Absolute Bond (Yuuki x Kirito)

Chapter Three: Redemption

"Are you sure-" "YUUKI!" she buried her head further between her drawn up knees as she recalled the harsh tone he had spoken with, the undisguised anger that had flashed raw in those Onyx Eyes as he had addressed her, she began to tremble again, her eyes stung as she did, but no tears came, too many had already escaped for others to join them; Too others she would have appeared to have been drastically overreacting, a few harsh words and a declined invite to go shopping had turned one of Aincrad's most reputable warriors into a sobbing wreck, but she knew him, and she knew that blank and clouded look that had eclipsed his usually bright and humorous eyes and it terrified her. After hearing a airy musical note that signified a received message she raised her head from her paled knees and slowly dragged her finger through the evening air to open the long familiar message window, her eyes drifted to the senders ID before opening as it was a common trick for fraudsters to take advantage of the system, despite it's many security features to prevent so, her slacked body suddenly jolted upright, becoming rigid and taunt as her eyes scanned the Player ID listed: Kirito 

"I'm sorry for my attitude this morning Yuuki, I know I was incredibly abrupt and short, I think I owe you an explanation and an apology, I understand if you are still upset and/or furious but I would like for us to meet back in Qrow in the village square at 8pm, consider it repayment for declining your offer this morning" -Kirito  

As she finished reading the last of his message her outstretched hand slowly balled into a tight fist and her deep seeded feeling of sadness quickly evaporated, replaced by a seething anger, "My ATTITUDE?" She yelled her crimson eyes ablaze with rage, "It was a DAMN slight more than that!" finishing her outburst she quickly pressed the reply button, finger raised to inscribe poison into the message window, but taking a deep breath she slowly curled and lowered her finger, her hand still trembling, after a moment she raised it once more imputing the curt response of "Fine" before tapping the "Send" icon before letting out a shaky breath, and stood up from the Toilet Lid in the rented rooms bathroom, she proceeded to let out a surprised yelp as her towel dropped to the tiled floor reveling her naked body, blushing she recalled stripping ready to shower after Kirito had left before collapsing onto the seat and breaking down into sobs, shaking off her blush she climbed into the shower cubical turning the water on and letting it roll down the curves of her exposed form, she grunted to herself as she reached for the shampoo stationed nearby, "You have a LOT to explain Kirito." 

An Hour Later

Kirito glanced at the in-game clock displayed at the top right of his peripheral vision, 7:56pm AST, his eyes once again scanned the cobbled square before him, the evening's humid breeze blowing the bangs of dark hair from his troubled face, the memory of Yuuki's pained cry still ringing like a gunshot in his mind, he winced and rubbed his scowling face with one gloved hand, "She did nothing wrong." he mumbled to himself as he mentally slapped himself once again for his vile actions towards the Girl earlier in the day, truth be told she did the exact opposite of wrong, her touch, her warmth and her voice had been more than welcome. Only the bad memories of people long passed had stopped him from reciprocating, he had realized what she had been trying to tell him now he was free of the chains of his past. She was in love with him. He smiled softly as the thought passed  through his mind, her actions had been not of a friends but of a lovers, whether she was conscious of it or not, and Kirito had come to realize just how much he longed to nurture those feelings within his own heart and Yuuki had enabled him too. He glanced up once again as he finished his train of thought with another grin, before dropping upon seeing the girl standing before him. 

Yuuki stood before Kirito her head bowed and her shoulders slumped, her body seemingly dangling aloft by strings, "Y-Yuuki" he choked out, his voice wavering upon seeing her forlorn posture, "I-I'm so sorry" he croaked his eyes closing tight "I-I never meant to h-hurt you" his words continued to flow, his pent-up regret lacing each and every one, "I was, confused and misguided, and I took the resulting anger out on you." His voice strengthened as he solidified his resolve, "I was trapped by memories of the past, people from it, but now I've decided to move on" he paused for a moment before hesitantly putting a violently shaking finger under her chin, moving her face to look at his, crimson orbs watching him, wide in shock, "That's why I can say this with confidence now." He almost cringed at his own words, the whole sentence seeming to fail to convey what he truly felt, but once again strengthening his resolve he pushed on, uttering the one phrase that sent tremors through both of them. 

