Spring Vale Online (SAO Alternate Universe RP) [Closed]

[Kidagara]

"Don't worry, I'm not asking you to leave with me." Kida said quietly. She couldn't. No matter how badly she want to, she couldn't see him in real life. It would change everything, and not in a good way. He'd see her like everyone else did.

She looked down at her hand upon his. She hadn't thought that the company would be responsible for them. She wondered if that would really work, tho. If all but 2 people from the game were accounted for, that small of a barely negligible decimal of a percentage might be more affordable as collateral damage then sustained medical costs.

She half rolled away from him to lean back in the seat and looked up at the ceiling. She'd forgotten he had contact with them. The outside world. Things seemed to be moving forward so quickly now. Just a day ago they were only level 25 with no end in sight. And she was okay with that. And now they had an AI that could talk to the outside world, were a much higher level, and there were ways to work to getting out - soon. She didn't know if that was better or not. It was closer to Dante's goal, but it seemed to be limiting hers of staying here forever.

"I feel like it's my fault, you know." She said softly. The world still stung a bit to say out loud. "I wished for this. I wished that the game would crash or break so I could just stay here forever. I never planned on leaving. But I didn't mean I wanted my brother trapped here. Or everyone else." She clutched her hands into fists, pulling away from him. "I wanted this, and all it's done is cause people pain."

[Dante6083]

"I'm not worried." He assured her. He smiled. "It would be nice to meet up with you eventually though. in the real world I mean." The thought 'Because we can't really have kids in Spring Vale' swept through his mind, but he managed to stop it from sliding through his lips. it'd been a day since they admitted they liked each other. Dante had seen enough sit coms to know you dont say stuff like that on the first date, day, week, or even month usually.

Dante frowned, "it's not your fault. Wishing doesn't make it so." He argued. "Post Hoc, Ergo Proctor Hoc. It means After it, therefore because of it. It means what comes before causes what comes after and its complete bullshit. Your wishing to get stuck in Spring Vale didn't cause you and everyone else to. Just like my wishing to move to America didn't cause my parents to die and leave me a lot of money to use to move."
He shifted a little to allow her out of his grip and lay his head back, closing his eyes. "It's not all bad." he said tentatively, "I mean... people have formed bonds here. they've found purpose, become friends, learned what it's like to live so close to the edge... and people who were meant to find each other... have." He didn't look at her when he said it. His heart hammered in his chest though. He wasn't sure he could have kept himself from apologising for diminishing the suffering of those around him if he'd opened his mouth without something specific to say so he kept it closed.

~|~

Artemis sat in her bed, the covers op over her legs. she stared at her hands, flipping them back and forth. It was so strange. She could feel them at the end of her arms. She could feel those as well. She hadn't noticed before, but everything... she could feel it. Not in the way of a program aware of her code, but- she imagined -in the way of a person feeling their limbs.
It was not normal. She was but a simple VI... wasn't she? The simple fact that she asked the questioned seemed to preclude the posibility. She questioned her existence, adn as such became real.
No?
She was no longer a VI, she was an AI, a smart AI capable of livign a life... a human life, an existance of more than simple servitude... she knew all of this... She knew she had the power to do anything within the world, anything she set her mind to. She coudl become anyone, anything... but all she really wanted to do was help Dante and Kida. She wanted to be there for them. Wanted to love them and be loved back in return. She couldn't explain it... and yet there it was.
She transformed into a wolf and curled up under the covers. She would fight for them. She would protect them.
She could do that.

[Kidagara]

"I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't know your parents died. That's awful." Even though it was sort of taboo to talk about the real world in game, she felt like the more she learned about him, the more she wanted to know. Could she even ask about that stuff, or would that be mean?

