So, here's what I hope is a cute little one-shot about Ulrich when he's older. Read and review! Enjoy!
35-year-old Ulrich Stern sat on his bed with his head in his hands, staring miserably at the floor. He was wearing two parts of a tuxedo, with the jacket of it resting beside him, still on its hanger. His best friend was finally getting married to a gorgeous actress he'd met along his travels as a huge film director, and Ulrich was to be the best man.
After over twenty years of being friends, the Lyoko warriors were still as close as ever. They'd shut down Lyoko when the younger members of the gang were in their freshman year of high school, but that hadn't made them change their relationships one bit. They'd spent the rest of high school hanging out like normal best friends. Afterwards, life had progressed for them in a not-so-unpredictable way.
Aelita and Jeremie had gotten married at the age of 19. Deciding that they'd probably known more about computer science while attending Kadic than any college professor, they'd opted to skip college all-together. Of course, they'd made themselves successful by starting a small computer company that had evolved into a multi-million dollar corporation a year after their marriage. By time they'd both reached 24 years old, they'd had two kids, a boy and a girl, and had moved into a mansion in the south of France.
Odd had continued on being odd, though he did grow out of his awkward, scrawny body. He'd found a very unusual girlfriend his senior year, a girl named Charlotte who was even stranger than he was. They had traveled to many different places in the world to 'explore their artistic beings,' as Charlotte had explained it, for the first year after graduating from high school. No one had heard anything from him the entire time, and Ulrich had had a good laugh when Odd had returned girlfriendless, saying something about stupid women obsessed with being spiritually one with nature. The only details Odd had given Ulrich had led him to suspect that they'd spent a great deal of time in India, in which Odd had been very bored, before Charlotte had decided to become a Buddhist and give up all of her material possessions. After that, Odd had gone to film school and had become a very famous film director of some great action movies.
Yumi and Ulrich had both gone to the same college as they'd planned in high school. Ulrich had become an athletic trainer and Yumi had become a Literature teacher at Kadic. When they'd both finally decided that they were settled in their lifestyles, they'd finally married. Yumi had been 29 and Ulrich had been 28 when she'd gotten pregnant with their beautiful daughter Aimee. They'd lived the most modestly out of their group, but Ulrich had considered himself the richest man alive. That was, until Yumi had been diagnosed with breast cancer.
It had been three months since Yumi's death. Ulrich's mother, who had been widowed years before, was living with him and Aimee to help them adjust to life without Yumi. Ulrich was extremely grateful to her and his friends, because they'd all really been there for him and had helped him appear strong for his 6-year-old daughter. When they'd discovered Yumi's cancer four months before her death, Odd had postponed his wedding to Jocelyn until things were easier on his best friend. Aelita and Jeremie had invited Ulrich and his daughter to stay with them for a small vacation, but Ulrich had declined their hospitality.
Unfortunately, however helpful his friends and family were, Ulrich was still miserable and lonely. At night, he barely slept as he stared at the empty space beside him in the bed. He'd been crushed the day that he'd realized that the pillow no longer smelled like the lavender and vanilla of Yumi's shampoo, which he still kept a half-empty bottle of in his shower. He found himself constantly looking at Yumi's perfect, smiling face in their wedding picture on the nightstand beside his bed, and he would wonder how his life had gone from ideal to empty in a matter of months.
Ulrich willed himself to finish getting ready, but a wedding wasn't really an activity that he wanted to be involved in. Nonetheless, he finally got up to put on his tie and his jacket. He looked in the mirror as he adjusted the tie around his neck. It had been a while since he'd seen himself with a perfectly clean shaven face. Ulrich sighed and promised himself that he would make this a good day, even if only for his friends.
He walked down the stairs and into his kitchen, where his mother was making herself a cup of tea. She'd just come back from dropping Aimee off at the bride's hotel. Aimee was going to be the flower girl, so she had to get dressed and ready for the wedding with the rest of the bridesmaids. Mrs. Stern smiled at Ulrich as he entered and sat at the table beside him. "You look very handsome," she told him admiringly.
Ulrich gave her a weak smile. "Thanks…"
His mother looked at him with pity. "You'll have a good time today, right?" she asked hopefully.
Ulrich sighed. "Yea, Mom," he said softly. "I'll try to. Are you sure you don't want to come?"
Mrs. Stern smiled with amusement as she picked up her tea cup and sipped it slowly. "As much as I'd love to be my son's date to his best friend's wedding, I really don't think I could keep up with all of you kids."
"Mom, I'm 35," Ulrich told her. "I'm hardly a kid."
Mrs. Stern chuckled. "Try telling that to Odd," she joked. "That boy is bound to have all types of extravagant surprises just to make it more exciting."
