Chapter 92 - Confessions

Originally, the members of Reaver's Requiem only intended to bathe in the hot spring and chat for a while. But the warm water was so comfortable, and their conversation topics so varied, that by the time they left, it was already well past midday. In fact, the only reason they even left was because their stomachs were growling.

That led the group to a restaurant, and Kizmel's presence was turning some heads. But that was all. While it was definitely unusual, most players just attributed the oddity to this being Lyusula, the capital city of the dark elves. Kirito knew that their reactions would be nowhere near as placid after the next floor boss raid. But that was a concern for later.

The young swordsman looked around while biting on a kind of vegan elvish sandwich. Two of the Reavers were conspicuously absent, and, while he didn't know where they were gone, he knew exactly why.

Kirito sighed, looking not so discreetly at the chestnut-haired girl next to him. He already knew what he felt and what he wanted. But how should he go about it? He only wished it was as simple for him as it appeared to be for Drifter and Yuna.

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1st floor, Tolbana.

Compared to how it was during the first weeks of SAO, Tolbana was basically a ghost town now. There were still a few players around, mainly low-level ones who had only now started adventuring out of the safe zones, but they were few and far in-between.

The main plaza of the city was devoid of people when Drifter and Yuna arrived. Drifter looked around, raised an eyebrow, then shrugged. He guided Yuna to one of the benches around the fountain in the center of the plaza and sat down, patting the spot next to him to indicate to the songstress that she should sit too.

Yuna did so with a smile. She went even further than he intended, snuggling closer to him and laying her head on his shoulder. Drifter was surprised by how she - and he - didn't feel nervous at all about the upcoming conversation.

"The place where we first met, huh? I didn't think you were such a romantic."

Drifter rolled his eyes at the gentle verbal jab. Stretching his hand, he tickled her, causing the songstress to squirm against his side, but she still didn't raise her head from where it was resting.

"Someone's currently one of the top three beauties of SAO. If I don't put enough effort into it, I'm afraid that someone might get a big head and reject me."

Yuna snorted.

"Top three beauties? Since when did that ranking exist?"

"Dunno. Argo told me about it the other day. I think she wanted to gloat, though I'm not sure about what."

"Heh. That sounds like her."

Yuna was very fond of the info-broker, treating her like a little sister - much to Argo's chagrin - whenever they met. A very independent, slightly narcissistic little sister who ran the largest information market in Sword Art Online.

"Who are the other two?"

"Oh?"

After a few moments of silence, Yuna suddenly asked that. Drifter was somewhat startled, but a smile slowly formed on his face. So she wasn't as indifferent as she showed about that topic.

"Humph!"

"Ouch! Okay, okay!"

As if sensing the grin on his face, although she couldn't see it, Yuna harrumphed and pinched him on the side. Though he didn't feel any pain, Drifter played along by whimpering, and the songstress smirked satisfied.

"One of them is a lifestyle player that hangs around the lower floors. I was not very interested, so I didn't actually ask Argo her name. As for the other... She is in Reaver's Requiem with us."

"Asuna."

"Yup."

It wasn't a surprise that Yuna managed to guess it so promptly. Asuna was an incredible beauty, even at her young age. She turned heads wherever she went, and since most SAO players were young, between fourteen and the early twenties of age, it wasn't a surprise she was ranked amongst the top three most beautiful girls of Sword Art Online.

Of course, Drifter didn't think the girl next to him was any less beautiful, and he made sure she knew that by grabbing her hand and rubbing his thumb over it. Finally, Yuna shifted her head to look up at him and rewarded him with a bright smile.

"Any other interesting rankings Argo told you about?"

"Plenty. She was in a chatting mood. Most handsome man, highest-levelled player - of course - strongest frontliners, most disliked player - Kirito's apparently first on both of those last ones, though Kibaou comes as a close second on the latter. Also, best blacksmiths - Liz wins that one by a mile - best tailors, even best fishermen. And there are the weapon-specific ones: best sword-users - Kirito, again - dagger-users, shield-users, and so on. Liten from the ALS takes the first spot for shield-bearers, and Shivata is second. Agil is also in the top three for axe-users. Sinon's a category of her own, so she doesn't count. Ah, and Asuna is also on the top three for sword-users, and first for rapiers."

Drifter counted on his finger as he spoke. He was proud so many of Reaver's Requiem members claimed high positions on those last few rankings, even though they were all based on what other players thought, and didn't really mean anything.

"Really? And what about spear-users? Where do you rank?"

Drifter suddenly coughed and looked away, scratching the back of his head. From how close she was, Yuna could see his cheeks turning red. Yuna narrowed her eyes.

"Well?"

"Hum-hum. I... Might be first place. But it's Argo who told me, so she's biased. And she might've been just playing me."

