I do not own Code Lyoko

Aelita and Jeremie were sitting on a hill, looking over the scenery. It was the class camping trip, and this time there were no electrical monsters anywhere in sight. Right after the excursion ended, the students were given some free time before they had to come back to the camp. Odd and Ulrich quickly disappeared, after snickering a lot and mentioning that Jeremie and Aelita would probably want some 'alone time' and privacy for 'working on their relationship.' That's when they took off, leaving Jeremie and Aelita to themselves, slightly embarrassed but not unhappy. Now they were just enjoying the view, sitting on a hilltop with arms draped over each other's shoulders.

"You know, they probably expect us to make out." Jeremie pointed out.

"Wanna prove them right?" Aelita asked, smirking.

"Uh...well, that is...um..." Jeremie stuttered, blushing. Then he noticed Aelita was grinning and punched the air next to her playfully. They laughed together for a few seconds.

"It's not that I don't like the idea, it's just that..." Jeremie tried to explain himself.

"Yeah, I know. There is a time and a place for things like that." Aelita interrupted.

"Yeah, and it's a lot less often than most people seem to think." answered Jeremie lazily. He and Aelita agreed on that. Many people saw relationships as nothing more than a way to gain physical gratification of one sort or another. Others saw dating as a way to gain social status. But to Jeremie and Aelita their special relationship meant a lot more than that. They could both control their baser urges and neither one of them cared even the slightest bit about popularity. Not since they found each other, anyway. They reserved kissing for special occasions, and not just because of Jeremie's shyness. It was also because to them the most important part of being together was just being together. A lot of it was immersed in the mental and emotional bond between them, stronger by far than that of any other couple at the school.

"I guess sometimes I'm afraid that the others' constant jeering will make you do something stupid. Or worse, scare you off. Not that I'd actually let you go anywhere." Aelita said. Then she put her arms around him and hugged tightly. "My Jeremie!"

"Well, I'd let you go anywhere." Jeremie retorted.

"Oh?" asked Aelita, interested.

"Yes, because I trust that you'll always come back to me."

"That's good, because that's exactly what I'll do." answered Aelita. "Always."

Jeremie answered by stroking Aelita's neck. She leaned on his shoulder, almost purring with the pleasure that came from his light touch. After a while she yawned.

"You know, being around you makes me want to just fall asleep in your arms." she told him.

"Aw, come on, I'm not that boring, am I?"

"You know what I mean. You make me feel safe, and you have a very restful presence."

"Still, you better not give in to temptation. Can you imagine what Jim would say if you fell asleep on me and he found us like that?"

"Can you imagine what Odd would say?" she countered.

"I'm just glad he doesn't know about all the times you did fall asleep at the factory."

"What can I say, your shoulder makes a very comfortable pillow. And your arms make a pretty good blanket."

"Let's not mention this to the others, okay?"

"Sure."

By then Jeremie was blushing lightly, but other than that he was okay. He was past the stage when a mere hint at romance would send him into a catatonia. Besides, talking to Aelita with no one else around made him lose his self-consciousness. It was a different story when someone was watching, though.

"How long do we have before we need to head in?" asked Aelita. Jeremie looked at his watch.

"A couple of minutes."

"Okay. Oh, and when we get there, you're not working on the computer, right?"

"Yes, I know."

"Because we're on a break, right?"

"Yes, yes. Stop worrying, Aelita."

"I'll stop worrying about you when you learn to go to sleep at a reasonable time and stop skipping meals." she said. Jeremie just smirked.

"Well, I'll stop worrying about you when you're no longer chased by a crazy computer superentity that wants to end your life."

"Fine." she answered. "But you really don't take enough breaks, you know? You can't just put your life on hold until we destroy Xana. You need to enjoy yourself more."

"I'm enjoying myself right now." Jeremie pointed out impishly.

"Exactly. How often do you let yourself just kick back and relax like this?"

"Well..."

"Look, Jeremie, I know defeating Xana is important, but you can't let it take over your whole life."

"I know Aelita, I know. But I need to work. It's the only way I can help, really."

"You help in plenty of other ways. But yes, I know you like to feel useful. We all appreciate what you do."

They sat quietly for another while, just staring at each other.

"Well, I suppose we'd better head in before they come looking for us." Jeremie said quietly.

"Yeah. Too bad. I feel like I could just be here with you forever. No Xana, no problems, just you and me."

"What about our friends?"

"Nope. They'd just ruin the moment."

"Well, we may not be staying here, but we can be together for as long as you want."

"Okay. Forever it is, then."

"Okay. Forever. Now let's continue this conversation in our tents. We don't want anyone to find us."

"Okay."

The two young geniuses walked back to camp side by side.