[F3-PP] Promised Date (Grave) COMPLETE

[Jevi 0]

Preparing for a date.. that was something Jevi had never done before, and was actually pretty nervous in doing so. Grave had mentioned the idea for the two to do the last time they had seen each other during their dungeon raid on Floor Seven with Opal. His plan was to make Jevi food from his diner, sushi to be more specific, after getting the ingredients to do so from hunting some fish-like mobs. That was the part that made Jevi interested; they would not be fishing with a pole and hook, but more so fighting the fish themselves, the same way one would usually hunt to find other materials. With that idea in mind, Jevi was preparing herself for however that would go down.

After finalizing her purchase with the elf woman behind the counter,  Jevi made her way through Delilah Village. After a short walk through the peaceful village, she found herself in a courtyard where Grave's diner was apparently located. She looked from building to building, trying to figure out which one it was. The one that stuck out the most, but did not look like an eatery, was a stone cylindrical building with a pointed roof. With a shrug of her shoulders, Jevi walked up to what she believed to be the front door and entered the building slowly. Once she saw that it was, in fact, a restaurant inside, she smiled and headed in. Her yellow eyes caught glimpse of the silver haired player behind the counter, to whom she walked up to. ~"So.. this is your diner huh?"

Edited March 15, 2016 by Jevi

[Grave 0]

"Hmm, hmm, hm hm hmmmm..." I hummed a ditty as I gently stirred the marred and maimed contents of past failures in a small black pan.  The gloopy substance clung to the sizzling ebony metal and I had to frequently pry the sludge away.  The orange rodent beside me squeaked in disgust as the noxious smell wafted in her direction. I forgot to mention, I was wearing  my apron up over my nose to avoid such a fate. Today was the day... the day that I was going to go on my first ever date. Maybe Jevi and my idea of a 'date' was far from ordinary, but I couldn't care less. I was just glad she was giving me chance, almost encouraging me to try and earn her. The thought brought a goofy grin to my lips as I continued cooking the trash... until finally my focus was broken by a voice behind me. To quickly clear the area of the scent of burned crap, I selected the trash option that floated above my ingredients and sent it off to nothingness.

"O-oh, Jevi! Punctual as ever!" I just about yelped as I spun around, a highly amused Hikari squeaking a tiny giggle beside me. "So... today is the day, huh?" I asked, my surprised grin becoming a soft smile. I began to undo my apron and proceeded to place it near Hikari. "Now, you are staying here, alright girl?" She gave a  disappointed squeak. "Look... Jevi and I are going on a date, which means we want to be alone. I promise I will make it up to you with an amazing breakfast tomorrow, that sound cool?" Who knew a weasel's mood could improve so quickly at the mention of a good breakfast? Patting her head around her horn, before I strode around the glass case to Jevi. "Right. Shall we get our date started?" I asked, reaching up to the side of her face and gently tucking a lock of purple hair behind her ear.

[Jevi 0]

Seemed Grave was pretty surprised to see Jevi. Then again, she was very quiet about entering his shop. The girl also was lacking her usual Desert Hawk armor, which would usually clank and make noise every time she moved. Instead, she wore her much simpler casual clothes, consisting of her orange gi top with a black undershirt and matching black pants. She did without the usual arm warmers, but wore her tan bandit scarf around her neck. She placed her arms behind her back as the corner of her mouth hooked into a smirk, one of her eyebrows raising sharply. ~"Yeah. The day has finally come where you can say you took me out on a date.. So lets get get it over with." she said in a teasing tone before leaning on the counter he stood on the other side off, gently pushing her fist into his shoulder.

The girl looked down at the small weasel that she had heard squeaking happily. She smiled and brought her hand down, scratching the animal just behind the ear. ~"And its good to see you too, Hikari." She giggled at the small conversation the two had, about Grave leaving her behind for the day, but paying her back with a nice cooked meal. The interactions between the two peaked Jevi's interests with finding her own companion. A quest for another day of course, the two had their plans for the day. As Grave walked around the counter to meet the girl, her eyes fixed on the weasel once again, gently petting her. She spoke in a whispered tone, but loud enough for Grave to head, ~"Don't worry, Hikari.. I wouldn't leave you alone." She then turned to the man who was now standing next to her, asking if she was ready to head out. Before she could reply, he gently brushed some of her hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear, causing her yellow eyes to look away as a blush filled her cheeks, ~"Y-Yeah lets go." she said smiling.

