Yumi had Aelita's first night at her home completely planned out. She was sure she was going to have a great experience, Aelita really deserved this, and by the time the doorbell rang Yumi was filled with excitement. "Is it your boyfriend~?" Hiroki asked from behind her, wiggling his eyebrows in her direction.

She made a warning face at him and he raised his hands in compromise, "Okay, okay, sis. It's just that you look really excited."

"My friend is coming over - be nice to her, you hear? I don't need—" The doorbell rang again, cutting Yumi off. Hiroki shrugged again and wandered off in the direction of the living room. Yumi opened the door, greeted by Aelita and— "Odd? What are you doing here?"

He wiggled his fingers at her. Aelita frowned and said, in that careful way she had when she was sure she'd done something wrong by rules she didn't quite understand, "You said we'd be bonding like family - and I know Odd isn't really my family, but we're supposed to be cousins…"

"And you wouldn't leave me out on the street the whole night, would you, Yumi?" Odd asked, grinning. It was then that she noticed their overnight bags.

"You're not planning to stay here the whole summer, are you?"

"I'm hurt," Odd clutched a hand to his chest in mock pain. "But no, my flight's been changed to tomorrow afternoon. My poor little diggity dog had to go ahead on his own. I hope he's okay…"

So much for a girls' night, Yumi thought. She loved Odd, she really did, but in short doses that usually involved distractions like XANA's monsters or saving the world. He was just so — so, Odd. She sighed.

"I'll go tell my parents your flight was changed and you need somewhere to stay."

By the time they had finished dinner, where Odd ate half his weight in food to the awe of Hiroki and growing horror of her parents, Yumi was starting to rethink her decision. But Odd had a subtle way of cutting in whenever her mother's questions toward Aelita got too personal, and he and Yumi had traded off distractions through-out the whole meal. She was grateful that she hadn't had to do it all alone.

"Your family is really nice, Yumi," Aelita said, smiling as they took dishes into the kitchen.

"Yeah!" Odd added, trying to balance all of his plates at once, "And they cook good food, too!"

Yumi's mother laughed politely, giving Yumi a slightly disconcerted glance over Odd's head that Yumi returned with a shrug. She directed them towards the sink, and after they had all stacked their dishes and turned to leave, she said, "Yumi, can I speak to you for a moment, dear?"

Odd and Aelita headed out into the living room while Yumi hung behind. Her mother wiped her hands dry and continued, frowning, "We have some blankets and an extra pillow in the closet we can lay out for your friend; he can sleep in the living room. I just think you're a little too old to be having sleepovers with a boy."

An enthusiastic yell came from the other room, followed by Hiroki saying, "Hey! Give me back my game!" and Odd answering "—but I just beat the boss for you! Who is the greatest, the best, the magnificent—" as Aelita giggled.

"He's quite energetic, isn't he," Yumi's mother finished, dryly.

Yumi just smiled helplessly.

Odd was the one who suggested the pillow fort, when Yumi pulled the blankets from the hall closet. Aelita had never heard of such a thing, and by the time Odd finished explaining his own creations from the past, Yumi had her doubts.

"We are not leaving my parents' house a complete and total mess."

"Come on, didn't you ever build a pillow fort when you were little?" Odd wrapped the blanket around himself like a cape, standing up and striking a pose. "Aelita deserves all the childhood joys she was apparently deprived of! It's a crime!"

At the look on Aelita's face Odd quickly backtracked, "I mean, I'm sure living with your parents was very nice and everything, I just meant—"

"I know what you meant, Odd," Aelita said. Odd and Yumi shared a glance. They hadn't talked to Aelita about Franz Hopper — or her mother, Yumi realized, with a jolt — since Aelita had gotten her memories back.

Yumi looked at Aelita, who was smiling carefully, and said, "Okay, hand me the end of the blanket."

They barely all fit into the space, even with Aelita smushed in-between the two of them, Odd teasing her by pressing his gross toes against her pink sock-clad feet. The fort reminded Yumi of reading under the covers late at night, trying to fool her parents when they used to check on her before going to bed. It was a completely ridiculous and completely silly thing to do, but she felt herself relaxing. It was fun.

"So Yumi," Odd said once they were settled, his tone deceptively light and conversational. "When are you going to tell Ulrich that you're completely in love with him?"

"Odd!" She shouted, and shoved him, which almost made one of the sides of their fort cave in on them.

"What," he whined, rubbing his shoulder. "I thought sleepovers come with girl talk!"

"Well what about you, Odd?" Aelita asked, a mischievous grin on her face. "What girl are you crazy about this week? Or should we ask about what happened with the mysterious Sam I keep hearing about~"

"Hey! That's— That's private."

Yumi and Aelita shared a grin. She smoothed a hand through the younger girl's hair in a silent thanks, as Odd looked away and blushed, moving the conversation on to less touchy topics. And Yumi found herself relaxing more and more, laughing at Odd's weird jokes and listening in when they started talking about music, then commiserating over the teachers and all the homework she and Odd had fallen behind on. It was nice, hanging out with the two of them outside of anything XANA had in store for them, safe here in her living room under a tent of blankets. Comforting.

"Yumi?" Aelita said quietly, voice fading in near her ear. "Did you fall asleep?"

"A-a little," she yawned.

"I think Odd's asleep too." Aelita patted her hand and Yumi could hear the smile in her voice. "Thanks for having me over, Yumi. I really do …. I really feel at home, here."

"Anytime, Aelita," Yumi said. Anytime. They were her family, after all, the four of them.

"Sleep well, Yumi," Aelita whispered, as she dozed back off into a peaceful dream.

In the morning, Yumi woke up to the sound of Odd teaching Hiroki Break, Break, Break Dance. She grabbed for a pillow to cover her aching ears and accidentally pulled the whole fort down on top of herself.