"I love you, Yuuki Konno." 

His words seemed to strike a flaming arrow into the recently frozen recesses of her Heart, "I love you"  she stood perfectly still for a moment her brain processing his confession, she realized Kirito was still aswell, his mind also racing, she closed the gap between them in an instance, her arms drawing her lover into a vice-like hug, her face burrowing into his shoulder as she too spoke "I-I thought I lost you... Again" she pulled him closer still her mind flashing back to his attitude after losing Asuna, "But hearing you say that... " she felt him tense, awaiting her response "...Makes me happier than I thought possible." she pulled back slightly, Ruby Red meeting Jet Black both trying to convey their boundless emotions, slowly they moved together again their lips meeting at the midway point, they melted into one another in pure bliss, their lips soft on one another, she felt his tongue graze were they joined and she opened her mouth slightly, moving her own tongue forward as passion joined the cocktail of emotions raging through her veins. After what seemed like an age the two parted both opening their eyes slowly, grins rising to both their faces, "Thank you Yuuki" she flashed her trademark smile at him, "Right back at ya Ki" she giggled and he soon joined her, the joy overpowering the negative beginnings of the day, she spoke again in a more timid voice a light blush rising to her pale cheeks, "So, this I guess this makes us an... Item?" she finished, her blush rising, he chuckled at her expression his hand going to her cheek, "It certainly does" he grinned back, "And I could NOT be happier." Yuuki's grin returned at that, pulling apart and grasping his hand she pulled him towards the line of restaurants on the other side of the square, "Dinner?" Kirito's smile widened "Defiantly." 

1:36 AM  AST  

Yuuki opened the door to the room, her heart singing as she towed Kirito behind her, she turned to face him, her eyes sparkling with unconstrained joy, "Thanks for dinner" she said to her partner who wore a similar blissful expression, he replied in a matching chipper tone "Don't mention it, do you fancy getting some sleep" he gestured to the clock hanging on the inn wall, "It's kinda getting late" and feeling his shirt sticking to him added "and hot" she simply nodded and opened her menu moving to the equipment window, "D-do you mind if I get changed here?" She said her now familiar blush rising, "I mean its to hot to wear a nightdress and-and" he stopped her as she became flustered, his own blush rising, "S-sure, Yuuki, whatever your comftable in" she steeled herself for a moment before removing all her equipment minus her maroon undergarments, her blush increasing ten-fold. Kirito took in her pale form, his eyes moving from the legs up, before abruptly turning away after seeing the embarrassed expression written across her face, he hesitantly opened his mouth, before saying in a halting voice, "You're beautiful Yuuki, don't feel embarrassed." she visibly relaxed at that, but the blush stubbornly remained, he removed his own equipment leaving him in Black Boxers; This time it was Yuuki's eyes that raked up the other figure, her embarrassment momentarily forgotten, after a moments gawking she released her gaze, and walked over to the bed climbing under the covers Kirito doing the same, she immediately curled into his side once more, a sigh of contempt exiting her mouth as she nested her head into his collar bone, and sweetly called out to him as he wrapped an arm around her underwear clad waist, "Love you Kirito, goodnight" it sounded cliche but Kirito smiled warmly and chuckled slightly and replied "Love you too, Yuuki" both then fell to sleep in each others warm embrace. 

(A/N) Hey guys hope you enjoyed the Third chapter, the next few chapters will take place a few weeks/months further on in Kirito and Yuuki's relationship than this and have a whole lot more romance between them, there will in all likely hood be a Lemon at some later stage but it will be molded to fit the story and not just be thrust into the middle of it, I want to make these characters and their relationship feel realistic to a certain extent and considering how explosive hormones can be a little smut in the right areas can drastically help that, Asuna and Kirito's relationship in canon seems to have ground to a halt due to those more raw emotions being ignored and I would rather the paring in this story not suffer a similar fate; that all being said Chapter Four and Five will be here very soon, and any feedback is greatly appreciated, thank you to any who chose to follow this story.

-MurphyJP

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