Kida closed her eyes at his last words. It was comforting to know he liked her, but she still wondered if he thought of her the same way she did of him. "I found you," she replied softly. And as she sad it, she realized just how important that statement was. She would leave the game for him. He would reject her and be angry at her if they were to met up (like he suggested), but she would if he truly asked her to. Kida opened her eyes wide. This thought terrified her. If she told him now, he'd hate her, and maybe it would stop her for falling even harder for him - or maybe it wouldn't. But it would save some heartache later...though she didn't think she could take such pain. Not right now, not after watching him die.

The memory of the events only a few hours ago came back. She turned back towards him, placed a hand on his cheek to turn him to her, leaned forward and kissed him. Never again would she regret a moment spent with him. It was still so real feeling like he was gone. She couldn't tell him about her real life or he'd leave, and that pain would be the same. She wanted to be here, now, falling in love with him and not worry about what will come next.

-------------------------------------------

"Where are you going?" Leah asked as Nicole came into the room to grab a pair of sunglasses.

"I'm going to see Sideon." Nichole grinned and slipped the sunglasses on top of her head.

"I thought you said he was in a restricted guild are or something." Leah turned back to the monitors. "Probably with his sister."

"No, I didn't mean in the game." Nicole stuck out her tounge.

"Well that's a dumb idea." Leah rolled her eyes. "Francois would be pissed if he knew."

"Nu-uh." Nicole pulled on her jacket. "I'm going to heroically rescue him from the game using a side client, then win his love via chocolate. Once I figure out how to get him safely out."

"He's probably a fat pig." Leah snorted.

"Don't you dare." Nicole smacked Leah upside the head. "I'll be back in 2 hours. Call me if he leaves that guild area."

[Dante6083]

She turned his face to hers and pressed her lips against his. He closed his eyes and sank into her embrace. Her lips were soft and gentle, yet passionate. They sat there for a long while, it felt like both hours and seconds to Dante. As if it had to have been going on forever, like it was the only existence he'd ever known and yet at the same time it hadn't lasted nearly long enough.
Eventually he began to find it hard to breathe, and the kiss came to it's natural end.
Dante smiled "And I found you, too." He agreed, holding her tight. He looked up at server time briefly and sighed. It was pretty late, gone midnight. They didn't have a whole lot planned but everyone else had been asleep for a while.
"We should probably go to bed." He suggested,holding her and rolling her a little. He climbed off of the sofa and helped her up. "As much as I'd enjoy staying here forever I think we're far less likely to get into trouble out there with a full night's sleep."
Holding her hand he led her up towards the stairs, moving slowly up them, moving his arm around her and resting her against his chest. They reached the top of the stairs and he paused. Her room was in front of them and his was down to the left.
He didn't want to let go. He hesitated there for a long moment and then released her. He walked down to his door and placed a hand on it. He turned to look at her and smiled. "Good night." He said, pushing the door open and stepping inside.
He allowed the door to shut and stepped back against it. His heart thundered in his chest, beating hard against his rib cage.
to hell with it
He turned and opened the door, stepping out. "Unless you want to sleep in here?" He asked before seeing whether or not she'd remained in the hall.

[Kidagara]

She didn't care that it was getting late. She would have stayed there all night with him. But he had other plans apparently, and she let him help her up to her feet. It was hard to push herself towards the stairs. All she wanted to do was go back and fall asleep against him on the seat. She didn't want to part ways now, even for a little while.

She followed him up the stairs and stopped in front of the room door. In there, she'd be alone. In there, she'd be separated from him. And what if that woman tried to go after him in the middle of the night? She wouldn't be there to watch over him. Kida slumped her shoulders. It was probably inappropriate to ask him to stay with her through the night, but it should be ok, right? Dangerous murderers about and all.

Just as she opened her mouth to ask, he let go of her. It took all she had not to reach out and grab him back. It saddened her to see him walk away. He paused for a minute at his door, and she thought she may have a chance to ask him to stay, even though he'd already walked away. But he opened the door and went inside. The door closed behind him and she knew her chance was gone.

Saddened, Kida pushed open the door to her room and stepped inside. She should have just said something. Sure, it was incredibly inappropriate, and they'd only just admitted liking eachother, but with a murderer staying just next to them....

