I do not claim any rights to Code Lyoko.

Duty Calls

There wasn't a worry in the world. Not this world, anyway. This world was warm, soft, pink, and nothing dared to disturb the peace Jeremie felt. He had given up control of his body to float in this wonderful place. Wave after wave of pink mist crashed over him, drowning him, and it was good.

And suddenly, she was there, right next to him. It was like she was sitting in mid-air; her green eyes were warm and bright as she smiled at him. His happiness was absolute now. She giggled, her laughter like music, and he sighed. As long as she stayed here, with him, Jeremie needed nothing else.

Beep-beep. Beep-beep. Beep-beep.

No...

Jeremie groaned and opened his eyes. His computer monitor was turned on, shedding light on the dorm room. The beeping wouldn't stop, and he pulled his pillow out from under his head to chuck it at the computer, even though Jeremie knew he had to get up. He tried to stretch, but something was wrapped around him, pulling him back down. His face was buried in something soft, something warm...

Aelita was curled tightly around him, not waking to the sound of the activated tower alert. Jeremie always set the volume low enough so it wouldn't wake anyone on the Boy's Dorm Level, and he'd become a light sleeper ever since the fight against Xana started. He carefully unwound her arms from his middle and sat up in bed, rubbing his eyes with his fists to shake off the sleep.

Aelita moaned quietly and reached out for the space behind him, where he had been laying down. Her arms found his other pillow and she held it to her chest. Jeremie grinned and tuned out the sound of the alert as he watched the sleeping girl. She had stayed up well past midnight working with him, but when he suggested she go to back to her room and get some rest, she'd asked if she could spend the night with him. The thought of holding Aelita for hours in his arms had made sleep a much more desirable option for Jeremie.

He tore his gaze away from her, trying to listen for any sounds of an attack. There were times when Xana only activated a tower so Aelita would come to Lyoko and didn't bother sending anything to Earth, and although they tried to ignore that kind of attack once, it resulted in a deadly polymorphic specter and a near-miss with the Scyphozoa. No, they couldn't wait for the virus to just give up.

But that didn't make waking up his girlfriend any easier. Jeremie took a moment to appreciate the girl who was sharing his bed tonight. Impossibly luscious pink hair, clear, soft skin, and his favorite smile in the world formed by her lips. He fought the urge to kiss her mouth; they had to go. But still, he couldn't bring himself to wake her.

And then, the self-doubts and fears started kicking in as sleep retreated even further. What if this time they didn't make it? What if they didn't even make it to the factory? What if she was injured? What if she was...Jeremie couldn't bring himself to think the word. He reconsidered waking her up at all; but could he really protect her from here? And Aelita would eventually wake up on her own, and when she realized he'd put the entire world in jeopardy for her safety...He adored the girl, but he thought that maybe Xana was a better bet than an angry Aelita.

A sharp scream pierced the air and Jeremie stiffly walked across the room to silence the alert. They would simply have to take the risk, and he trusted their friends implicitly when it came to his princess's well-being. He returned to the bed and leaned down to fix his hand in Aelita's hair and pressed a kiss to her temple, relishing the warm softness of the skin as he fingered her pink locks. That edgy feeling that this may be the last time he touched her gnawed at him all the while.

Her green eyes, cloudy from sleep, fluttered open halfway, giving Jeremie a pang of guilt at disturbing her slumber. Aelita smiled sleepily at him and cooed, thinking he had woken her up for a kiss, which would certainly fit in well with the dream she'd been having. Jeremie grinned sadly and pulled back to give her room to sit up.

"Sorry, Princess. Duty calls."

Sorry for lack of updates, and as far as I can see there won't be any new material for a while. This was a very old oneshot I dug up from maybe a year ago.