Disclaimer: Don't own Sword Art Online (I or II), or any of it's characters.

Rating: T

Here, Yui goes through something that happens to all of us

December 9th, 2030

"What's this place?"

He smiled, looking at Yui, who'd come along with him (she'd insisted). "This is a dentist building" he explained easily, going inside the door. "It's where we go to get checkups and take care of any teeth or teeth-related mouth issues."

"Oh, I see" she said, eager, even as she worked to take off her coat now that they were inside. "I understand that these people are specialists, but I'm a little confused; isn't brushing and flossing every day enough, daddy?"

He thought a moment. "Well, usually it is" he acknowledged, hanging his coat on the nearby rack. "But food bits and other small things may get into the gums without our knowing it, and once they're there, they build up and up. So to make sure nothing gets out of control, that's why they see us every now and then; to prevent any severe damage"

"Hmm" she breathed, trying to put her coat on the rack itself - however, even on her tip-toes, she has having trouble actually reaching. "Ah!" she breathed, surprised when he lifted her, but she warmly returned the smile.

For himself, this just gave him a feeling of contentment-

"Kazuto?"

Jolted, he looked around, gently putting Yui down - he saw Abram (one of the heads of the building) coming toward them. "It's good to see you on time, but I haven't seen her with you before."

He chuckled, glancing at Yui. "Well, that's because she wasn't with us during our last visits" he said easily. "Asuna's still at work, while it's my day off, so Yui here wanted to tag along."

"It's so nice to meet you, sir" she said politely, sincere, bowing a little. "I'm very curious about this place, and what you do."

Abram was surprised, but acknowledged this. "Well, a little girl with such enthusiasm to learn will do well with this one" he said, teasing (he just felt exasperated). "Still, I must admit I'm a little surprised."

"That we adopted her?" he asked, figuring that was it.

"Well, that, and the fact that for someone you've adopted, Yui looks a lot like a cross between you and Asuna."

He chuckled outwardly, sheepish and amused while Yui seemed to look thoughtful all of a sudden, but inwardly he thought the dude had no idea how close he was to the reality...

Still, anyway, he went and got his teeth looked at + cleaned as usual - with their permission, Yui had been present, asking questions and talking with the ones doing the actual work. Good thing these guys were actually qualified to talk while they worked- still, one thing had caught his attention at some point; Yui's nose looked a little redder than usual.

Hmm, maybe it could be his imagination, but he'll see.

/

Two hours later

Hospital

"How's the patient in Room 302 doing?"

"The Medicuboid has stabilized him; he's resting now."

She breathed out, relieved. "Good" she whispered softly, looking at the report on said patient - it had been sudden, but now, perhaps there was something they could do to help over the next few weeks.

Still, even as she looked, her thoughts wandered to how she'd gotten this job; she hadn't specifically been trying to get into medicine full-time or anything like that. But there had been an opening for an assistant in the family company, and she took it - however, soon her drive to help out and make everything better inspired them. She'd been quite surprised when they offered her the job, especially since she didn't know too much about medicine. However, the job didn't require anything specific; just taking care of patient's general needs, and letting the experts do their thing.

The immense relief she felt was an understatement, but she had thought why not? It paid fairly well, and if she wanted to choose a different line of work in the future, then she could leave anytime. As a bonus, it was where Kazuto would dive from during his efforts to beta-test, in his ongoing efforts to learn more and more about how such systems worked.

"Excuse me, Asuna?"

She jolted, and realized she'd been out of it; she worked to make sure it wasn't too noticeable. "Uh, yes?" she asked her intern (part of a program that started just today).

"Phone call for you; it's your husband."

She gasped a little, then smiled. "Thank you" she assured her intern, before picking up the phone herself. "What's up?" she asked gently.

"Oh, just wanted to let you know a few things" came the mild voice she loved. "One; the dentist appointment went well, and I've started Yui off on them as well this next spring."

"Good to hear" she noted, waiting.

"And two, I think Yui's starting to come down with a cold; her nose is redder and she's sneezed several times already. Don't know if she caught it from the weather or the people while we were visiting the dentist's office."

She slowly breathed out, but soft. "Well, it had to happen eventually" she said gently. "But now, I actually have an excuse to try and make chicken soup tonight."

"Any chance I-"

"You fake getting sick, or intentionally get sick because of Yui, and there'll be words between us Kazuto" she said playfully, even smug.