The songstress shook her head. Drifter could be really odd at times. He was never embarrassed or afraid when he had to speak in front of, and even occasionally berate, the Assault Team or other players, nor did he really care about what they thought or said of him. But the moment someone he did care about - mostly his guildmates - praised him, he would turn all shy. Yuna found it endearing.

"Was she, though?"

Drifter stilled, then chuckled. To anyone else, he might have answered differently. But this was Yuna.

"No. I'm pretty damn good with a spear."

The songstress laughed, and they fell into a comfortable silence. At some point, Drifter's arm found its way around her back, pulling her closer to him.

They spent a long time like that, her head on his shoulder and his arm around her, staring at each other, lost in thought. When it happened, Drifter didn't know who made the first move, whether it was him, her, or both. It started with a brief touch of lips, which slowly deepened into a full kiss.

A minute later, they separated, their faces flushed. It had been just a normal kiss, but it was also the culmination of months of built-up feelings, tempered by sharing life and death. More than the kiss itself, what left them flustered was the release.

Looking at the mesmerizing smile on Yuna's face, Drifter sighed in contentment and held her closer. There were so many things that could go wrong, starting with the age difference and ending in the high possibility of death for both of them. He didn't care, and neither did she. This felt right.

"I guess we lost our own bet, huh?"

"Hum? What do you mean?"

Yuna scrunched up her eyebrows and Drifter smiled fondly before planting a kiss on her forehead. He was feeling sappy and corny and all those things the others would surely mock him for if they ever knew.

"We bet on how long it would take for Kirito and Asuna to get together, but in the end we were the ones who did it first. I didn't even get to tell you my secret."

Yuna looked up, remembering a bet they had made several floors ago. It seemed very unimportant now.

"I forgot about that."

"No, you didn't. You were hoping to win and lord it over me."

Drifter scoffed and pinched her cheek. The songstress grinned unabashedly.

"You're right, I was. So, what's the secret? Though I have an inkling already."

Drifter's hand had moved from pinching her cheek to caressing her hair, but he stopped now. The girl could see right through him.

Gently, Drifter pried her head off his shoulder and moved off the bench, getting down on one knee on the ground in front of her, holding both of Yuna's hands. The songstress' mouth was slightly open, both in surprise, anticipation, and, Drifter knew it because he was feeling the same, certainty that this was right.

"My secret, Yuna, is that I like you a great deal. More than I can probably put in words."

"You didn't do a very good job keeping it."

"No. No, I didn't. I didn't really want to. I was rather hoping you would notice it and return my feelings."

For an answer, Yuna reached down and grabbed his head, lowering her own and kissing him again.

...

A long time later, the couple - and they truly were one now - was still in Tolbana's plaza. They had moved from the bench to the grass, laying side by side, Yuna using Drifter's arm as a pillow as she snuggled against his side. More than one player had passed through the plaza and left grumbling about the PDA. Drifter and Yuna were not bothered.

"You know they are going to tease us a ton when we go back, don't you?"

"Nah. Nautilus is gonna smile and congratulate us, Kirito and Asuna will probably be too embarrassed about his own confession to even notice, and Sinon's just gonna smirk knowingly. As for the others... Probably only Argo and Merida are going to say something. Agil's just gonna slap me in the back when we tell him. And Klein's going to make a fuss."

"You really think Kirito's gonna confess today?"

"If he doesn't, Asuna will. The timing's just right."

"Right."

Drifter stared at the sky. It was just past noon now, and they still had a few hours before they had to go back.

"Only you..."

"Huh?"

"Only you applaud my singing. Right here. That's how we met."

The spearman turned his head to look at Yuna. The songstress was reminiscing about the past, not for the first time today.

"Everyone was still feeling depressed back then. And I bet they are feeling sorry right now. Maybe if they had clapped, I wouldn't be the one here."

Drifter said that jokingly, but his girlfriend took it seriously. Yuna pouted and hit him on the side.

"Don't say that! It was always going to be you!"

"Oh?"

He raised an eyebrow, amused, and Yuna blushed furiously when she realized what she had just said. She averted her gaze.

"W-Well... Naut and I were always going to join the frontlines, even if we didn't meet you first. So we would have met you, even if it was later... And I know it would have turned out the same way. I would want it to, at least."

What could Drifter do in the face of that confession but capture Yuna's lips once again? When he finally let her go, the songstress was on top of him, her chest heaving as he embraced her. Raising his head so his mouth was right next to her head, he spoke with his breath tickling her ear.

"I will always applaud you, Yun'. No matter what song you play, as long as it is you."

Yuna trembled for more than one reason when she heard him. Suddenly, she put her hands on Drifter's chest and pushed herself up, her eyes burning. He thought he was about to be violently kissed again, but instead, the songstress got up. While Drifter propped himself up on his elbows, she walked towards the fountain while calling out her flute.

"And I will always sing for you, Drifter."