Hihihi! So this is a kind of sequel to "Merry Christmas, Darling." Basically just set in the same universe and taking place two months after it. TheVirtualWriter asked for a sequel for Jeremy and Aelita and I just couldn't say no to that. :) I hope you all enjoy this!
Disclaimer: I don't own Code Lyoko or anything else you may recognize.
Jeremy Belpois never quite understood the point of Valentine's Day. Everyone got all excited over it, and for what purpose? Buying overpriced gifts for their significant other? Whining, if they're single? It was nothing more than a commercial holiday created by those card, chocolate, and flower companies just so they could make money.
However, the genius knew Aelita, his girlfriend of 5 years now, loved the holiday. So for her, he'd always do something special on the day he found pointless. It was worth it just to see her smile.
This year was no different. Jeremy had the whole day planned out. In the morning, they'd go with all of their friends to the diner that served those heart-shaped waffles, like they did every year. They'd spend the morning laughing and talking and eating heart-shaped waffles, then they'd go to Jeremy's apartment (which was practically Aelita's apartment too) and watch some of Aelita's favorite romantic movies (which there were a lot of). The couple loved to just cuddle around and watch movies all the time, and Aelita loved "chick flicks", as Odd had always put it. Jeremy didn't mind the movies if they made Aelita happy, which they did. After their movie marathon, they'd go out to dinner at Aelita's favorite (expensive) restaurant. There, Jeremy would propose, as he'd been planning to for months.
The day started out just as planned. Aelita woke up in the morning and found Jeremy placing a red rose (her favorite flower) next to her pillow. When the young genius had realized that his sleeping beauty was no longer sleeping, he mildly blushed and gave the girl a shy grin.
"Happy Valentine's Day," he told Aelita, giving her a gentle kiss on the lips.
Aelita grinned. Valentine's Day was her favorite day of the whole year! (Besides Christmas, of course.) It was so full of romance and love and everything was perfect all day long. "Happy Valentine's Day," she replied.
Jeremy handed her the red rose. "I'm sorry I woke you. I was trying to be discreet."
Aelita giggled, as she always did when her boyfriend was embarrassed, and gave him a kiss on the cheek, accepting the rose. "Thank you, Jeremy! It's beautiful and I don't mind you waking me up. It means I get to spend time with you!" She wrapped her arms around her boyfriend. "So what are we doing today?"
Jeremy grinned as he replied, "First, you have to get dressed, so we can meet up with everyone at the diner and get some of those heart-shaped waffles you love so much!"
Aelita immediately got up and dashed to the dresser, smile still plastered to her face. She didn't know why she loved those waffles so much, but something about them just made her feel so happy all the time! They were a symbol of love.
About a half hour later, the couple entered the small diner, seeing their 4 best friends already seated at a booth near the back… the one they always sat at for their traditional waffles. Ulrich and Yumi were on one side of the booth, while William and Odd were seated on the other side. Odd was obviously going on about something, waving his hands all over the place of emphasis. William was giving him a confused look, like he usually did when Odd told a story, and tried to follow what the blond was saying. Ulrich laughed at Odd and put his two cents in whenever he felt necessary, keeping his arm around Yumi the whole time. Yumi smiled, occasionally rolling her eyes at the two of them. She and William repeatedly glanced at each other, as if silently discussing how dramatic Odd was, how snarky Ulrich was, and how the two really were the most immature idiots they knew (though they loved them just the same).
As Jeremy and Aelita made their way over to the four-some, holding hands as they did so, Odd stopped mid-sentence, "So she tells me that pickles—oh, Mr. and Mrs. Einstein are gracing us with their presence!" He laughed at his own joke, flashing a humorous grin at the couple that had just entered the diner.
"Ha-ha, you're hilarious as always, Odd," Jeremy dead-panned, sitting next to Ulrich, as Aelita took a seat next to Odd, so the two of them were sitting across from one another in the oversized booth.
"Happy Valentine's Day, everybody!" Aelita cheered, handing small boxes of candy hearts to everyone at the table.
"Aelita, do you know how disgusting these things are?" William mentioned jokingly. "They taste like chalk!"