[Grave 0]

Since we were only going to be fighting on a low floor, I saw no requirement for me to wear my Coat. Nonetheless, keeping the Crystal would help, and I go nowhere without my handwraps. "You honestly look more like the sweet, elegant Jevi I know you are without all that armour." I complimented her with a quite cheesy grin. "I guess that is a benefit of the lower floors; we get to just kick back in relax in casual clothes." I mused, realising that I wore my coat anywhere above Floor Five, sometimes even there I wore it, namely in <<The Traveler>>. "Aww, you sound like you are not even looking to savour our time. I am hurt." I placed a hand across my heart, putting on a mask of fake shock.

It was a lovely sight to see Jevi interacting with Hikari, and I felt an obligation to assist her with the Familiar quest I had promised her on the Dungeon Dive. Jevi teased me in a hushed tone, and I crossed my arms defiantly. Of course, my silver tongue had a speedy retort ready. "Oh, so you would rather the child watch me try and make a move?" I asked, deliberately making my retort as embarrassing as possible. As I waited for her reaction, I swung the door open and held it for her to pass through, hiding behind it like a large wooden shield.

[Jevi 0]

The girl scoffed at Grave's comment, placing a hand on her hip and shifting her weight to one leg. ~"Sweet and elegant? I don't know what girl you're looking at." she smirked again. She knew she was a bitch, usually to him a lot. Of course, she was becoming more kind as time went on and as she became more and more accustomed to certain people and making friends, but she would not go as far as to call herself 'sweet.' And elegant? She wore hulking heavy armor for Christ's sake. Elegance was the last thing she thought she was.. but she appreciated the comment nonetheless.

Jevi laughed at Grave, who returned her sarcastic humor, making mention of Hikari being around to watch Grave 'make a move.' Jevi simply shrugged her shoulders and held her arms out to the side, palms facing upwards, walking towards Grave who had been holding the door open for her to return to the outside courtyard, ~"Who said anything about you being able to make a move." she closed her eyes and the corner of her mouth curved to another sly smirk as she walked past him, the sun hitting her body. She turned her body half way around to look at Grave, waiting for him to follow her outside before she continued her stroll. ~"So, you wanted to do sort of fishing right? What'd you have in mind for that?"

Edited February 18, 2016 by Jevi

[Grave 0]

I had to chuckle when Jevi denied the compliment. "No, you certainly are not either of those things... on the outside at least. I still remember when we first met... you were a real bitch. Quite a vivid memory, I might add. But when we sat down on that hill, and I introduced you to the Aldrams... I saw a docile, placid, sweeter side of you, that instantly caught my eye." I reasoned, an adoring glint in my eye. "All I wanted to see was more of that sweet side." I added at the end, before changing my tone and clearing my throat as I continued for the second explanation. "As for elegance; no matter how heavy the armour, Jev, you always manage to entrance me with your movements, hence why I likened you to a snake, or more specifically, a cobra. You are more enchanting than you know." I explained, rather satisfied with the logical answers I gave.

Yet another retort slipped to the sharp edge of my tongue when Jevi denied my ability to make a move. "Ah ah ah, I never said I would succeed. I only said I would try, and what harm is there in trying, my dear Jevi?" I questioned, shutting the door behind her and taking up the rear. "Well, I know of a nice little lake here... by little, I only mean in width and length. As for depth... I just hope you are not afraid of deep, dark water." I warned, knowing she was likely scared of just about nothing. "I hear that it is full of various amphibious monsters, including giant fish and fish-men." I added, making sure Jevi knew the exact... situation, for it was not dangerous, we were swimming into.

[Jevi 0]

Jevi felt her cheeks redden and heat up as Grave went more in depth with his compliments to her. He was just so.. cheesy.. and such a flirt. No wonder she used to punch him all the time for making such comments. But, surprisingly, she was getting used to it. Hell, she was even enjoying some of it. Of course, she would not refrain from knocking him upside the head whenever he took it too far, or even if he just added in an extra flirt. But that was just her way of replying to it.. especially since she was in no way, shape or form, good at flirting back. Luckily when her face reddened, she was facing the opposite direction. She only hoped he did not notice her dark skin had taken a red color. She opened her mouth to reply to him,  but only broken breaths and words escaped.~" I-.. uh.. mm" she ended with an exhale that had hints of a slight laugh to it.

