♥ !!! (Send me a ♥ for my character's reaction to yours accidentally blurting out "I love you!" meme) (I thought this could be a cute prompt for a new thread for us...fluffy and stuff)
It’s a beautiful day in ALfheim Online. Yui’s been left in Lisbeth’s care while Kirito and Asuna go investigate potential trouble in the Cait Sith territory, but neither the blacksmith nor the little AI minds in the least. On the contrary, they’re delighted. It’s not often that they get to spend the day together, just the two of them.
The second the couple’s winged forms disappear, the girls’ twin toothy grins abound, and they rush inside, giggling, to prepare for more customers. Yui’s been a big help to Lisbeth around her shop lately, having taken an interest in weapons thanks to her parents, and the leprechaun is more than grateful for her help.
More and more players join the game every day, and ever since she opened up shop shortly after Asuna was rescued, word of Lisbeth’s skills as a blacksmith, never mind as the SAO survivor who forged the blade that helped free all of them, has spread like wildfire. She almost has more work than even she knows how to handle.
Therefore, Yui’s offer of help, something Lis would never ask for out of intense stubborn pride, takes some of the weight from her shoulders.
At the moment, though, it’s lunchtime on a Sunday, which means they can finally take a breather.
Lisbeth leans back against her main display counter with an exhausted, groaning sigh. “Thank goodness…” she wheezes, wiping sweat from her brow. “I didn’t think that would ever end…” Throwing an arm around the just-as-worn-out child to her left, she brings her in close to her side. “How ‘bout you, kid…? You okay…?”
The last thing she expects is for the nine-year-old to suddenly look up at her with an almost comically serious face and blurt out, “I love you!”
For a second, all she can do is blink and stare openly, mouth agape. Where in the world did that come from? But then, she supposes, it doesn’t really matter. Smiling adoringly, she wraps both arms around the girl and holds her like the cherished flower she is.
“Thank you, Yui,” she replies softly. “I love you, too, little niece-mine.”
