Kirito x Reader

Chapter Twelve

"Let's team-up."

Kirito spat out his tea and looked at you with widened eyes. With both of you being solo players, it was very unusual, especially for you, to ask Kirito to team up. Kirito was shocked and flustered. The thought of teaming up with you made him realize he would get to spend a lot more time with you than he usually would. But then again, he is a solo player and a very well-known one at that. Teaming up with you would change his image and he was worried you might get hurt or even killed if he wasn't careful.

Kirito regained his composure and crossed his arms. You raised an eyebrow at him and waited for him to respond.

"N-"

Before he was able to even finish rejecting your offer, you picked up a butter knife and activated a sword skill, pushing the knife towards his face. Kirito flinched back and stared at the knife that was placed in between his eyes. Sweat dripped down his forehead as he looked up and into your threatening eyes.

"Say yes. I can get away from Kuradeel for a while and I can handle myself on the field so you don't have to worry about me. Plus, I need to repay you for everything you've done for me..." You said the last part quietly.

"What do-"

"Just accept the invite, idiot," You said, gently pressing the knife against his forehead.

"O-Okay! Jeez," Kirito said, leaning backward.

You smirked to yourself and sent him a party invite.

Kirito helped you clean up your house which didn't take that long since all you really had to do was press buttons and everything would disappear. Afterwards, you decided to walk Kirito home.

"You know, we're in a safe zone, so I couldn't hurt you even if I wanted to," You said with a smirk.

Kirito tensed up after realizing that truth. He let out a sigh and slumped over, making you laugh at his defeated posture. Kirito's head shot up after hearing your laughter. The moonlight shined down into your beautiful (e/c) eyes, making them sparkle as the stars reflected off of them. The way your hair fell on your face when you tilted your head to laugh was breathtaking.

Kirito caught himself staring and quickly looked away to hide his blush. Your laugh died down and you looked up at the sky. It was different from the real world. The sky was more detailed and there seemed to be more stars. Streaks of green and purple stretched out across the night sky and small clouds floated by as the wind blew softly.

"Sometimes, I forget about the real world. Don't you? We've been here for so long that everything; fighting monsters, speaking to NPCs, and using all of this high-tech, has become our new normal. I miss the real world sometimes, even though it was shitty for me most of the time."

Kirito stared at you as you talked about your feelings about the differences and similarities between the virtual world and the real world. He noticed a sad glint in your eyes when mentioning your past. He couldn't help but feel like he had to do something to comfort you. He didn't want you to go back to being sad. Kirito liked the way you looked when you were happy and smiling. He was about to grab your hand but retracted it, not wanting to make you feel weird or uncomfortable.

"We'll get out of here someday. I'll make sure of it, so don't worry, okay?" Kirito said with a reassuring smile.

You looked at him with a shocked expression but then smiled. You so desperately wanted to hug him, to feel the comforting warmth of another person, from Kirito. He's been there for you every step of the way, ever since this whole thing started. The worry of him not returning your feelings held you back. You didn't want him to feel like he was obligated to have romantic feelings for you.