"I cannot believe you talked me into this," I said.
"What's bad about double dating?" Aelita asked.
"Aside from the fact that it's cliche?" Ulrich said, making me point to him.
"Oh, hush you. We're all new to this whole dating scene except for Robert. And I wouldn't even call Emily much experience," Yumi said.
"For your example, I was good at setting up dates, thank you very much. At least when I had the time," I said in an as a matter of fact tone.
"Of course you did," Yumi said dryly, making me grin and roll my eyes at the same time. The others did the same, minus rolling their eyes. "Where are we heading anyway?"
"There's a fair that's going on, and it looks like we're going in that direction," Aelita said.
"You are absolutely correct," I said, kissing her on the cheek.
"At least there will be plenty of stuff to do there," Yumi said. "I'm not getting on a ride."
"What, are you scared Yumes?" I said with a teasing smile. She gave me her famous death glare, and if anything, my grin only got wider.
"You're either really brave or really masochistic to be able to smile at that death glare," Ulrich said.
"Probably both," Aelita said dryly.
"Her death glare is more adorable than dangerous. And I'm too amazing to be maimed, so I have no fear," I said with a grin.
"You wanna bet?" Yumi said, maintaining the glare. I laughed, and seconds later, her stare relented with a shake of her head. "You are something else, you know that?"
"You are just now realizing this?" I said with a grin.
"Not just realizing it. Just confirming it," Yumi said as we stepped in front of the fair.
"Lemme guess. Double date," the guy at the stand said. He looked to be in his twenties.
"How'd you guess?" I asked dryly.
"It's either that, one couple, families, or a big group of friends. I have had yet to meet to see a brother take her sister here or something revolves around family without parents," the man said.
"So basically you're very observant as to who comes in because you have nothing else to do," I said.
"That sums it up perfectly," the man said with a grin. "Four tickets is twenty bucks."
"I got it this time. For once, let me chip in for something," Yumi said, pulling out her wallet. "Let's not cater to the stereotype that men have to pay for everything." That statement made me nearly split my face with a grin.
"Why thank you Yumes," I said with a nod. "It's nice not being the one to always spend money."
"Your girlfriend's something else," the man said, taking the money.
"Got it backwards man. This is my girlfriend," I said, putting an arm around Aelita with a grin.
"She's mine," Ulrich said, doing the same with Yumi.
"Oh. Huh," he said, before handing us each a ticket. "Enjoy the fair."
"Try not to die of boredom," Ulrich said, making the man laugh lightly.
"I'll certainly try," he said.
"Now, where do you wanna go?" I asked Aelita.
"Let's try a couple of rides. That one there looks decent," she said, pointing at a ride called New Heights.
"I'd rather avoid the rides," Ulrich said.
"Vertigo?" I questioned, and he nodded. "That's fine. Just meet by the food court in a few minutes." The two of them nodded before Aelita pulled me over towards the ride."
"You do realized if I get to freaked, I'm going to grab you," Aelita said.
"You're going to grope me? You won't hear me complain," I said with a grin before she whacked me on the arm.
"Can you keep it under control for one minute while we're alone?" Aelita asked in an exasperated tone, but didn't pull away when I pulled her close.
"With you? Nope," I said with a grin before pulling her into a kiss. I quickly felt her respond before she wrapped her arms around my neck. I heard her give off a sound of pleasure when I deepened the kiss. My right hand then started to slowly trail down the side of her body.
"We move for thirty seconds and this is what you're doing," Ulrich said dryly. Me and Aelita pulled apart, and we saw that Ulrich and Yumi were staring at us.
"To defend what little innocence I have, he started it," Aelita said.
"Doesn't mean you have to agree," Yumi said.
"If you knew, you'd know why I do agree," Aelita said.
"It's in my bio to assert myself as a guy who can't keep his lips off his girl," I said.
"Yes, but twenty three out of twenty four hours of the day is a bit much," Ulrich said flatly. "Most of the time, we save that for private time."
"Who wants to wait?" Aelita said, making me grin.
"She's so much like me. I love it," I said.
"Oh, that's quite obvious from here," Yumi said dryly.
"Alright, we'll get on the ride," I said with a roll of my eyes before me and Aelita walked towards the ride. Maybe it was nice to have a little shame, but as things stand at this moment, I have absolutely none.
The ride itself was your typical rollercoaster; it was a set track with all kinds of twists and turns. It definitely got my heart pumping, and in a fun way that I liked. Lacking the fear that would've most likely been there had I not spent over a year fighting of an AI and nearly dying in the process twice.
"Happy thoughts. We don't need this taking a grim turn," I thought as we fully stepped off. But Aelita was still clinging to me, so I spoke aloud. "You ok?"
"That was so exciting I can barely walk straight," she said with a grin. Now I understood why she was holding on.
"You weren't scared?" I questioned.
"After what we've been through? It's a little hard for me to be truly scared by anything," Aelita said.
"Same here. Now we just have the..."
"Excuse me, but did you two perform at the Subdigitals concert?" a voice said, and we were suddenly approached by another couple, judging by their clasped hands.
"We did," Aelita said.
