Trust
Minor CLE spoilers. Set after episode 18
A/n: Okay, I'll write things again. I hope you like this one, it's set in CLE. I've not done anything with the revamp yet but I really like the character dynamics. Let me know what you think!
It wasn't long after Jeremie told her they'd wait to plant the virus. Maybe a week. Jeremie and Laura were getting less and less sleep as they started working on ways to block XANA's ability to steal their codes-and they ran through different codes and firewalls one after another any spare second they had. Jeremie and Aelita would be shoulder to shoulder on the bench, or at the lunch table, fingers unstopping on the keys of their laptops while Laura hovered nearby on her tablet, running checks on what they were trying.
And they were trying everything.
But the nights started to drag on. Aelita got less and less rest even when she was sleeping and it was starting to show. Conversation led to her head on Ulrich's shoulder, her legs in Yumi's lap, until she was drifting in and out of sleep. Her health started to become the focus of concern more often than not, though Laura scoffed it off.
"We've been awake all day, too. I only got two hours of sleep and I still got an A on my chem exam." She was seated on the floor of Jeremie's dorm, still dressed in her rumpled clothes from that day. She was finding herself there more and more often. "And you've had less than that all week."
Jeremie ignored her, eyes glancing over the lines of coding he'd been working on. "I'm going to launch this firewall. I want you to see if you can hack it without the source code." His hands froze for a second before he hit the enter key, but it was more for a prayer than a final thought.
Laura shrugged her shoulders, sparing herself the effort it would take to look exasperated. "I've gotten through all the other ones." She rebooted the tablet in her hands, waiting for the panel to come up that would let her into the supercomputer. The screen turned red with the latest addition to the firewall and she started the process of slowly picking apart the expert codes Jeremie had put in place. It was dizzying.
"We need to keep XANA out. If it could transfer itself to Tyron's supercomputer I'm sure it could hack a firewall you can get through. It's just going to take time, Laura. We have to do everything we can until we can locate Aelita's mother."
"Aelita said her parents sacrificed everything for her. It doesn't look like her mother's so bad off if she's working with the bad guy now." She mechanically tapped away at her own coding, trying to see exactly how the boy had pushed her out of the system this time.
Jeremie glared over his glasses. "You really shouldn't talk about things you don't understand. You haven't been here for the long haul and you have no idea what kind of sacrifices we've all-"
The lock on the door turned and he stopped himself, glancing up just in time to see Aelita come stumbling through the door, nearly tripping over Laura in the process. She looked exhausted. She was pale, and even in the dark room the circles under her eyes were still visible.
"You're still up?" she murmured.
"You didn't think he would be?" Laura questioned.
Aelita waved the hand with Jeremie's spare key in it. "Nevermind," she sighed.
"Lita." The boy was out of his chair like it wasn't about four in the morning and across the dorm. "It's okay."
She froze, eyes set on him for a moment. "I know you're working hard at-"
"We're about done," he lied.
Laura looked indignant about his answer. "We're really not. I'm not even close the breaching the new firewall and if you wanted to do a cold run tonight-"
"It will be there in the morning," Jeremie insisted. Laura couldn't have been more confused. "We can pick up where we left off when we've all had some sleep." His hint for her to leave was less than subtle.
She sighed, getting to her feet. "Fine. I'm starting to go cross-eyed over all this sloppy code anyway." Jeremie didn't respond, just letting her pick up her satchel from the ground, swinging it over her shoulder before he even looked back at her.
"Thanks for all your help," he offered politely. Aelita gave her the best smile she could muster, but it fell as soon as Laura closed the door behind her.
"Jer..." she sighed. He motioned to the bed.
"You look like you're about to fall asleep standing up."
"I feel like the walking dead." She dropped herself onto it, pushing back the comforter with her heel to make herself comfortable. Jeremie sunk back into his computer chair, spinning back around to face his desktop. One by one Aelita watched the windows he'd been working on closed. "Have you been at it since I left?" she asked quietly.
"We took a break for some late dinner." He nodded at the take-out containers in the trash. Aelita didn't answer. "Ignore Laura," he told her plainly, turning back to face her.
"I make it an art," she teased, but he could hear the strain in her voice anyways. The girl pulled at her cotton pajama pants, pulling them up over her knees. "I just couldn't sleep again."
"Do you want to talk about it?" The look he got was answer enough and he climbed into the messy bed next to her, resting his back against the wall. He'd left enough distance between them but Aelita ignored it, pulling his pillow against his hip so she could curl up next to him.
"Just thinking about mom. Why would she be with him?"
Jeremie's fingertips dragged through her hair soothingly. "We won't know until we ask her. You can't make yourself sick like this."
"I know. Laura just keeps acting like this is my fault. Like I could-"
"We made the decision. Yumi, Ulrich, Odd, William and I made that decision because the stress just wouldn't be fair. You shouldn't have to choose. Laura has nothing to do with it." Aelita didn't answer. "We're going to find her, Lita."
"I know." She let her eyes slide closed. "I'm just worried about how long our luck will hold out."
"Laura is foolish and convenient. But she's good at what she does, and so are you, and so am I. I promise you that we'll figure this out in time. And if we can't we'll plant the virus to get rid of XANA and we'll find another way to track down Tyron and your mother."
Aelita tucked her hands under her chin, curling closer against the blonde. "Could I rest my eyes for just a minute in here with you?" she asked. The sleepless nights seemed to catch up with her all at once.
Jeremie smiled, unwilling to let the girl go with any rest. At least this way he could insure she actually got some for a change. "I'll wake you up before Jim starts his rounds," he promised, slipping his glasses from his face, stretching to set them on the desk by his alarm.
"Thank you, Jeremie," she whispered. He scooted down the wall a little, making himself comfortable. Aelita never budged.
"Go to sleep, Princess."
Instead of nightmares she dreamed of piano music and apple tarte. The next morning at breakfast she almost smiled when she saw Laura.
(Almost.)