You are my safe zone

Third Week

— Fwaahhh... — An expression of pure delight escaped Asuna's lips as her body sank into the hot, steamy water.

I was standing on the edge of the round crater surrounded by a bunch of torch-like lanterns, looking down at her with a smile on my face. It had been a struggle, but after a week of thinking and overthinking I had finally decided on a certain hot spring to be the destination for our weekly meeting. The place wasn't particularly nice on the eyes, but it had a completely different appeal that I hoped Asuna would appreciate.

I watched her body slowly disappear under the surface with equal parts embarrassment and amazement. To be honest I shouldn't have been so worked up by the sight of Asuna in a swimsuit since it wasn't the first, nor the second, nor the third time. During our time as partners back in the lower floors of Aincrad, we had been involved in more than one situation involving wearing swimsuits... or less.

But even with all those memories resurfacing, or maybe in spite of it, I couldn't stop myself from peeking at her silhouette hidden under the surface.

— D-don't stare so much... — Asuna's voice sounded ethereal and distorted in the moist atmosphere filled with steam, but I could clearly tell she was embarrassed and annoyed.

— Err, I'm sorry — I managed to mumble from above — it's just that... well... your swimsuit...

Water splashed in response, as Asuna sank even deeper into its embrace, crossing her arms over her body for extra protection. She frowned.

— What's wrong with it? — asked Asuna defensively, with a sharp note to her voice that urged me to shut up. Talking with Asuna was like trying to defuse a bomb: the smallest mistake could blow up in your face. Metaphorically speaking, of course. If it were literal I'd suffer from a permanent lack of eyebrows.

— No-nothing's wrong with it! It looks amazing on you! — I bit my tongue as her brow twitched slightly. Wrong approach — But it's not the one I remember you having back then... that's all...

She sank deeper into the water, squinting hard, as if trying to look past my face and into my brain to discern the truthfulness of my statement. I knew there was no such skill as lie detection in SAO, but the strength of those hypnotizingly beautiful hazel eyes was powerful enough to strip you from your deepest secrets.

After an infinitely long instant, she huffed, causing bubbles to break the surface of the water (I thought for a moment to make a joke about the resemblance with a specific hippo lookalike mob, but I was trying to grow my eyebrows back and voted against it) and rose up just enough for her delicate lips to poke through.

— Of course it isn't! — she said, offended — I got rid of that old  thing like a year ago.

She said 'old' in such a way that turned on the smartpants gamer switch inside my brain, which I knew Asuna wasn't particularly fond of. She was the most competitive person I had ever met, and the fact that I was much more versed in game knowledge than her (even if I'd told her a million times that it was probably the most useless knowledge one could hope for) had always annoyed her. Unfortunately for me, for every 100 points Asuna had on 'competitiveness' I had 101 on 'stubborness', which meant barely enough to bypass the rational part of my brain telling me to just shut the fuck up.

— Old doesn't necessarily mean bad — I defended myself as if someone had insulted my honor — Items do not deteriorate in Aincrad unless they are not stored and just left around to decay. The materials should be as good as the day the item was created, as long as you perform proper maintenance on it.

— Everyone knows that! — she snapped back — But just because you never change your clothes, doesn't mean everyone else does the same.

Asuna pointed at my lower half with a smirk on her face, and for a second of panic I thought the sight of her jaw dropping and curvy figure had taken a certain effect on my body. I turned away, trying to hide wherever dignity I had left.