"And I can see you're on a date," the girl said with a grin as she looked at us holding hands.
"Yes. And if you don't mind, please make your point so we can get back to that," I said with a polite tone. I wasn't trying to be rude. I just wanted to get back to... ahem... business with my girlfriend.
"We just wanted to know if you two plan on doing more shows like that," the guy said.
"We do. We're into music for the long run. Just not right now at this moment," Aelita said with a pointed look.
"If you both do more things like that, the two of you could be stars," the girl said with a bright smile.
"That's where we plan we're going for," I said, the idea bringing a smile to my face.
"You'll definitely make it," the guy said with a bright smile before a phone was passed in his hand. "My girlfriend came over here wanting a picture, so do you mind?" I looked at Aelita, and she shook her head. I didn't mind too much myself either. Which was unusual for me cause I usually hate taking pictures.
"Sure. Why not?" I said before putting an arm around Aelita, and unlike most situations, I didn't need to force a smile. Considering who I had under my arm, leaning on my shoulder with a bright smile, it did wonder for my ability to actually smile for the camera.
We rode on a few more rides after we took the pictures before meeting up in the food court. I gave Yumi and Ulrich pointed looks when both of their hairstyles were more disheveled than normal. And they had the nerve to judge me. I still grinned though.
"Wanna hear something crazy?" Aelita asked.
"Probably won't surprise me," I said as me and Ulrich sat down with food in our grasps. I grabbed a big platter of nachos for me and Aelita, while he grabbed wings for him and Yumi. We all already grabbed our own drinks.
"You wanna bet?" Aelita questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"Hit me," I said, taking a sip of my soda.
"If Ulrich was unavailable, you would've been the next one Yumi would've came after," Aelita said casually making me and Ulrich's eyes widened. I swallowed a bit of my drink too fast, and I didn't spit it out, but I did end up coughing uncontrollably right after. Both her and Yumi were grinning wide while I was blinking out tears.
"Oh, ha ha. Good joke. Not gonna lie. It did surprise me," I said with a roll of my eyes once I recovered.
"Wasn't a joke," Yumi said evenly, looking me dead in the eye. My eyes widened again.
"Seriously?" I questioned.
"Besides Ulrich, you were the only guy I remotely liked, much less tolerated. Everyone else at Kadic was kinda shallow," Yumi said, grabbing a wing.
"What about Odd?" I questioned with a cheeky grin.
"He's like a brother, but considering I have only Hiroki to compare, that's not necessarily the greatest example," Yumi said with a wide grin, making us all laugh. I then looked to Ulrich.
"I know what you're going to ask. No, I didn't really look at Aelita. I figured either you or Jeremy was going to lock her down. Not gonna say I would say no if she asked," Ulrich said with a bright grin, making both girls roll their eyes.
"Personally, I did see you two hooking up after Emily was out of the picture. Besides the fact that she had almost a personal vendetta against her even when you didn't. After all, you two are very similar," Aelita said.
"How so?" Yumi asked.
"For one, you're both stubborn as hell. It's a good thing you two never fight, because it'd be like World Wars if you did. You're both stubborn as hell," Aelita said.
"I am not!" me and Yumi said at the same time, causing us to look at each other.
"You both have got a fondness for black clothing," Ulrich noted.
"Black is-" We cut each other off as we began talking at the exact same time. Both Aelita and Ulrich grinned wider.
"You both have a serious love of kicking ass," Ulrich also said.
"It's what I- Can you stop doing that?!" we said at the same time, making Ulrich laugh loudly while Aelita fell into a pit of giggles. We both sighed in an exasperated fashion while shaking our heads.
"Besides, your security is enough to match Yumi's insecurity," Aelita said, taking a sip of her drink.
"What do you mean by that?" I asked before crunching on a chip.
"Because as we all know, Yumi has a habit of feeling threatened when any girl bumps into any of her relationships with. Platonic or romantic. No offense Yumes," Aelita said kindly before Yumi opened her mouth.
"We're aware of this," Ulrich said, causing Yumi to glare at him. He just grinned apologetically.
"But the thing with Robert is that he absolutely knows what he wants. And he has no issue reminding people of that fact," Aelita said with a fond smile.
"I made out with her in front of all of the cafeteria so all girls got the hint I was taken. Jeremy was in his room, so it's not like I felt guilty doing it," I said with a shrug.
"Anyway, I could see that a girl would try and come onto you, you'd tell her you were taken, but Yumi would glare at her in a way that would scare death itself. She'd be broody, you'd grab her, hold her close and tell her she has nothing to fear. She'd soften in your arms from hearing how sincere your are and then kiss you," Aelita explained, making all three of us frown slightly as I lowered my glass slowly. She thought about this a little TOO much.
"Um... you got something to tell me?" I asked.
"Well, let's call it a false prediction that I made. And spent a little too much time thinking about it," Aelita said.
"More like a lot. Yumi's amazing, but you. You I know like the back of my hand. You I feel a deep connection to. Trust me, once upon a time it might've happened, but not in this timeline," I explained to her, holding her hand in mine. And those three words were right on the tip of my tongue. But no. Not here. They felt right to say, but... I don't know what was holding me back.
