Chapter Text
Kirito shook his head, sending droplets of water cascading across the room.
“Hey!” Asuna yelped. One of her arms swung up to shield herself from the rain of droplets.
“Oh, sorry Asuna.” Kirito smiled sheepishly, grabbing the hem of his coat in one hand and squeezing it. Water poured from the soaked garment, leaving a puddle on the floor. “I didn’t think it would rain that much.”
Asuna just shook her head. “So much for our picnic.” She hefted the ruined basket, more water dripping from the bottom. The contents were probably half water at this point. Setting the basket down, Asuna reached for the clasp of her boots, and started to pull them off. “I spent over an hour getting that food ready,” She grumbled.
“Well, the trail mix was delicious,” Kirito said. He rested a hand on his wife’s shoulder. “And it was incredible how you managed to get it packed into such a small area. I’m fairly certain you filled up at least ninety-five percent of the volume of the basket with food.”
“That’s nothing,” Asuna waved a hand even as a smile crossed her lips. “It’s just being organized.”
“But you can’t organize physical objects the same way you would digital media.” Kirito tapped each point off on his fingers. “Storage space is less of a concern than storage type, and while making sure that like is with like is also of importance, physical media cares more about the format in which it is stored when you organize it in comparison to digital media…”
As he rambled, Asuna smiled fondly before shucking her cloak. The wet garment dripped noisily onto the floor. “I’m glad you think so highly of my organizational skills.”
Kirito nodded. “You’re really good at organizing things. It took a bit to adjust to, but now as long as I follow the guidelines you set out for me, I never have to waste time looking for something in my drawers. I can just reference the sheet, and know where it should be.”
Before he could spiral off into another rambling tangent about the benefits of having a well-organized workplace, Asuna turned around and gently laid a hand atop a shoulder. “I’m going to go see what I can salvage from this. Would you be willing to start the bath up?”
“Of course.” The young man acquiesced to his wife immediately. “Ah… how full did you want the tub?”
“Fill it up halfway. It’s been a while since we bathed together, after all.”
Nodding, Kirito left to go fulfil his duty. It wasn’t the most glamorous of duties, but he enjoyed it all the same. There was something relaxing about calculating the precise amount of flow needed to fill the tub in a given amount of time.
Asuna would probably take about five minutes to salvage what food she could, a little longer if she found something unexpected. That meant that Kirito couldn’t release a large stream of water, or else it would get cold before his wife was ready, but at the same time, he couldn’t let the flow be too small either, or else it wouldn’t be ready in time.
Kirito smiled as he fiddled with the knob in the bathtub. It may have been more difficult than just selecting a setting from a list, but there was something pleasant about figuring out the intricacies of a physical machine.
Before long, a steady stream of water was pouring into the tub, and Kirito set about gathering the rest of the things they’d need. Towels, for one. Probably the shampoo net, for another. Asuna had been splashed by mud and would likely want to clean her hair.
The door creaked open behind Kirito as he finished disrobing. “The bath should be ready if you want to soak.”
“Thank you, Kirito.” Asuna all but threw herself down onto the stool next to the bath, already pulling off her socks. “The only thing salvageable in the whole basket was the rice balls. Everything else had to be thrown out.” Her face was contorted into a frustrated growl. One that only grew more pronounced as she shucked her top, struggling with the tangled mess of wet hair her normally finely-combed locks had become.
Kirito reached over, grabbing the collar of Asuna’s shirt and tugging gently to help her get out of it. Her face was flushed with anger when it finally emerged.
“What an utter shitshow of a day this has been.”
“I don’t think it’s been too bad.”
“Really?” Asuna drawled sarcastically as she lifted herself up just enough to slide her pants off. “I think it’s been horrible. I had the whole day planned out; the picnic in the morning, then a visit to those botanical gardens that Tomo showed us last month, followed by a bike rental and a ride up to a coastal overlook for dinner.” She balled her hand into a fist, wrinkling her clothes before tossing them to the side with a bit more force than was necessary.
“I deep-cleaned my hair last night for this date!” Asuna yelled. “And now as if the rain wasn’t bad enough, some asshole had to drive through a puddle and get mud all over it!”
Striding over, Kirito kneeled down, and grasped Asuna’s hands in his own. In a quiet voice he asked, “Would you like my help cleaning it?”
“Please,” Asuna huffed. She spun in place on her stool, reaching out to grab the shampoo. “Just remember—”
“Only use the comb after the shampoo, and be gentle with the brush when I’m getting the mud out.”
“Ah.” Asuna smiled warmly—the first hint of a pleasant emotion Kirito had seen since their date had been ruined by an unexpected storm. “Yeah, that’s it.”
“I’ve been studying,” Kirito said, taking the shampoo from Asuna and starting to lather up his hands. As he did, Asuna took the bucket from next to the tub and filled it with the bathwater, before sitting back and dumping it over herself.
“Studying, hmm?” Asuna hummed pleasantly as Kirito placed his hands on his wife’s head and started to rub the shampoo into her hair. “Thank you.”
“Your hair’s lovely.” Kirito grinned as Asuna turned her head just enough to fix him with a warm gaze. “I want to do what I can to help you take care of it.”