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Description
Illustration of Kirito and Alice having a conversation in the bath for my Sword Art Online fic drawn by Maxintoshi.

Fic can be found here: archiveofourown.org/works/1907…

Once he felt it was safe to do so, Kirito finally turned and found, to his relief, Alice's back to him. As he had expected, her long blonde hair had been put up into a braided bun to keep it from getting wet. Taking the sponge she handed to him over her shoulder, he dipped it into the bathwater and made sure it was soapy enough before bringing it to her back. Even though there wasn't anything unusual about a supposed married couple bathing together, Kirito still felt a little awkward about sharing his bath with anyone since he wasn't used to it. But he didn't want to be rude by refusing Alice's request. Especially since she had been taking care of him for months so this was the least he could do for her in return.
"Have you ever taken a bath with anyone before, Alice?" Kirito asked curiously while hoping she wouldn't hit him for asking. Fortunately for him, his caretaker was not offended.
"No, I haven't. Why?"
"Because you seem quite comfortable being in here with me when just a few months ago, you were upset that I stained your dress while carrying you up the Central Cathedral."
Now it was Alice's turn to blush. In all honesty, she had been quite impressed at Kirito's efforts and success at carrying her nearly all the way to the top of the Central Cathedral, armor and all. Even though she wasn't terribly heavy, Alice still knew that she wasn't exactly a light little flower either due to all the muscle she had put on with combat training to be an Integrity Knight. And even though she couldn't bring herself to admit it then, Alice did feel bad about giving Kirito a tongue-lashing for sweating all over her dress after all his trouble simply because she did not know how to express her gratitude at the time.
"Well, about that…"
"Yes?"
"I'm sorry…" Alice finally apologized. "I shouldn't have over-reacted over something so trivial like my dress getting dirty when we had far more important things to worry about. I know its long overdue, but thank you. And not just for carrying me up the Central Cathedral, but for helping me break the seal as well. Now that it's gone, I have the freedom to do as I wish without being restricted by the will of the Pontifex. Losing one eye was a small price to pay."
Kirito's expression softened and he no longer felt awkward about being in the bath alone with Alice.
"Its all right" he said softly as he continued to scrub her back and arms. "Even though you were supposedly my enemy at the time, I couldn't just let you plummet to your death. I don't think anyone deserves such a fate. Well, there might be a few exceptions, though. But you know what I mean."
"Yes, I do…" Alice replied, knowing that Kirito was referring to Quinella, the late Pontifex of the Axiom Church, and possibly her former lackey, Prime Senator Chudelkin, as well. "You might think this strange, but even after all the grief that disgusting pig put me through, I actually felt sorry for Chudelkin when Her Eminence casually tossed him aside like garbage after you had taken him down. Especially when he had served her faithfully for so many years, possibly even centuries. I always believed he was even more loyal to her than the Integrity Knights themselves. Although she was clearly in the wrong, Chudelkin obeyed and enforced Administrator's will and edicts faithfully and without question while uncle, err… I mean Commander Bercouli and the other knights doubted and questioned her, including me."
"No, actually, I don't think that's strange at all, Alice", Kirito assured. "Chudelkin's loyalty is admirable, even if it was blind and geared towards someone who clearly didn't deserve it. And part of being human is having compassion for those who are suffering-even if they are your bitter enemies. I told Eugeo that as well when he wanted me to leave Vice Commander Fanatio to die from her injuries after we defeated her. The fact that you can take pity, even on someone like Chudelkin, is proof that you are still human with a human heart- not the mindless and unfeeling doll Administrator wanted you to be."

Description
Illustration of Kirito and Alice having a conversation in the bath for my Sword Art Online fic drawn by Maxintoshi.

Fic can be found here: archiveofourown.org/works/1907…

Once he felt it was safe to do so, Kirito finally turned and found, to his relief, Alice's back to him. As he had expected, her long blonde hair had been put up into a braided bun to keep it from getting wet. Taking the sponge she handed to him over her shoulder, he dipped it into the bathwater and made sure it was soapy enough before bringing it to her back. Even though there wasn't anything unusual about a supposed married couple bathing together, Kirito still felt a little awkward about sharing his bath with anyone since he wasn't used to it. But he didn't want to be rude by refusing Alice's request. Especially since she had been taking care of him for months so this was the least he could do for her in return.
"Have you ever taken a bath with anyone before, Alice?" Kirito asked curiously while hoping she wouldn't hit him for asking. Fortunately for him, his caretaker was not offended.
"No, I haven't. Why?"
"Because you seem quite comfortable being in here with me when just a few months ago, you were upset that I stained your dress while carrying you up the Central Cathedral."
Now it was Alice's turn to blush. In all honesty, she had been quite impressed at Kirito's efforts and success at carrying her nearly all the way to the top of the Central Cathedral, armor and all. Even though she wasn't terribly heavy, Alice still knew that she wasn't exactly a light little flower either due to all the muscle she had put on with combat training to be an Integrity Knight. And even though she couldn't bring herself to admit it then, Alice did feel bad about giving Kirito a tongue-lashing for sweating all over her dress after all his trouble simply because she did not know how to express her gratitude at the time.
"Well, about that…"
"Yes?"
"I'm sorry…" Alice finally apologized. "I shouldn't have over-reacted over something so trivial like my dress getting dirty when we had far more important things to worry about. I know its long overdue, but thank you. And not just for carrying me up the Central Cathedral, but for helping me break the seal as well. Now that it's gone, I have the freedom to do as I wish without being restricted by the will of the Pontifex. Losing one eye was a small price to pay."
Kirito's expression softened and he no longer felt awkward about being in the bath alone with Alice.
"Its all right" he said softly as he continued to scrub her back and arms. "Even though you were supposedly my enemy at the time, I couldn't just let you plummet to your death. I don't think anyone deserves such a fate. Well, there might be a few exceptions, though. But you know what I mean."
"Yes, I do…" Alice replied, knowing that Kirito was referring to Quinella, the late Pontifex of the Axiom Church, and possibly her former lackey, Prime Senator Chudelkin, as well. "You might think this strange, but even after all the grief that disgusting pig put me through, I actually felt sorry for Chudelkin when Her Eminence casually tossed him aside like garbage after you had taken him down. Especially when he had served her faithfully for so many years, possibly even centuries. I always believed he was even more loyal to her than the Integrity Knights themselves. Although she was clearly in the wrong, Chudelkin obeyed and enforced Administrator's will and edicts faithfully and without question while uncle, err… I mean Commander Bercouli and the other knights doubted and questioned her, including me."
"No, actually, I don't think that's strange at all, Alice", Kirito assured. "Chudelkin's loyalty is admirable, even if it was blind and geared towards someone who clearly didn't deserve it. And part of being human is having compassion for those who are suffering-even if they are your bitter enemies. I told Eugeo that as well when he wanted me to leave Vice Commander Fanatio to die from her injuries after we defeated her. The fact that you can take pity, even on someone like Chudelkin, is proof that you are still human with a human heart- not the mindless and unfeeling doll Administrator wanted you to be."