Kida sighed and flopped down on the bed. She pulled up her inbox to see if maybe he messaged her, but there was nothing new. She stared up at the ceiling. It shouldn't feel this sad to leave someone just for the night, should it?

[Dante6083]

Dante frowned and his heart fell. A deep pit welled up in his gut. She's gone inside. She'd gone inside quickly, bloody quickly. There had barely been time to make the decision. It had been auto pilot for her.
Like she didn't even care that he'd just gone to bed without her.
Of course she didn't care. What was he thinking? It'd been a day. As muchas it felt like a lifetime to him it'd only really been a day. All his talk of togetherness and finding each other... He'd probably scared her off. She was lying in bed trying to think of a way to get out. A way to avoid him until they got out and she could file a restraining order against him.
"Way to go, Dante." He sighed to himself turning back towards his room.
He sighed and looked back to her door. He cared about her too much to lose her completely. He probably had already lost her relationship, but he couldn't lose her friendship.
He should apologise and promise it'd never be so creepy again.
He nodded and sighed to himself. Typical Dante always screwing everything up. But hey it'd been well worth it, even if it had only lasted a day.
Dante walked back over and stood in front of her door. He took in a deep breath and raised his hand in a fist to knock.

~|~

Mikriep sat in the corner of his room, eyes staring at the message that had come through after he'd gone to bed.
Red and puffy, sore from crying, his eyes read, re-read and re-read again the message. She was back.

[Kidagara]

Kida jumped as the knock came from her door. A million instances ran through her head, the most prominent one being that the woman had come to kill her. The idea that she would need to knock didn't occur to her. Her heart leapt at the thought that it could be Dante, though.

It wouldn't be him, of course. He was all too happy to just leave her for the night. It was like one minute he was content with her, and the next he decided he was done for the evening and just left. She didn't understand the thought process of guys.

Kida reached the door and hesitated for half a second. If this was the woman, she didn't know how she'd react. But the chance that it could be him.... She opened the door.

"Dante!" Kida flinched in surprise. It took a moment for her to realize her hope hadn't materialized a vision and it really was him. "But, I thought...."

Whatever. It didn't matter. She kept forward at him and wrapped her arms around his neck. She shouldn't be this happy to see him just after being away for only a few seconds.

[Dante6083]

He smiled back, clutching her tightly. He had been a fool. He had been a paranoid fool. Of course if he let her know that she'd probably leave... ah paranoia about paranoia... inseptionoia? It mattered little.
He squeezed her tight. "I- " he stuttered, breathing in her hair. "I mean... I was just..." This is stupid, James. you're a grown man. Just ask her he said to himself. "If you wanted some company. I- I jsut thought... it's been a rough couple of days and... and..."
Real manly, dude. what you gonna try next? offering to braid her hair. "I could braid-" Dude, seriously, shut up. You're embarrassing us.
Dante's cheeks went a deep red. Anime-styled. it was an emote. He'd not realised that the game could express that without player concent.
"I mean, if you want." He added. "I can sleep on the floor or... yeah."
Dante imagined a sarcastic slow clap in his head. Bravo, sir. Bravo.
He took a breaht and made one final ditch effort not to look like a total idiot. "I just thought you might like someone nearby..."
Incase of snuggles? you, sir, are a fool. If she lets you into her room I will eat my hat... I mean... I don't have a hat, but I will give you leave to imagine me eating a hat.
"Sorry, I sound like an idiot. My paranoia's a jackass." he added, sighing. He kissed her on the cheek and drew her lips around to him. He kissed her again, just a gentle, slow kiss before he added. "You want some company?" He asked. "Nothing untoward, I swear. I just... I don't really want to be alone right now... but if I have to be, then there's nobody I'd rather be alone with."
He smiled.

[Kidagara]

Kida didn't answer. She grabbed his hand and yanked him towards her so she could kiss him again. Her other arm pulled him sideways into her room as she turned on her toes so that her lips never had to leave his. As soon as he was in the room, she leaned back against the door, closing it, and pulled him against her. Her hand ran up his back and through his hair, as she kissed him with the sudden burst of passion.