Ulrich smirked. "You've known my friends too long."
"Well, you were all inseparable," his mother said. "I swear, when you all first met at Kadic, it must have been fate, because you've all been so great for each other. I wasn't sure if I even liked it at first. It always seemed like the five of you were up to something!"
Ulrich shook his head in slight amusement. "If you only knew…"
"Well, I've got to go put some clothes in the laundry, and you need to be heading out." His mother stood up. "Give Odd and Jocelyn my best wishes." She kissed Ulrich on the forehead and left the room.
"I guess I should get going," Ulrich mumbled to himself as he stood up and left for the church.
The wedding was even larger than Ulrich had expected. So many people were there, many of them rather famous actors and actresses who had starred in Odd's films. A while back, Ulrich would have been fascinated by them, but without Yumi there it seemed trivial.
Aimee was an adorable flower girl, wearing her puffy white dress. Her long black hair was up in curls, and the make-up artist that Jocelyn had hired had put a bit blush and eye-shadow on her. Ulrich remembered having distinctly told Jocelyn no make-up for his daughter, but he didn't care so much. He knew that Aelita, who was one of Jocelyn's bridesmaids, had obviously convinced them to be moderate with Aimee's make-up.
The wedding went smoothly. Jocelyn and Odd had written their own vows for the wedding, but Ulrich barely listened at all. He really just stared dumbly at the back off Odd's head most of the time. He registered slightly that Jocelyn was crying quite a bit, though her make-up miraculously stayed intact. At his own wedding, Yumi had had mascara running down her cheeks, and he'd never thought he'd seen her so beautiful and perfect.
After the ceremony, the reception took place at the hotel that Jocelyn and Odd were staying at. The couple actually had a large and extremely expensive estate in Los Angeles, but they'd decided on a wedding in France to be with Odd's friends. The hotel's ballroom decoration was rather elegant, but the party going on in it was anything but. After a dance between the newlyweds, everything became very exciting and crazy. Odd had hired a few of his favorite bands to alternate performances. It was like a full-out Hollywood event.
Ulrich was sitting at a round table, eating dinner with Aelita and Jeremie and some other high school friends while Aimee sat at a smaller table with other children, including the Belpois children. Ulrich was pretty silent the entire time, as he rehearsed the lines for his toast as best man in his head. Jeremie and Aelita were talking excitedly, but he didn't really hear a word until Aelita said Yumi's name. Ulrich looked directly at her in question. "What'd you say Aelita?" he asked.
Aelita smiled softly at him. "I was just saying that Yumi would have had a great time here," she told him. "She would have been so happy for Odd."
Ulrich sighed and forced a small smile. "Yea," he said. "She was very happy when Odd and Jocelyn got engaged."
"She used to say that Odd needed a level-headed woman to keep him in line," Aelita said, remembering fondly. "She liked Jocelyn."
Ulrich looked down and picked at his food uncomfortably, missing Yumi so much that it physically hurt. He looked up again only when the current band on stage was calling for everyone's attention.
"This is the last song before we move on to cutting the cake and hearing the toasts. This one is for all the fathers and daughters. It's a cover of a song called 'Butterfly Kisses.' Maybe you've heard it before."
Ulrich watched as a bunch of fathers and daughters, including Jeremie and his 11-year-old daughter Natalie, went onto the dance floor. A moment later he felt a tug on his sleeve and looked at his daughter. He smiled at her lovingly. "Did you want to dance?" he asked her as he stood up.
Aimee smiled and nodded her head enthusiastically. She grabbed her father's hand and followed him to the floor. It didn't take long before she gave up on dancing herself and just stood on Ulrich's feet. Ulrich couldn't help but grin. "Did I tell you how pretty you look?" he asked her.
Aimee rolled her eyes. "Yes," she said. "And I still think this is a stupid dress! It's too poofy!"
Ulrich laughed a bit. Aimee really was Yumi's daughter, taking after her in so many ways. "Well, it looks very pretty on you," he said. "You know… You look so much like Mommy."
Aimee looked at the ground sadly. "I miss Mommy…"
Ulrich scooped his daughter up into his arms and hugged her tightly. "So do I, sweetie." He felt his daughters tears moisten the suit on his shoulder, and his own eyes filled with tears. "Don't cry… Mommy wouldn't want you to be sad."
Aimee nodded a bit and was silent before whispering, "I love you Daddy."
Ulrich put on a small smile and leaned his head against the top of hers. "I love you, too." He suddenly recognized the smell of lavender and vanilla, and his smile widened. Yes, Aimee was indeed Yumi's daughter, Ulrich decided again, and he realized that as long as he had her, he'd always have a little piece of Yumi. "Aimee, everything is going to be just fine…"
I hope you liked it! Please review!