She awoke in a daze.
It took her a few moments to register that she wasn't in a familiar setting. Whit ceiling, blue walls, a bed surrounded by monitors displaying numbers and statuses, horrendous decor.
Yes, this was indeed a hospital.
But what was she doing in a hospital? She was in a hospital gown, but her clothes were next to her bed, so she doubted she'd been their long.
She tried to recall what events led to this as best she could.
It had been a month. An entire month. A month since the destruction of XANA. A month of no life threatening missions. A month of no dangers to the safety of the planet.
Needless to say, the five of them were still getting used to things.
She and the others were sitting together at the park outside of school after classes had ended. Not having to save the world every other day left them with a considerable amount of free time.
Jeremie, Aelita, Ulrich, and Yumi all sat at a table in the park, and the ever bombastic Odd was telling them 'the funniest joke of all time.'
"And then I said 'that's no aardvark! That's my wife!'" He concluded excitedly.
No one laughed.
"Well, clearly some people don't appreciate good comedy." He said, irritated.
"Yeah, and one of them is right in front of us." Ulrich quipped.
Now, that got some laughs.
"So, what's everyone doing later?" Yumi asked.
"Assuming comedy clubs are out of the question," Jeremy began, getting a sour look as a response from Odd, "Aelita and I are going to be working on upgrading her synthesizers for a concert."
A small blush graced both their faces as they glanced at each other for a moment.
Yumi caught the glance and smiled at them. 'They are so obvious' she thought.
While on the thought of those two, her eyes found their way to Ulrich who was snickering probably thinking the same thing as Yumi. She found herself confused on the subject of her and Ulrich yet again. Were they friends, or…? She liked him to be sure, but she was comfortable with what they already had. Did she really want to take the next step? She didn't think so, once upon a time, but now, she wasn't so sure.
"What about you, Yumi?" Aelita asked, snapping Yumi out of her state of thought.
"Oh, just staying at home. My parents are going to a party, which can only mean they'll pass out and spend the night at whoever's house they're at. And since Hiroki will be at a friend's house, it'll be just me." She said.
"Same here. Quiet night at home." Said Ulrich.
Unfortunately, Odd started snickering, which of course meant he was about to say something that would undoubtedly make Ulrich vary upset.
"Shouldn't be lying to your friends, Ulrich!" he blurted.
Ulrich blushed and looked angrily at Odd. "Zip it, Oddball!" he demanded.
"I don't see what you're getting mad at me for! You should've known I couldn't keep a secret this juicy!"
"What's he talking about, Ulrich?" Asked Jeremie, just as interested in what was going on as the others.
"Odd, if you-"
"Ulrich's got a date!"
"Ooh, and why wouldn't you want us to know about this?" Aelita asked.
"She's from another school. And you know how Millie and Tamia treat stuff like this. I wasn't planning on telling anyone, but my nosey roommate happened to listen in on my phone calls."
Everyone was chuckling at the revelation.
Everyone but Yumi, of course. Ulrich was going out with another girl. Again. She was a little more than upset.
Not that she'd ever admit it.
Ulrich chased down Odd with the intent on breaking up his purple with some black and blue while Jeremie and Aelita watched, and all Yumi could do is sit there and be jealous. She knew they liked each other. So why was she so afraid to let Ulrich in? She hated it when he went out with other girls, but she wasn't giving him much choice.
Thoughts like this plagued her mind for the rest of their outing, and continued to do so until she had returned home.
Ulrich was probably out with that girl. Was it possible to hate someone you'd never met? She'd probably come as close as you could get, she mused. She couldn't stand it. She knew he must've felt the same way every time she went out with a boy. Of course, she hadn't done that in a very long time. She didn't like other boys. Why couldn't she just open up to Ulrich?
Her thoughts raced, and her mind was wracked with jealousy. She didn't notice when the stove alarm go off. She barely registered the smoke alarm going off. And she had a little trouble thinking as she passed out.
She passed out. Must've been smoke inhalation.
Ugh, I feel so stupid. She thought. Getting so worked up over something that upon further consideration was pretty trivial. Actually, petty would be the right word. Yes, petty.
Ugh, she couldn't believe what had happened. She wondered what happened to her house. Oh, goodness, what would her parents say. She would be grounded for life if they- no. If there's one thing she didn't need right now, it was more stress on her mind.
"Ah, you're awake." She heard a voice and looked to the door. A man in a white coat had entered the room, presumably her doctor. "No need for alarm, you just passed out from lack of oxygen. The fire was small enough to contain, and there wasn't any permanent damage to your home. Still, it's lucky that young man happened on your before the fire spread."