Grave's idea for fishing including going to a lake than was not too far from here. There, it seemed like they would go swimming into the deep blue to see what lurks in the depths of the lake. Apparently different mobs lurk in the shadows of the water, just waiting to be slay or be slain. Jevi grinned in excitement, ~"That sounds so much better than fishing with a pole!" she laughed. ~"Well lead the way then."

[Grave 0]

Not much was left to say about my flirting moment. To put it in a few words, Jevi's skin had begun to redden and she began to stutter, but I made no verbal note of it. I had made her bashful as it was, I had no wish to embarrass her further.

I laughed back when Jevi commented on how much more fun my type of fishing was going to be. "I did say that was my plan in the Dungeon... too bad Opal did not believe me." I teased with a chuckle, thankful the VC was not with us at the time. We casually strolled through the town, Jevi now behind so that I could lead the way... but having her so far behind meant I lacked ability to talk to her. With a somewhat shy grin, I turned to Jevi and motioned with one hand for her to catch up, and extended my elbow out to her, just hoping I would not get rejected, at least this once.

[Jevi 0]

~"Yeah you are right." she said with a chuckle. He had said that was his plan as they were searching for the dungeon with Opal. She followed just behind Grave as they walked through Delilah Village in the direction of their destination. The silver haired man then turned his body to face Jevi, making a gesture for her to follow him and then extending out his arm, elbow bent. She thought for a second what he was doing, why such the awkward arm position? The realization was almost audible, as she gestured her head as if saying "Oooh" She smirked at the man and raised another eyebrow before taking a couple of large steps forward so she walked beside him, hesitantly wrapping her arm around his. She figured this was a date after all, so she figured she'd give him that much. It was also obvious, to her at least, that she did care about Grave. She was weary about her feelings, mostly because of what she went through with Shaya and her past experience in the real world, but.. she felt safe, and actually happy. ~"So, have you ever done this before?.... The deep sea fishing thing, that is."

[Grave 0]

"I am often right, have you not learned?" I retorted arrogantly with a cocky smile and a wink. I realised it took Jevi a moment to register what I was asking, and I did not blame her. A blush crept onto my cheeks and my heart beat a little bit faster when her arm slipped around mine. It was my first time on a date, my first time escorting a girl with our arms locked... I was glad Jevi was being so nice to me. As I had said earlier, she really was sweet, she just had no wish to acknowledge it. Too often she tried to put up a rough and tough girl facade, but I found her much more attractive when she let that down and really exposed her soft side. Out of nowhere, she asked if I had done this before. "U-uhm, n-n-" I began to reply, before she corrected herself and specified the subject. "A-ah... well, either way you meant it, the answer is no. I have never done this fishing... a-and I have never been on a date... let alone had a girlfriend..." I consciously admitted the first, since Jevi likely had no idea of that, but the second kind of snuck out along with it.

[Jevi 0]

Jevi giggled at Grave's stuttering response. Seemed like she could make him nervous and bashful just as easily as he could do to her. ~"Well.. I guess I've got you beat there." she bore her teeth with a sly grin, ~"I've been on a date and had a girlfriend." she laughed, finding her ironic comment of being in a short lived relationship with another girl humorous. Once her laughing subsided, she spoke up, ~"Well.. if you would could what I had with Shaya as a 'real relationship.' We really were not together long, and we had not done much." her tone got softer and more serious, but did not show any sadness talking of it this time around. ~"I know that sounds really stupid, especially since I was so distraught about the situation and honestly thought that I had loved her.. But.. like I told you a while ago, 'love' is not a word that gets thrown by me often, so I had not heard it since my...." she stopped speaking for a moment and took a breath, ~"Since before my father died." She turned her head to look at him, not only in hoping that he would understand and not judge her.. but also that he would not do what Shaya did and tell her that he loved her. Despite whether he truly meant it or not. He wanted to wait to know how she truly felt before knowing how he felt.

~"A-Anyway. So you haven't done this before? The fishing, again. You know.. I don't think I've ever been swimming in this game before. Wouldn't we need some sort of bathing suits to do so? I mean.. I was not planning on going swimming in my armor. I'll sink like a boulder."

