You are my safe zone

First Week

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After their emotional encounter inside the frozen caves of the 55th Floor, Kirito and Asuna reached a mutual agreement in which they decided to have a 'meeting' once a week that they would use as a gateway from their duties and stress of their daily routines of sub-leader and front-line solo player.

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As the last rays of virtual sunlight sneaked through the green barrier formed by the tall treetops of the forest surrounding their path, Kirito and Asuna walked their way back to the town, engaging in a relaxing and carefree conversation. The rhythmic clicking of their boots on the stone road mixed with the occasional chirping of the birds and the gusts of wind gently shaking the tree branches and brushing the leaves against each other created a perfectly fitting atmosphere for their trip, almost as if someone had setted it up by hand on purpose.

The two players slowly but steadily were following the smooth gray surface outside of the woods, when the warm breeze started carrying subtle and muffled hints of the background music played by a little orchestra at the town main plaza, meaning they were close to the end of their trip. But despite being two of the best and strongest players in the frontline, who were used to always being on edge and aware of their surroundings, neither Kirito or Asuna seemed to realize it, as they both kept giggling and chatting like nothing else mattered in the entire World.

For the unknown eye, a pair of young teens of the opposite sex walking calmly through a forest, closely talking and laughing with such familiarity, even teasing each other from time to time, would 100% mean they were a couple on a date.

And well, on this occasion that would be only half true.

Yes, you could say we are on some sort of 'date', but we are definitely not a couple. Not at all... Well, maybe partners? But that's it. I mean, we are friends for sure, since we added each other as such a long time ago, but does Asuna still consider me her partner? I know I do, but does she?

"...rito-kun! Kirito-kun!"

"Huh?!"

A familiar, angelic voice snapped Kirito out of his train of thoughts back to reality, and he swiftly turned his face 90° to his right following the source of the sweet sound. Kirito's eyes were met by a pair of beautiful hazel gems shining brighter than any star he had ever seen, barely an inch from his face. Asuna was curiously looking at him, her gaze previously fixed on her partner's cheek now seemed to stare right through his virtual avatar, following the data flowing through the nerve gear back to his real body and into his very soul. Even up close like this, Kirito couldn't find a single imperfection on Asuna's pristine and smooth skin, and he started to wonder if it was a feat introduced by the developers of SAO to make the avatars look as aesthetically pleasing as possible, or maybe it was to save as much server power as possible sparing the useless details like that one, or maybe it was just yet another proof that his partner's beauty was something out of both the real and virtual worlds.

As his mind started roaming somewhere far away on its own, Kirito's nose caught on a scent he hadn't been aware of until now. It was a sweet, spring-ish fragrance like some sort of seasonal flower mixed with fresh and stingy citric hints, and after a quick moment of thinking the swordsman accurately pinpointed the source of such pleasant smell: Asuna the fencer. Trying to drown himself in the exquisite aroma, the black-haired boy sniffed repeatedly with his eyes closed, twitching his nose in the process; but in addition to his sense of smell being overtaken by Asuna's perfume, he also felt a weird brush on the tip of his nose that made him open his lids again in curiosity. Asuna's face had taken on a pink-ish color, her mouth curved into an indecipherable frown and her eyes had widened as she stared at her partner with a mix of shock and embarrassment. It took Kirito a couple of seconds, but once he realized that the tickle was the result of his and his partner's noses grazing against each other, he felt his face growing hotter and, even if he couldn't see it, he knew it was probably the same color as Asuna's, if not even worse.

Making use of every last agility point, both players leaped backwards creating distance from each other while looking away to hide their reddened faces. Luckily for Kirito, before he could open his mouth and probably make the situation worse, Asuna broke the silence with an awkward, dry cough "Geez, you always do this kind of thing when you zone out like that" she huffed with annoyance "What were you thinking about so thoroughly anyway?"

Once he managed to calm down, Kirito sighed deeply as he finally turned towards his (probably) angry partner, his mind working overtime to come with a proper excuse and apology, but as soon as his eyes caught the view of her, his brain shut down almost like someone had turned it off with the flick of a switch, and the only thing he could do was stare dumbfounded at her profile. Asuna was standing perfectly straight a couple of steps away without breaking her flawless stance with her slender arms crossed over her shiny breastplate in an obvious sign of impatience. Her auburn hair fell over her shoulders molding to the curves of her chest, gleaming majestically as if the sun chose her to be the focus of its last flame before going off into the silver ashes of the night. Almost completely hidden behind the dazzling veil of silky fire, Asuna's puffed and pink cheeks, curved lips and almond eyes made her perfectly reasonable complaint look like a childish tantrum.

"So cute..." Kirito softly whispered to himself, but his voice came up a bit too loud as he noticed Asuna's eyes go wide before completely turning her back to him "Wh-what are you saying...?"

Wait, did I say that out loud? No, wait, why did I even think of that in the first place!?

"I-I meant the weather! We had a really nice day today... We got pretty lucky... I guess..." Kirito babbled, hoping Asuna would accept the lame and weak excuse.

"Hmmm... You dummy" Asuna answered after a long second and, luckily, sighed in resignation "But I guess you are right, it was a really wonderful day" she remarked staring into the horizon, revealing once more her elven-like features to her partner. A beautiful smile was painted in Asuna's delicate face when a hot breeze ruffled her hair and Kirito couldn't stop his mouth to draw a sincere smile of his own at the same time a warmth sensation spread from his chest throughout his entire body, and he had to wonder if it was due to the breeze, or maybe...

"Anyway, it's getting late" Asuna said, back to her previous carefree mood, cutting through Kirito's daydream "We should keep going before it gets dark"

"Yes, you're right" gently answered the black-haired swordsman, giving a quick nod before walking to catch up to his partner "I think I'll rent a room in the 63rd Floor so I can drop you at your home"

Kirito didn't realize what he had suggested until Asuna's expression morphed into embarrassment for a second, sending a surge of panic running through his mind that made him want to fleet in the spot, but before he could even lift a foot, the fencer opened her mouth throwing any escape chances through an imaginary window.

"I swear you can be so oblivious sometimes, Kirito-kun" she scolded like a teacher would do with a problematic kid, and just when Kirito thought she would completely reject the idea and suggest they shouldn't do this again, that lovely smile took over her lips again and her eyes squinted in an expression Kirito had never seen on her before, but that he could only describe as heartwarming "I know a cheap but cozy inn not too far from my area. I'll show it to you before going to my place, sounds good?"

Surprised by Asuna's answer, Kirito could only stare at his partner as a bright, wholehearted smile flourished from inside him, erasing any trace of doubt or shyness from his conflicted mind.

"Alright! Then let's go, Asuna!" Kirito almost shouted, his voice brimming with excitement and determination, which Asuna corresponded with just as much happiness as they resumed their way back home.

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Hello peeps~ 

Thank you for reading Day One! 

As you might have guessed from the title, I'm planning on making this a series of short stories about Kirito and Asuna's "Not dates" (they are 1000000% dating, belive me, my brain told me and this was its idea) 

Anyway, hope you enjoy what's to come and thank you again for reading!