of passion of its wearer'

"Uh guys I think I found something interesting." she said as she motioned them to come next to her.

Mai looked at the jacket and frowned a bit at it. "Doesn't that look like the jacket Helios made Ashley make for him?"

"It's exactly the same jacket, look at the flavor text." Alice poked at the article of clothing once more and brought up the text to show the others. "I think the real question is that why is in Liz's shop of all places?"

"Alright Ren here's your sword looking sharper than ev… er…" Liz trailed off slowly as she saw everyone looking at Helios's jacket that was hung up on her coat rack. Sweat began to trail down the back of her neck as they all turned around to her with inquisitive stares. 'Ah crap in a basket! Of course they had to find that right now of all times! Stupid, stupid Lizbeth! No, it's okay I'll just play it off and hand him his sword so they'll be on their way.' The blacksmith coughed into her hand as she extended the sheathed blade to Ren. "W-Well here you are Ren, one upgraded Inferno Blazer hot and ready to go."

Ren grabbed the sword from her and gave her the Col that she requested for the job. "Thanks Liz but can I ask why Helios's jacket is here in your shop?"

"Pfft what? What are you talking about I don't have any of that jackass's clothes in this place." The pink haired girl nervously laughed away the question as she turned around to escape to her smithy. "Well I got some work to get done so if you could lock the door behind you that'd be great!"

Before she could make her escape Dagger grabbed onto her collar and yanked her back. "Hold on there, we wanna know the answer to Ren's question. I thought you two hated each other."

Mai's face scrunched up a bit as she voiced a thought festering in her head. "Or maybe you actually do like him in secret?"

"Okay gross! I don't like him like that or will I ever!" Liz denied as she fervently shook her head at the younger girl. "Look it's a long and annoying story and I don't wanna explain it. Can't you just give it to him and harass him for the details?"

"We could do that Liz." Mai started as she picked up the jacket as a mischievous grin crossed her face. "But I think I have a better idea."

"I don't like the look of that smile Mai." Alice said with a frown towards her sister.

Mai smiled again and gave a shrug. "Look she has to return eventually to give Helios his jacket back and last thing anyone would want is for him to come here and make a big scene about it so why don't you come with us to train for a bit? You get to give him his jacket back and go hunting for some upper floor materials. Everyone wins in this situation."

"And then there's the added benefit of you seeing Helios awkwardly trying to play off the jacket situation right?" Ren asked sarcastically.

"That might be an added bonus but it still helps our good friend Lizbeth. So what do you say? Like I said everyone wins."

Liz felt herself sweating harder than ever at being backed up into a corner like this by Mai of all people. She must really have a dislike for Helios if she was willing to drag her into these. As much as she would rather give his jacket back without an audience, if she didn't go they would badger at him for an answer, he'd get violent with vocal outbursts then come over to her shop and wreck the place. She sighed in resignation and nodded her head. "Just don't give me and him too much crap. Last thing I want is for him to take his rage out on my store again."

Mai pouted at her request. "But that's no fun."

Dagger wagged her finger at the rapier user with a small wink. "Now, now Mai think of it like this. You can save this info for later and bring it up whenever he tries to tease you."

"I thought you were his friend Dagger. That kinda seems cold hearted to the guy." Riku said.

"Hey the world of business is a cutthroat place and I like to make sure cards are in my favor. Plus a bit of humility is good for everyone, really I'm doing everyone a favor here. Be lucky I don't charge you all for my golden advice."

The group rolled their eyes as they began to leave the smith shop to meet Helios on Floor 59. As Liz flipped the 'Closed' sign on her door she felt a hand on her shoulder making her jump in surprise. "Geez Alice don't do that!"

"Sorry. Look I want to apologize for Mai being like that. Considering all the teasing Helios puts her through she just wants some payback on him." Alice said with an apologetic smile. "Plus if anything you can just hand him his jacket and leave."

The blacksmith nodded her head at her suggestion. "Yeah that actually sounds like a plan."

"If it's okay to ask did something happen between you and him today?"