[Grave 0]

I put on a pout when Jevi tried - and succeeded, to a degree - to make me jealous. "Come on, that is not fair, please do not tease me..." I whimpered jokingly. Sure, I was envious of Shaya, but I would not seriously complain about being playfully teased. I listened politely and intently when Jevi began to talk about the 'non-reality' of her relationship with Shaya. I would have said 'Feel lucky you had a relationship for that long', had the fact that it was not even really a relationship not been there. And then... she told me about her father's death, and the significance - or more like insignificance, of the word 'love' to her. So, that is why she is always on edge on the subject... I concluded, finally understanding her sorrowful situation. I knew that if I ever tried to tell her I loved her before she was well and truly sure she had feelings for me, she would fall into a mess... I had to wait.

"Ah, no, I have not. This will be a new experience for the both of us. I have been swimming once, on a higher floor and... kind of barely escaped a crocodile monster, thanks to a girl named Vayrin." I admitted, scratching the back of my head as I recalled the scene. "Well, I guess if you wanted we could drop by some NPC tailor and get something... I-I just was not sure you would be comfortable in swimwear around me, so I assumed you would just wear casual clothes..."

[Jevi 0]

The girl listened to Grave speak about the last time he had been swimming. Apparently he was almost killed by some beast, but was saved by Vayrin. He did not know too much about the fellow purplette aside from being cautious about those she meets. She had met the girl, as well as Shizuka, on Floor Two during a hunt for precious materials. She smiled at Grave's admitting to needed to be saved during his swimming adventure, laughing softly with parted lips, ~"I've met Vayrin before, I'm not surprised she saved you. She's proven to be pretty strong."  

Grave sounded pretty nervous after she asked about wearing swim suits during this search for sea monsters. ~"Well why would I go swimming in my clothes? They would just get soaked." she said with a laugh. She leaned her body into him playfully, her  breast just barely pressing into his arm, ~"What..Never seen a girl in a bikini before?" The girl's tone of voice was low and hushed, almost seductive even when she spoke. If she had learned one thing from Shaya, it was how to do just that. After a moment of seeing his reaction, she let out a loud laugh, nudging his side with her elbow. ~"You should have seen your face! Bahaha!" 

[Grave 0]

I scratched my chin gently when Jevi seemed to get the wrong idea about Vayrin 'saving' me. "Well, she did not save me like you are thinking. She pointed the sneaky bastard out, and I launched it onto shore where be both went ape on it, and she got injured in the process." I explained, hoping Jevi would not think I was trying to boast. "I may have been much closer to death had she not called out to me, so I was highly thankful to her for that." I concluded, finally finished trying to get my point across.

"Well... I guess that is right..." I responded when Jevi mentioned her clothes getting soaked, scratching my nape. A hot, red flush washed over my face as Jevi leaned in, her voice becoming seductive. It was much too hard to not melt under her presence. "W-well, I have, just never anyone I know..." I explained, my face still a mask of embarrassment. I winced as Jevi laughed her ass off at my reaction. "Well, I can only imagine how much of a doofus I look at the moment... but I guess that we are not going without swinging by the tailor?" I asked, anticipating seeing Jevi in swimwear.

[Jevi 0]

The purplette smirked at Grave when he corrected Jevi's remark on Vayrin saving Grave. She figured as much that he did not need saving, she was very aware of just how strong Grave was. Besides, when she first met Vayrin, she was a much lower level than herself and Grave, so she knew he had to have been the stronger one in the situation. ~"Thats okay, you can admit that Vayrin saved you to me.. I won't tell anyone." she winked, joking with the man. It was nice that, despite the fact that they were on a date rather than a usual outing, she could still share her sarcastic humor with the man. That was definitely one of the pluses Grave had going for him.

~"Don't worry Grave, you always look like a doofus to me." she laughed, and then turned her head away slightly. She was really.. really bad at this. ~"I'm... sorry.. I'm probably the one that sounds like an idiot. I mean, this is technically my first time on a real date." He then finished his sentence, figuring the two would not need to stop by a tailors to pick up swim suits. She brought her hand up to her face and scratched her cheek with her index finger, her cheeks a slight pink, ~"A-Actually.. I thought ahead and went to a shop before hand.. to buy one."