After forever contained in a second, she dropped down off her toes. Though their lips no longer touched, her arm wrapped around him so tight she could feel his entire body against her. Her other hand lingered in his hair, twirling a strand in her fingers. Her face flushed red. It was hard to comprehend what was happening. He came back out. She'd seen him go in his room; she'd seen him give up in her for the night. And with how well she could feel him now, this was no vision. Maybe some crazy elaborate dream concocted from the overwhelming emotions she'd had that day, but even that seemed unlikely. It almost didn't even seem like a game.

"Sorry," Kida said, though she couldn't stop smiling. "I thought you'd just left me. I thought you were bored of me and wanted to be away from me...."

She clutched onto his shirt and buried her face in his chest. What was she doing? Embarrassing herself, that's what. She'd basically attacked him and dragged him into her room, and he was probably only trying to be polite. She'd been forcing herself on him all night under the vague excuse that she should enjoy him now that he was alive. He was too nice to push her away, and he needed her skills, especially as a high level, to keep him alive so he couldn't send her away or be mean. All she'd been doing was taking advantage of that.

"I'm sorry." She said again, stuttering as she tried to figure out how to talk again. "I want you...I want you here. Here, of course. You can stay here. More than anything. I...I mean, if you want."

[Dante6083]

Dante smiled and tilted her chin up to hers. He leaned down and kissed her, very briefly, and then again before moving his head back. "What do you think I want?" He asked, grinning as he leaned down and hooked his arm under her knees, keeping hte other in place at her back. He lifted her up with the strength of a level seventy knight and turned, kissing her once more on the fore head as he carried her to her bed.
He placed her down gently, kissing her again, once on the nose and then on the lips. the instant of the kiss dragged on for a longer moment than he'd anticipated, forcing him to put a hand onto the bed and hold himself up to keep from falling on her.
Dante released the kiss and stood back up. he walked around the bed and raised a hand to his character screen. he clicked on the costumes button nad scrolled down his list of available costumes to the absolute last one on the list, he's re-named it 'sleep wear'.
He tapped it adn his clothes glowed white for a moment before shifting to a pair of pyjama bottoms. He didn't wear a shirt in bed, he never had, real world or not. It didn't even occurr to him until he was standing in front of her topless save for a small bluish grey pendant in hte shape of a young girl hanging from a leather thong that was tied behind his neck.
He blushed deeply and then moved onto the bed beside her, kneeling upon the sheets.
He leaned forward, ignoring his embarrassment and kissed her on the lips, resting his hand against her cheek before sliding down into the bed next to her.

[Kidagara]

Kida let out a small yelp of surprise as he picked her up. It was amazing how safe and natural and comforting the simple act of him carrying her felt. Her hand traced along his chin as he put her down.

This wasn't real. It couldn't be. No one treated her with anywhere near as much interest or even respect. It felt so surreal and yet so natural. Could Dante really be interested in her? It was impossible, yet, there he was. Her cheeks flushed as he pulled back from a kiss in order to change.

When he kissed her again, she put an arm around him to pull and guide him down next to her. His was beyond anything she deserved. It was beyond anything she ever could have hoped for. Kida slid her hand through his hair once more and curled her head into him hand. With their kiss momentarily broken, she glanced down between them to look at his bare chest. Her finger traced down his neck and played with the little pendant.

She lay there in her cloth robes feeling fairly silly. After all these months in Spring Vale, it never occurred to her that someone would sleep in the same room as her. Whenever they camped, she just left her robes on. But here? Well, he had exposed himself, so she may as well too. Nervously, Kida pulled up her menu and her robes faded away into a simple short white nightgown. Her face reddened, though logically she didn't know why. It wasn't like it was their real forms or anything.

