Late Night Company | Kirito x Reader

    You watched as one by one your guildmates died before you, shattering to thousands of pieces before ultimately disappearing from the game. You couldn’t protect them, you were barely able to protect yourself. The dungeon you all stumbled upon was a trap for players, there was no way to escape unless every single high-level monster was defeated. Your level wasn’t nearly as high enough to be able to defeat them all, you had difficulty taking even one up in battle.

    
    Being able to dodge most of the monsters’ attacks was the only reason you were still alive, but you wouldn’t be able to keep at it for much longer. The more guildmates that died, the more monsters turned to you as a target. You watched in fear as you watched your last guildmate shattered to pieces, leaving you all alone in the room full of monsters.

    
    That distraction nearly cost you your life, allowing a monster to finally land a clean blow on you without you having enough time to dodge it. Your eyes grew wide as you watched your health bar slip past the safe green color and into the yellow. You’d barely be able to survive another hit; you were done for. You collapsed onto your knees in defeat as you watched the monster raise its arm, ready to end your life in both the virtual and the real world.

    
    Before it could land it’s hit on you, a black sword suddenly protruded from its body, shattering it into thousands of pieces just like what happened to your guildmates. A boy dressed in all black appeared, gripping the black sword tightly as he swung it towards the other monsters, quickly killing them as well.

    
    “Get back!” he shouted to you as he fought all of the monsters on his own, killing them all while barely getting a scratch on himself. He walked over to you and crouched beside you, handing you a vial of liquid. “Drink this. Just in case more appear.”

    
      You did as you were told and watched as your health bar returned back to full. You looked up at your hero with tear-filled eyes. “Thank you.”

    
    “Are you okay? What happened? Why were you here alone in the first place?” he questioned.

    
    “I was here with my guildmates to try leveling up when we stumbled across this room. High-level monsters spawned and we couldn’t escape. They all died fighting for their lives…,” you finished, bursting into tears at the realization that they were all dead. All of your friends were dead. You were all alone.

    
    Even though you hardly knew the boy, you jumped into his arms and hugged him tight, catching him off guard. He hugged you back when he heard your sobs, knowing full well the pain you were experiencing.

    
    “I’m sorry,” he mumbled softly. “If only I was here just a little sooner, I could’ve saved them….”

    
    “Don’t be sorry,” you said as you brushed your tears away, not wanting him to feel guilty for something that he had no control over. “Thank you for saving my life. But, um, what’s your name?”

    
    “Kirito. Yours?”

    
    “(Y/N),” you replied softly.

    
    “Well, (Y/N). Let’s get you somewhere safe.”

    
    After leaving the dungeon under Kirito’s protection, the two of you made your way back to the town on floor 23 which would be the safest place for you to stay at the moment.

    
    “It’s getting late so we might as well rent a room somewhere and spend the night,” Kirito said as he made his way towards the nearest inn, you following close behind him. He was kind enough to pay for your room despite your protests but all in all it didn’t cost too much so you didn’t push the topic further.

    
    You laid on your bed in your room for hours, waiting for sleep to come to you. After the events that took place earlier, you weren’t surprised that sleep proved to be difficult for you. You were forced to watch all of your friends die before you as you barely survived yourself, that only possible because of Kirito.

    
    But the images were still seared into your mind. Every time you closed your eyes, all you saw was your friends’ death playing over and over again. It was driving you crazy having to keep seeing it like that, you were terrified. Without thinking, you got up from the bed and left your room, slowly making your way toward Kirito’s. You knocked lightly on the door, praying that he was somehow still awake this late at night.

    
    “Kirito?” you whispered, hoping to get his attention. You heard shuffling from the other side and before you knew it, the door was open and there he stood, his hair all disheveled from sleep.

    
    “(Y/N)? What’s wrong?” he asked with a yawn. You felt a pang of guilt when you realized that you woke him up.

    
    “O-oh, no. Sorry. I didn’t mean to bother-”

    
    “It’s fine. Tell me what’s wrong.”

    
    “I can’t sleep. I keep seeing my friends’ death replay in my mind over and over again and I’m scared,” you admitted shyly. “I know it’s probably rude to ask but…. Could I stay with you….?”

    
    “Sure,” he said with a soft smile, opening the door wider for you to enter. Was he serious or just being generous? You felt like you were intruding, he couldn't possibly want you as late night company, but you went along with it hoping for the better. You hesitantly crawled into the small bed, feeling the heat radiate off of him as he crawled in next to you. You slowly turned around so you could face him and smiled softly.

    
    “I know you’re beating yourself up over not being able to save my friends, but…. When it comes down to it, I’m just thankful you got there in time to save me. I thought it was the end for me, I thought I’d never get the chance to see the real world ever again, but now you gave me that chance back so I can never repay you for that,” you told him as a tear slipped down your face.

    
    He looked utterly shocked at your words and before he could think of something to say, you hugged him again and buried your face in his shoulder. You suddenly realized how close the two of you were in the bed so you moved away, quickly muttering an apology under your breath.

    
    “It’s okay. If it’s comfortable for you, then I don’t mind you staying like that.”

    
    Hesitantly, you moved closer to him again and laid your head comfortably on his shoulder as he wrapped his arm around you. For the first time that night, the horrid memories of your friends dying didn’t replay in your head, they were all forgotten for the moment. All because of Kirito.