"Okay, fair enough" he said, trying his hardest to hide the disappointment, but she could tell anyway.

She smirked a little, and was just about to say more when another voice came over the phone: "Hi, mommy."

"Hey, Yui" she said softly. "I hope you're doing well."

"I am; daddy's told me about this 'common cold' thing, and how it's merely annoying. Still, I hope it doesn't last too long."

"Well, when I get home, I can make something that should help a bunch" she assured. "I'll be off work pretty soon."

"I can't wait!"

/

Even as the thermometer did it's work, he gently felt Yui's forehead; hmm, didn't seem like she had any sign of fever. Still, it was her first cold, quite literally, and that could show up later.

"You sure it has to stay like this, daddy?" Yui asked, but very careful; she was talking while still keeping the thermometer underneath her tongue.

"Yeah" he said easily. "Just wait till it beeps-"

Yui jolted when it did just that, and it nearly dropped in the process - he just chuckled, gently taking it out of her mouth. While Yui made instinctive motions around her tongue and mouth (it did feel weird no matter what), he checked the reading: 98.8 F. Hmm, very slightly above the norm, but nowhere near bad.

"So, how am I?"

He smiled, looking at her (and showcasing the reading). "You're .2 degrees above the normal temperature right now" he said, before teasing. "But it's not worrying unless it's a full degree off."

"That means I'm good?" she asked softly. "I mean, I don't have this 'fever' thing, right?"

"For right now" he admitted gently, to her little confusion. "Sometimes though, they pop up after the initial cold, which is why I'll need to check your temperature again at some point."

"Okay, daddy."

He nodded, and was just about to put the thermometer away when he heard the front door click - Yui heard it too, and they both turned their heads as it opened-

"I'm back!" Asuna called, quickly working to get rid of the winter-wear.

Yui giggled. "Welcome home, mommy" she said softly, "Daddy says I have a slight temperature rise, but that's it."

"Well for the most part, that's common when you're sick, including common colds" she admitted, but still smiling, coming up and hugging her daughter (who returned it easily). "Still, I bet you can't wait for that chicken soup I promised you."

"You bet!" Yui cheered, excited.

Then Asuna's mouth curved. "And also, even though we're not sick, Kazuto and I aren't gonna be left out in tasting it" she said playfully-

He blanched in surprised shock; no way, really!?

-"after all, it's not just a helper in curing common colds; it's supposed to taste great on it's own too" she said easily, leading Yui past him. "I always wanted to try making it."

"Can I watch you?"

"Of course you can, Yui."

Even as they walked off though, he had a profound sense of relief, but also exasperation; don't lead him on like that Asuna!

Later

"How's her temperature now, Kazuto?"

Sitting beside Yui in her bed, who was a little tired + light-headed, he looked at the thermometer again: 99.5 F. "Technically, it's just under a degree higher than the norm" he admitted, before looking at her. "It's still not serious, but she does have a 'little' fever now."

Despite the slight worry, she was more sad that this had to happen in the middle of her cooking; Yui loved watching her prepare the food that she and Kazuto enjoyed. Still, once this small fever had suddenly come upon her, Kazuto had been there and taken Yui upstairs at her request. At the same moment, she looked at the tray she was carrying, which held three bowls of steaming chicken soup.

Yui stirred a bit, touching a hand to her forehead, which was sweating slightly. "I-I'm sorry if this is worrying you two" she said, with a similar tone.

Just then, she came over to Yui's bed, smiling softly as she shook her head. "It's okay, Yui" she assured, giving the tray to Kazuto, allowing her to stroke Yui's hair a little - it made their daughter smile. "And besides, we can still eat together like this."

"In bed?"

"Yes, in bed."

Kazuto smiled, gently putting the tray very near the three of them. "See, there are some perks to getting sick" he said, a little teasing. "Such as getting to lay in bed and be pampered."

"Oh, Kazuto" she breathed, exasperated; he just chuckled.

Yui however just continued to smile, liking how they loved each other but continued to tease + make fun. "It's my first time being sick" she whispered softly, gentle. "I hope it doesn't happen too often, but I know there'll be times where it will anyway."

She briefly touched a hand to Yui's forehead; much warmer, slightly sweaty as a result, but not hot so that's something. "You're taking being sick rather well though" she said easily, before preparing the chicken soup, spoon ready. "Still, we don't want it to drag out either. This will be your first taste, so we'll take it slow - say 'Ahh'."

"Ahhhh" Yui breathed, opening her mouth.