[Grave 0]

It was true... Jevi really was not very good at flirting. It showed in her response, saying I always looked like a doofus. Thankfully, I had a reply to try and save her from embarrassing herself. "Is that the cute doofus, or the crazy reject doofus?" I asked, baiting a better answer out of her. "It is alright, love, I understand. It is not really your fault for having little experience in the area. I guess that is where I come in, to help you along." I mused, smiling softly down at her. I had to pick up the slack for her, so that she did not accidentally embarrass herself. I blushed heavily when she told me she had already gone ahead and bought one. "O-oh..." I gasped, highly surprised. "I... was no expecting that... I am glad that you took the initiative though." I chirped, leaning towards her slightly.

[Jevi 0]

Was he... helping her flirt? Or maybe was he trying to get her to flirt? ~"The cute one." she said, quite bluntly in fact. She could not deny that at least some of his responses were cute. She smirked at the man, ~"I gotta admit, for someone with such little experience in the field as well, you seem to be pretty fluent in flirting, unlike me." she chuckled. It seemed once again that Jevi had pulled a fast one on Grave and surprised him. He seemed to not be expecting that Jevi had already thought ahead and purchased a swim suit. Her cheeks reddened a bit more, ~"S-Shut up. I needed one anyway. I-I just thought.. it could be helpful so I don't get my regular clothes wet." she turned her head away from grave, crossing her arms, despite one of them being locked in Grave's arm. ~"We should probably stop somewhere so you can get one.. if you want."

[Grave 0]

"Good, good." I responded, smiling gleefully. I helped Jevi out of a sticky situation, there. "Well, I have had years of practise, learning my way around girls... I guess SAO is my final test, hey?" I mused, chuckling as I reflected on his crap I was before the game. "To think that here, we are walking arm in arm, when in the real world we are laying in beds likely thousands of kilometres away from each other..." I wondered, my eyes drifting skyward as we walked. We were both left in stuttering, blushing messes during our conversation about her swimwear. "Y-yeah, alright, I understand." I responded, realising I may have just been a bit too wishing. "N-no, I will just be wearing my shorts, I do not wear them often, so I can afford to leave them out to dry." I explained, scratching my neck. "I hope you do not mind..."

[Jevi 0]

The girl smirked and gave Grave a sidelong glance, ~"You act as if I haven't seen you without a shirt before.. Mr. I can't sleep with a shirt because its uncomfortable." she scoffed and shook her head, ~"Of course its fine." So it seemed both of them had possibly thought ahead about being a bit more realistic and wearing swimsuits to go swimming. She had no idea how water worked in this game.. did it act the same as the real world, and their clothes and bodies would need to dry? Or would it be more instant like most of the other mechanics in this game. Nonetheless, it was nice the two had decided to wear swimsuits, tying themselves to the real world in a way. Jevi felt a lack of things to talk about as their conversation about what they would be wearing passed. Damn her inability to make small talk. Then she remembered something Grave had said a moment ago, so she decided to speak on it, ~"If you don't mind me asking.. since you asked before... Where are you actually from?" she smiled, ~"I mean, you said we are most likely kilometers away... For all we know, we could simply be on the opposite side of the same town." She then spoke with a slight laugh, ~"Though with that accent of yours, you were probably right about being further away."

Conversation had made the trip seem far shorter than it was in reality. Turning to look forward, Jevi noticed the land begin to sink down into a large body of water. She smiled, ~"Looks like we're here."

[Grave 0]

I grinned widely when Jevi referenced the first night we had ever spent in the same bed together. "Hah, I guess you are very right about that." I agreed, shoulders shaking as I chuckled. I still could not believe I was on a date with Jevi... it was something I had thought of the first day I had met her, until I found out about Shaya. The silence passed between us like a tumbleweed, until Jevi spoke. "Well, I am originally from London, that is where you will recognise the accent from. As for where I was when I entered SAO... it has been so long I cannot remember exactly, but I entered from Japan somewhere." I explained, before looking down at her. "How about you, Sweetheart?" I asked, curious as to where her tanned skin was from.

I was too caught up in my thoughts to notice the body of water before Jevi did. "Yes, we are here." I agreed, releasing my arm from her gentle grasp. "You could use the edge of the forest as cover to get changed, I can just change right here." I suggested, gesturing to the large forest that stood a few meters away from one of the sides of the lake.