The Crane

When Kirito woke up he could see that the sky was still dark. He checked his watch, still set to Tokyo time, 9am. It's light by now back in Tokyo, people have already started their work. "How long have we been in the dark?" He wondered as he started to untangle his legs from Asuna. He managed to slide his arm out from under her and get to the side of the bed without waking her up. He rubbed his eyes when his watch vibrated with an alert. "Huh?" He said before lifting it to read the alert. "Day before Wedding." He sighed.

His heart ached when he heard her phone and watch make similar alert noises. They would've been up before now if things had gone according to all of their plans. They would be getting ready to meet for a brunch meeting with their wedding coordinator and their parents. He had lunch plans with her brother, Kouichirou, and was going to meet up with the guys at the Dicey Cafe in the evening. She would be meeting the girls for a day at the spa and in the late evening they had planned to meet in game with Yui for desserts and just be their little family for a couple hours before bed.

He made his way to the bathroom and started the shower. "Maybe that will help." He wondered as he removed his boxers and slipped under the hot water. He messed around with the handles for awhile, trying to figure how to adjust the heat and pressure of the jets until he found the setting he like best on his back and shoulders. The room had quickly filled with steam so when there was a sudden shift and reduction in the room he turned to see Asuna coming in. "Can I join you?" She asked on the other side of the glass door.

He watched her slip her underwear off and open the door to the shower. "Mmm It feels nice." She said as she reached her hand into the water and bringing the rest of her arm and finally her shoulders. Kirito pulled her into a hug, the warm water running between them. "Good morning. Did you sleep well?" He asked.

"I slept okay. Better than you anyway." She started tracing the lines of his collar bone with her fingers. Her hands slid over his should and she stared to squeeze. His eyes closed and leaned his head forward until their foreheads touched. "That feels good." He whispered.

"Your shoulders are really tight." She moved her hands over the tense muscles on his shoulder and up his neck. "You feel tight here too. If you turn around I can massage deeper with my thumbs."

Kirito blushed a little as he nodded. "O-okay." And turned around. Her thumbs pressed into the muscles and kneaded at the knots. Each time a knot began to release he let out soft moans and eventually he rested his head on the shower wall.

When she was sure she worked out most of the tension in his shoulders she kissed the back of his neck. "Thanks. I didn't realize how bad I needed that." He said as he turned around. They pulled each other into a kiss, careful to not get hit in the faces by the water.

When he pulled away he gently turned her around by her shoulders and started to check her shoulders and back for knots. "Nothing?" He sounded disappointed, he wanted to return the kindness.

She smiled. "I don't really hold my tension there." She laughed.

"Oh—" his head tilted to one side. "Where do you?" He asked.

A blush dusted her cheeks as she bit her thumb nail. "Um— well, a little in my hands but mostly in my—" she trailed off as she looked to the side.

He walked around to be face to face again and grabbed one of her hands and started massaging her palm with his thumbs until the muscles weren't so immovable. Before switching to her other hand he kissed her palm. "Is this helping?" He asked with concerned eyebrows.

Her blush had deepened by several shades. "Mmhmm. It feels nice." He moved to her other hand and when he finished he kissed her wrist, eliciting an all too indecent squeak. He smiled against her wrist before kissing the spot again making her whine and rub her thighs together as his kisses made their way up her arm. When he reach her inner elbow she whined his name.

He pulled away and shook the lusty haze from his eyes. "Oh right. You said there was somewhere else I could massage. Where?" He asked, releasing her wrist and letting it fall to her side.

She bit her thumb nail again as she whispered her reply. Kirito leaned closer to her face. "Huh? Where?"

She pulled her thumb from her mouth to speak clearer. "My hips."

He smiled. "Okay. Let me try?"

She nodded before turned around again and facing the wall and pulling all of her long caramel hair forward.

He stood there hovering his unsure hands just above her hips. He tried to think of how to start and that is when he remembered some of the physical therapy he went through after project Alicization. He pressed his thumbs on either side of her lower back and she suppressed another moan as she leaned forward, catching herself on the wall. He was trying to focus on giving her a good back rub. The sight of her slightly bent over in front of him, the shower water hitting her back and rolling off her back, the steam and heat in the room, was not helping. "I remember some of the techniques from PT—this always helped relieve my hip pain during recovery— does it feel good Asuna?"

She bit her lip as she turned and nodded. He worked the muscles of her lower back until they felt more relaxed and move to press his palms into her hips. A low hum started to fill the shower as Asuna felt the tension in her hips decrease. When he stopped she turned around. "Thank you." Her eyes half lidded.

"Did it help at all? I'm not really that skilled in this area..." he said with a nervous smile. She pulled him into a kiss, his body pressing her against the shower wall.

"Yes." She said breathlessly as they pulled apart. "Thank you. You didn't have to do that. I was happy to just help you."

He tugged her back towards the center of the shower and into the water. "I know. That's one of the reasons I love you so much and one of the reasons I wanted to return the favor" His eyes were relaxed as he spoke.

He got some soap from the built in dispenser and went to put it in his hair but stopped just before. At the last minute he noticed her beginning to wet her hair in the shower and decided he wanted to wash her hair.

His fingers pressed against her her scalp as he began to spread the soap through her long silky hair. She gasped at first but quickly relaxed and tilted her head back with a giggle to make it easier for him. "Well this is kind of fun." She said with her eyes closed.

"It's not weird?" He asked, lightening the pressure.

"If it is I don't care. It feels nice." Her words came out with a hint of a melody.

He rinsed her hair with a removable shower head, paying extra care to not rinse anything into her eyes. Once her hair was clear of soap he reached for the body wash and after rubbing his hands together, creating some suds, he started scrubbing her shoulders. He payed extra close attention to ever inch of her arms, noticing the constellations of freckles on her shoulder blade. He let a small chuckle escape him when he connected the freckles with his finger.

"What is it? Why are you laughing?" She reached to cover the spot where her freckles are.

"Did you know that you have Grus on your back?" He asked.

"I have what on my back?! Gross? Scrub it off!" She yelled before revealing the freckles to him again.

"No, Grus. The constellation. It's kind of fitting actually." He smiled as he placed his hand back on the spot. "It means Crane."

She turned to see his face over her shoulder. "I didn't know you knew so much about constellations."

"Oh, I don't. Not really anyway. I did a project for middle school where I created a night sky by poking holes in the shape of constellations so when people walked into this kind of fort I made it looked like a night sky. I remembered Grus because it means crane and cranes are supposed to be symbols of longevity and luck."

He kissed her other shoulder. "Which is fitting, don't you think?"

"How so?" She asked knowing full well what he meant but still wanting to hear it.

He squeezed her to him "because we got so lucky to find each other and I want a long life with you."