It made her feel warm; this was another part of being a parent, and she loved it.

Carefully, gently, she moved the spoonful to Yui's mouth, who closed her mouth upon it - her first jolt was at the hot taste, but after that (and the swallow), Yui slowly giggled. "That's really tasty" she whispered, happy, trying to lean up from the inclined sitting position, though she couldn't get far.

Kazuto also didn't let her. "Easy there, tiger" he said lightly, "your body is still processing the sick sensations. I say let it rest, and let us three eat together. Okay?"

"Okay" Yui whispered again, more soft, before moving her arms and taking her bowl + spoon. Still, despite her excitement (subdued as it was by her cold), she waited till the three of them were ready together.

"Cheers" she said softly.

"Cheers" Kazuto and Yui said together, before they began to eat, with very similar reactions to how good the dish was. It made her giggle, before eating some herself - ah yes, at the peak of flavor, and good stuff.

"You know, that cold makes your nose look really red."

"H-Hey, don't tease me daddy!"

/

Nighttime

"Hmm, your nose does look a little better, but it's still pretty red."

Yui stirred, looking at her. "I'm glad I'm healing" she whispered softly, before making a sound, fingers absentmindedly touching her own nose. "Still, I get enough of teases from daddy."

She giggled a little, smiling. "Well, I don't just mean it as a tease; it really does look red right now, almost like a certain red-nosed reindeer."

"A what?" Yui asked, curiously confused.

She jolted a little, realizing what she'd said, but then thought why not explain it? However, before she could, Kazuto got down beside her - instinctively she looked at him, and jolted; he was smiling, and looked soft, but there was something deeper in his eyes.

"Reindeer are another animal, Yui" he explained. "They're four-legged, stand about as tall as you at the shoulder, and their heads can reach our height. They typically have soft brown or lighter fur, and the males have antlers - we can show you their picture tomorrow, if you'd like."

She smiled, nodding. "Okay" she whispered gently. "But, from what mommy said, ones' with a red nose are special?"

"More like 'a' one - the one Asuna mentioned is fictional, but well-known enough, and is connected to the Christmas tradition as well. There's a song that goes with it as well."

Yui brightened at the idea of this.

"Kazuto, you're sure?" she asked, faint, not looking at Yui for the moment; she'd known since more than a year ago, of how Kazuto's reluctance to join guilds in SAO had started.

He slowly looked at her... then managed a little smile. "Why not?" he asked, his tone outwardly light. "Yui wants to hear it, after all."

Just like that, his answer was clear - much more complex that could be described with their expressions, but still clear. She squeezed his hand tightly to show that she understood, and he squeezed back, even as they both slowly turned back to Yui (who was beginning to have an inkling that something more than 'what song to sing tonight' was involved).

"I'll start us off" she said, very gentle. "Join in on the second paragraph, Kazuto."

"Got it."

She had to wait a moment while Yui got herself comfortable, quite excited, but that was okay - it allowed her to breathe in and out.

"You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen" she started to sing softly. "Comet and Cupid and Donnor and Blitzen, but do you recall, the most famous reindeer of all?"

Much like the first night, Yui's happiness was so much that it was almost unbearably cute.

"Ruldolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" she sang again, but this time Kazuto joined in; they were starting to get the hang of doing so together-

"Had a very shiny nose.
And if you ever saw it,
you would even say it glows.

All of the other reindeer,
used to laugh and call him names,
They never let poor Ruldolph,
join in any reindeer games.

"Then one foggy Christmas Eve,
Santa came to say,
Ruldolph with your nose so bright,
won't you guide my sleight tonight.

Then how the reindeer loved him,
as they shouted out with glee,
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,
you'll go down in history."

There was a moment, when she ended it, that Kazuto was about to repeat the chorus before he realized she'd stopped; nearly made a fool himself, hehe.

Yui giggled a little, still smiling. "Seems like there's more to the story than merely the lyrics" she whispered softly, though part of her remained happy about their singing.

Kazuto gently patted her hair. "There is, but that's a story for another time" he assured, Yui slowly nodding.

Just then, she gently leaned against Kazuto's arm, holding him close - he gently leaned himself against her in return. But she wasn't just comforting him; she was making sure to enjoy this moment through-and-through, even though Yui was mildly sick. A loving husband, the cutest daughter she could ask for, a great home...

It was perfect.

It was only a matter of time, but she'll get through it, of course :)