Kida kissed him again briefly, and ran her hand down his arm to intertwine her fingers with his. "Stay here with me," she whispered. She let go of his hand to place on his back and pulled herself closer to him. "I'm afraid if I let you go, you won't...you won't be real. You won't like me anymore." It was a silly thing to think, yet the feeling was so strong she could even stop touching him. Her hand shifted up to rest on his chest.

[Dante6083]

Dante blushed gently as she transformed her clothes into her night gown. As soon as she was done his eye caught the cleavage, but he forced his attention away, lest she think him a perve. He wrapped his strong arms around her and pulled her close.
He kissed her again. "That's cos your a silly." He smiled. "I'm not going anywhere. I liked you first remember.
He smiled and raised one arm up to lie his head upon. "This is like a dream for me. I keep expecting you to turn around and push me away, tell me you were just joking or that someone had cursed you to fall for me and the magic had worn off."
Dante admitted. "Sorry, nothing more romantic than hearing all about my paranoia., huh?"
He smiled and shook his head. The little pendant jangled and transformed into a small wolf.
He chuckled at it. "That might get annoying,"

[Kidagara]

"I'm not going to push you away." Kida replied. "You're the one that will leave once you...you know...." She frowned slightly. The thought still terrified her that she would leave the game if he asked her to. And if he ever did, she didn't know how she'd explain herself. "There's nothing for you to be paranoid about. If anyone should be paranoid, it's me." She squeezed his hand in hers. "Besides, I like hearing you just talk. It doesn't have to be about anything in particular. I...I like your voice."

Her hand ran up his arm to the pendant. "How come it changed?" She asked, looking it over. It was very pretty. It wasn't annoying at all, though it did raise her interest. Not enough interest to keep her mind off the fact that they were laying in her bed together wearing close to nothing, but that thought was safety tucked away from her ever admitting it out loud to him.

[Dante6083]

Dante smiled and kissed her on the nose. he did that a lot with her, smile that is. It had been so, so long since he'[d smiled so much it was actually a little strange. It hurt his cheeks a little. He wondered if he was smiling in the real world and decided that he was.
"It's like Cam's scythe. do you remember? the head of it was in the shape of a great shadow wolf because that's what her partner was. My weapon doesn't do that, but I have this pendant instead. It takes whatever form Artemis takes. She was a little girl a moment ago, now she's a wolf. I guess she was cold and wanted to sleep so she transformed." He explained, sliding a hand onto her hip and holding her close to him as she examined it.
"All beast tamers have something like that. Cam had her scythe, I have my pendant. I've seen other players with clothes, boots, swords, hats, jewellery."
He looked down at it and thought back over what the girl looked like. It was strange but Artemis' new form reminded Dante a lot of Kida. the look in general. Her and... and him. Had that been intentional? an accident? coincidence.
If it had been intentional was it because how they had been? because they were so close adn she wanted to be a part of... of a family? or was it because she had spent so much time with them and simply used them as inspiration?
He didn't frown. he didn't want to give Kida the impression he was thinking bad thoughts, but it was definitely something interesting.
He looked up into Kida's eyes, smiled at the blush of her cheeks. "So what do you want to talk about?" he asked.

[Kidagara]

"Oh, that's probably why it looks so nice." Kida put the pendant back against his chest, and let her hand stay pressed against him. He felt warm.

"We could talk about you," Kida offered. "Your favorite color, song, place.... Of course you don't have to tell me anything you don't want to. I know how...odd it is to talk about outside the game. And I don't want you to feel uncomfortable." Her cheeks reddened as she realized she was talking too much. She moved closer to him, lifted her head and kissed him on the chin. "It's just strange to feel so attracted to someone you know, but you don't. I mean, I don't even know your name, yet I...you know, like you all the same."

She was talking too much again. Kida scooted in even closer to him and pushed her face into his chest. His warm skin met hers, as she forgot his chest was bare and moved into him on autopilot. She froze for a moment, then just relaxed.

Kida yawned. The day had been emotionally draining. It ended well...great even, but it still exhausted her out. At least he was here with her. She could listen to him talk forever.