"Wh-what makes you ask that?"

"Aha got you!" Alice smiled in victory. "You stuttered for a second there meaning something did happen between you two. I noticed when we mentioned your name back at the inn he tensed up. Look I won't pry but maybe try to get on his good side? It'd be better to have him as a friend than an enemy wouldn't it?"

Liz rolled her eyes as she locked the door behind her. "Yeah when me and him actually get friendly then I'll upgrade your scythe for free. Come on we're falling behind."

Alice smiled to herself as they walked behind Ren and the others. She could tell something happened between those two to make them all jittery at the mention of each other's names not to mention the fact that Helios gave Liz of all people his handmade jacket said something as well. Perhaps there is hope for those two yet.

-Floor 59: Danac Fields-

"The hell are you doing here!?" Helios yelled as he pointed a finger at Liz who merely sighed in response.

Ren rolled his eyes at his friend's yell, of course things would start like this not that he expected things to go different. "Okay well I think you two have some catching up to do. Come on guys let's give them some space while we train."

"But Ren!" Mai complained before being hefted up by her sister.

"Going now, come on Mai."

The two of them ignored Mai's cries of unfairness as the group walked away from them to train. Seizing the distraction of them being alone Liz grabbed Helios by his arm and dragged him away behind a rock so that no prying eyes could see them. The two of them stood at awkward silence for a few moments before she coughed into her hand and opened up her menu. She materialized the borrowed jacket and gestured it to him. "H-Here… The others invited me along so I could give this back to you."

"Oh. Th-thanks…" Helios stuttered as he took the item back from her as a dusty red blush graced his face. He gave a long sigh and placed his hands on her shoulders suddenly. "...Look don't take this the wrong way or something." he muttered as he looked away from the girl, clearly embarrassed by his actions. "This is completely platonic."

"Okay?" she managed to squeak out as he slowly got closer. 'Ohmygodwhatishedoing!? Was Alice right does he-'

Helios suddenly pulled away as his face was lit bright like a candle. "N-Nevermind. Forget it, it's nothing important."

A feeling of disappointment washed over Liz like a cold bucket of water. 'Wait disappointment? Was I expecting something to happen? That he would do something to me?' Before he could walk away she grabbed him by the shoulder. "What were you gonna do back there?"

He didn't turn around but she could see his ears start to become red. "I said it was nothing damn it! Leave it at that!"

"Oh no you don't! I'm not gonna let you weasel your way out of this one Helios!" she said as she gave a stern poke to his back causing him to turn around with a scowl. "I have a damn good idea on what you were going to do!"

"Oh do you now!?" he challenged as he stood over her in an attempt to intimidate her. "And what did you think I was gonna do?"

Liz tried to size herself up to his intimidation to show she wasn't going to back down as her face got closer to his. "You want me to spell it out to you moron?"

"Shut up blacksmith! If I'm a moron what does that make you then?"

"Don't you think that you're better than me you ass!" she yelled as she got closer.

Helios got closer as well as he got more pissed. "Piss off moron! You don't know anything!"

"Oh yeah!?"

"Yeah!"

"Oh yeah!?"

"Yeah!"

"OH YEAH!?"

"YEAH!"

"Well I'm gonna show you what you were about to do to me before you backed off like a coward!" she yelled as she got even closer, to the point where their lips were just a hair's breath away.

"Then do it already!"

"Fine!" In a show of impulsive bravado, Liz grabbed Helios by his face and planted a soft kiss to his left cheek and pulled away with a smug look on her face as she saw his face turned hotter than her smelt oven as a look of shock was embedded on his face at her action. Soon enough the realization of her action dawned on her as a scarlet blush came onto her face as well as she backed away slowly. "O-Oh my god… Did I just…?"