"HEY! I like them!" Odd argued. "Thank you for the snack, Princess!" He gave the pink-haired girl a hug.
"Well, duh, you like anything edible, Odd," Ulrich stated. "You even eat things that aren't edible."
"That was ONE time, Ulrich!" the blond called as he pointed a finger at the brunet sitting across from him.
"Thank you for the treats, all the same, Aelita. It was very sweet of you," Yumi intervened, giving the other girl a smile, to prevent the inevitable stupid petty fight between the two boys.
"You're very welcome!" Aelita replied, giving her own smile in return.
The rest of their morning continued on like every Valentine's Day morning. They ate their food, laughed, and joked around. Yumi started talking to Aelita about hers and Ulrich's wedding, which was to be held in September, and Aelita realized how lucky she was to be able to be a part of their relationship. She had been there when they were friends, best friends, when Ulrich finally puckered up the courage to ask Yumi out, when the two of them moved in together, when they got engaged last Christmas, and now she'd be witnessing the couple get married. It was like a fairy tale, and she got to see the whole thing firsthand. She was more than happy for her two friends.
When breakfast was finally over, and Odd went to get ready for one of his many Valentine's dates, William went to work (he always had to work on Valentine's Day, since it wasn't an actual holiday), and Ulrich and Yumi went to celebrate their own Valentine's Day, Jeremy and Aelita went back to Jeremy's place, just like the young genius had planned. They watched movie after movie, until it was time for them to get ready for their dinner reservation.
Upon getting dressed and waiting for Aelita to finish doing her make-up in the bathroom, Jeremy grabbed the dark velvet box from the top of the tall dresser, where he knew Aelita'd never be able to find it. He shoved the box into the pocket of his pants, just as Aelita entered the room.
"I'm ready!" she called, spinning around to show off her flowing dress.
Jeremy stared at the beautiful girl. She looked so perfect all dressed up. Well, to him, she looked perfect regardless of what she wore (she could be in sweats and still look breathtaking). But there was no denying that she looked perfect tonight, dressed in that elegant yet simple pink dress.
"Jeremy…" Aelita snapped the young man out of his thoughts. She snapped her fingers for emphasis. "Are we leaving, Jeremy?"
Jeremy blushed and nodded his head frantically. It was moments like these that reminded Aelita of their teenaged years, when he could hardly speak around her at times.
The young woman smiled securely and grabbed her boyfriend's hand. "Then let's go!" she squealed, excited to get to dinner.
Throughout the entire dinner, Aelita kept talking and talking about how much she loved Valentine's Day. She loved the decorations all over the place, she loved how the atmosphere everywhere you went was full of love and adoration, she loved the smell of flowers and chocolates that seemed to fill the air continuously, she loved seeing couples everywhere. Basically she loved everything. Which Jeremy knew already, of course. But he wouldn't dare stop the love of his life from talking so passionately.
"I just love Valentine's Day!" she ended a particular topic of discussion. "Don't you, Jeremy?"
Jeremy nodded, and that was when he knew. He knew it was time. He dug the box out of his pocket and looked down at it, then up at Aelita one last time. He smiled brightly and stood up.
"What are you doing?" Aelita asked, confused.
Jeremy didn't respond, but got down on one knee instead. He took one of Aelita's hands in his, and showed her the engagement ring that was inside the velvet box. Aelita covered her mouth with her free hand in surprise.
"Aelita, I love you. I can't say it enough. I love how full of life you always are. I love how intelligent you are. I love how caring you are. I've loved you since I was 13-years-old. Will you do me the honor of making me the happiest man on earth and marry me?" Jeremy said his little speech that he'd worked on for days. It was short, sweet, and simple.
Aelita, who had tears in her eyes by this point, was speechless. She smiled brightly as she heard someone else in the restaurant yell, "Say yes!" She laughed, along with Jeremy and the other inhabitants of the restaurant, and nodded her head.
"Yes!" she squealed. "Of course I'll marry you, Jeremy!"
He hardly had time to put the ring on her finger before she flung her arms around him and gave him a kiss. Everyone else in the restaurant clapped and catcalled at the newly-engaged couple.
I hope everyone enjoyed this! I had fun writing it!
-Julia