That caught her by surprise. "Young man?"
"Yes. He said he was on his way to your home when he saw smoke coming from your kitchen window. He called the police to alert the fire department. If he hadn't shown up, things could have been much worse. He's been waiting for you, is he your boyfriend?"
"No, I don't-" Yumi wanted to correct him, but it dawned on her who he was talking about, and suddenly the question became very, very complicated.
"Well, I'll tell him you're alright. Your parents unfortunately couldn't be contacted, however, do you have anyone to escort you home?"
"Uh, could you send the boy who called? He can take me home."
"Hmm. Well, alright. But be sure to hurry home, it's getting awfully late for two young people to be out." The doctor exited the room and Yumi was left with her thoughts. Why was Ulrich coming to her house? Wasn't he supposed to be out with that girl? Her mind began producing jealous thoughts, and her face contorted in anger.
Until he walked in.
She was mad at him, so why did everything feel better when he was there?
"Yumi…" Ulrich stood in the doorway, a look of relief on his face. "You know, just because the saying is 'a low flame over a long period', doesn't mean you wait until the food catches fire."
"Ha. Your sense of humor is impeccable." She replied humorlessly.
Ulrich grabbed a chair and sat down next to Yumi's bed. "So, what happened?" he asked.
Yumi blushed. "I, uh, was a little distracted while cooking."
"Uhuh, so I gathered. At what?"
"I, uh, don't quite remember. Anyway, what about you? They said you were on your way to my house?"
"Yeah, my date didn't go so well."
"Really?" Yumi asked. It was then that she noticed something she hadn't before. Ulrich's cheek was red and slightly swollen.
"Yeah, after the movie her ex showed up and got a good shot at my face."
"Oh, wow. Are you alright?"
"I'm fine. As for her ex, he didn't last too long."
"Huh, guess all that practice payed off."
"Yeah, but not in every way. After I wiped the floor with him, she started calling me a bully. Turns out she was using me to make him jealous."
"Huh, and you just had to tell someone about it?"
"You were my first choice."
"I'm honored."
The two sat in silence for a few moments. It was then that Ulrich stood up. "Well, I'll let you get dressed so we can leave." He began to make his way toward the door, but stopped just before leaving.
"…No." he said.
"Ulrich?"
"No, I-I can't do this anymore." He turned to Yumi. "Yumi, I'm sick of this."
Yumi looked at him with shock. "Ulrich… sick of what?"
"This! Us! We- Yumi, what are we?"
Yumi blushed, and her brow furrowed. "Friends. That's what we decided."
"That's what you decided. And I went along with it, but I just can't…!" He walked up to Yumi's bed. "Yumi, I love you. I loved you when we first met, and I love you know. And, I always thought you loved me too, and maybe you don't anymore, but I have to know. 'Cause I refuse to wait one more minute without a definite answer."
Yumi was stunned. So much so that she couldn't speak. She could only look at Ulrich with scared eyes.
Tears began to brim in Ulrich's eyes. "Fine. I guess that's it." he said. He began to head for the door again.
"Wait!" Yumi called, and Ulrich stopped.
He turned to see Yumi's face stained with tears, and her face scrunched in anger.
"Turn around, but don't leave." Ulrich did as he was told. He heard shuffling, and assumed she'd gotten out of bed.
After another few moments of silence, he felt arms wrap around his waist. He blushed as he felt Yumi's head resting against the back of his.
"Uhh, Yumi, are you-"
"I got dressed, you idiot." She said sternly. "I admit it, alright. I love you too. And I'm just as sick of this as you. Sick of seeing other guys. Sick of you seeing other girls. I just can't… I never believed in the kind of fairy tale romance you see in books and films. I didn't believe in love… until I met you."
Her tears continued to flow. "I didn't want to open myself up, to seem vulnerable. But I'm tired of fighting it. Do you know the real reason that fire started?"
"…How?"
"I was so caught up in how jealous and angry and confused about this I was that I didn't even notice my house catch fire. So understand that I know what you're talking about."
Yumi continued to cry, until Ulrich turned to face her. Looking into her tear filled eyes, he could only act on impulse. Cupping her face, Ulrich planted his lips on hers in a passionate kiss, one that was returned in full by her.
After a moment, they broke the kiss, and Ulrich spoke. "Yumi, we stopped fighting Xana, so maybe we can stop fighting our feelings too."
Yumi looked into Ulrich's eyes. "I'd like that."