"...Y-You did…"

Helios collapsed on the ground as he held his head in shock. Lizbeth, his enemy, just kissed him on the cheek. Nevermind that fact that he was going to do something similar in kin to a friendly hug for returning his jacket unmarred or that this was his first instance of intimate contact with a woman who wasn't his mother or family member. The blush on his face refused to leave as was the same with Liz who tried to slap the blush away from her face, to no avail. She minutely composed herself as grabbed Helios by the face once more causing him to freak out a bit. "Relax! I'm not gonna kiss you again! Look, what happened just now? It stays with us to our graves, it never happened got it."

"You don't have to tell me twice! I wanna forget about it!"

"Good now I'm gonna go back home now and forget everything about today. Next time we meet it's back to business as usual Helios." Liz got up from her position and dusted herself off as she left back to the teleport gate and left the area to return to her shop.

Time passed as Helios remained at his spot from where he was kissed not having moved an inch. He tried so hard to forget the feeling of Liz's soft lips on his cheek and how… not disgusting it felt. He was sure he was going to vomit but now he was more confused than ever. 'Why can't I get that kiss out of my head!?'

"Helios you alright?" A voice from behind asked.

Helios let out a yelp of surprise as he turned around to see Ren, Dagger and Alice looking at him strangely. "O-Oh hey guys what's up?"

"We could ask the same thing." Alice said with a smirk as she took mental note of his red face. "Liz is gone from the area, you are sitting here with a red face and not a single level gained on your end with us being here for half an hour already. Did something happen between you two?"

"HELL NO!"

Dagger smiled brightly with a cheshire grin as she nudged Helios by the shoulder. "Oh Helios you dog you! A love hate relationship with little Lizbeth. Tell me, did you two do anything saucy? I have clients who love to hear about romantic dribble."

"I think we should focus less on the situation of Helios and be more concerned at the fact that you sell romantic information about your friends to other people." Ren said with a disapproving look.

Dagger smiled knowingly with a wag of her finger. "Oh then you would NOT want to know who one of my customers are.

-Floor 50: Algade, Kirito's home-

Asuna let out a sudden sneeze, breaking the comfortable silence that was created with her and Kirito enjoying a cup of tea together. "That's weird…"

"You cold or anything Asuna?" Kirito asked from his seat.

The Lightning Flash waved off his concern with the shake of her hand. "Ah don't worry, it's nothing Kirito." 'Huh why are my shipping senses tingling?'

-Back to Floor 59-

"But back to the topic at hand nothing happened between me and that Liz!" Helios denied as he brought out his axe. "She just returned my jacket to me, nothing more nothing less."

"Then why is your face red?" Alice teased once more.

"Cause I was frustrated at her now come on! We're losing daylight!" Not giving them a chance to respond Helios charged off to go and hunt monsters to escape the thought of Liz's pouty lip- 'Stop it! STOP IT! I do NOT like that damned blacksmith! ...Certainly don't...'

-Floor 48 Lindarth. Lizbeth's Smith Shop-

'Why can't I get that kiss out of my head!?'

Both her and Helios seemed to be suffering from the same thought process, both unable to get over her bold kiss that she gave to him. She was semi-scared when she felt a small ache in her heart, a longing sort of feeling. 'Oh god why am I such an idiot!? The guy wasn't even gonna kiss me and I did it to him! He probably thinks that I like him or something. But I don't like him! I'm one hundred percent sure that I don't like him like that.' She walked back to the back of her shop and took note of her materials. A month ago Kirito was kind enough to help her get some of the same metal she used to make the Dark Repulser to create another weapon to sell. But ever since she got the metal she was stumped on what to create with it.

'...This might be the biggest mistake I might ever make but…'

Given the recent events of today Liz finally decided on what weapon she would create.

'This is just to show him I'm grateful for him letting me borrow his jacket. Nothing else because I certainly don't like that jackass.'

An axe for Helios.

'...Certainly don't…'

A/N: And that's it for the Heated Metal ship for now my friends! No doubt there are going to be times where I come back to certain ships to add more and more to them to expand their relationships so expect more Hyka (Hyde x Rika) in the future. Next update is one requested by TheSib himself then after that one by Tiche Potato. Have an fantastic day or night you lovely readers! See ya next chapter!