"You're also hopelessly sweet beyond that rough and tough exterior," Aelita said with a smile before kissing me on the cheek.
"And that sweetness is usually squashed by how horny he is," Yumi said dryly.
"Hey, if I like it, I tend to..." I gave Aelita a suggestive look while looking at her up and down. She blushed when I licked my lips. "...overindulge."
"Calm down. People eat on this table," Yumi said dryly, making us all grin.
"Alright, I'll squash my lust for now. This'll definitely work. How about we discuss Ulrich and Aelita in a relationship?" I questioned, making Ulrich roll his eyes as I grinned cheekily.
"Is it that horrifying?" he questioned.
"No. If it's not me sucking the moisture off her lips, I'm not the biggest fan," I said casually as Aelita turned even more red.
"Your brilliant imagery never fails to astound," Ulrich said dryly, making me chuckle.
"Alright, alright. For real though. In all honesty, I think you two would do really well," I said.
"Seriously?" Aelita asked.
"Yeah. I mean, the thing with Ulrich is that he does tend to brood when something really hits home, but I know Aelita. She has this insatiable instinct that lets her know when something's bothering someone and she will press with all the kindness of an angel, but the firmness of steel itself. I'd say it's a good counter," I explained.
"As for Ulrich? Beyond the broody mood, there's a bit of passion behind there. Speaking if Aelita hadn't really met Robert, or I guess even if she still did, that passion could break that somewhat shy exterior. She'd still be Aelita, but she'd still not be afraid to show what Aelita is all about. So yeah. You two could work," Yumi explained.
"I think just about all of us in relationship could work, as weird as that might sound. It would just take time and effort. Some more than others," Aelita said, bringing the proverbial elephant that's been in our group for the past couple of days.
"Yeah. Still, I have no regrets," I said.
"Neither do I," Yumi, Ulrich, and Aelita said. We rode out the rest of the meal in a mutual and thoughtful silence.
"After making the Supercomputer, I suppose teaching at a University is below my standards, but it's better than nothing," Franz said.
"I'm just glad you found something dad," Aelita said.
"Me too. But until I get a decent paycheck, I'll be using the factory as my living space. I don't mind all that much," Franz said as he sat up from the little cot he was sitting on. "Something you wanted to ask me?"
"We mostly wanted to just visit you, but I do have one question," I said.
"Ask away," Franz said.
"How was I able to deactivate towers on Lyoko? And I was able to restore Aelita's memory as well without your help, or at least to my knowledge I didn't have your help," I told him. A thoughtful expression crossed his face.
"I have purely guesswork. But my guess is that because you didn't come to this dimension in the real world and you arrived through Lyoko, it's possible Lyoko saw you as another key keeper," Franz said.
"Another keeper of the keys? But... didn't you specifically design it to where you and Aelita were the only ones?" I questioned.
"Not necessarily. I designed it to where the first transfer subjects would hold the keys. There might be different abilities, but the ultimate ability to access Lyoko's mainframe would be the same. Since you were tied to the keys, it's only reasonable that you would've had the ability to restore her memory as well," Franz explained. "It's only guesswork. Very on the fly guesswork, but..."
"It does still make sense," I said with a thoughtful expression.
"In many ways, your arrival here benefited to many things. Not just what you could do through Lyoko, but what you could do for everyone that will have a life long meaning. Friends. Relationships the case of you two," Franz said with a twinkle in his eyes that made the both of us smile. "Not only am I asking you to take care of my daughter. I'm asking you both to take care of each other."
"After everything we've been through, you'd have to break us apart for us not to do that," I told him. "It hasn't changed the last time you asked, and it never will."
"I just want you both to be certain," Franz said kindly. Fatherly. The voice made me smile wider. "So what did you both do today?"
"Went to the fair. We had a fun time. We also took some pictures. And I think I'm slowly getting over pictures," I said with a shake of my head.
"You look so cute in pictures," Aelita said.
"I don't do cute," I said with a pointed look.
"Now you do," Aelita said with a grin as she fondly patted my cheek. I moved her hand off my face with a shake of my head.
"Still no," I said. I was still grinning.
"What pictures did you take?" Franz asked.
"I never thought I would carry wallet pictures, but you never say never I suppose," I said, taking out my wallet.
One of the pictures was one of the four of us smiling with our arms around each other. Another was one with me and Aelita in the middle of a kiss. Was the picture cheesy? Yes. Still loved it.
Another was me and Ulrich with the both of us bunny earring each other, but to add another layer of nerd, we were both raising the Vulcan salute. I regretted nothing. And the last one I took was one with Yumi. I had an arm around her waist and she had one around mine, the both of us were smiling wide. But our free hands were out in front of us in a kung fu "come here" type of pose. It was a pose we both readily agreed on.
"The others took some photos of their own as well, but those are the ones I took. Before that... this was the only one I had in my wallet," I said, showing him the picture of all of us in front of the factory, arms around each other with wide grins. It was the one I was given to on Christmas. Just made in a smaller format.
"You've got you some lifelong friends," Franz said, staring at the photos as I flipped through them.
"Yes. We do," Aelita said as we shared a smile.
A/N: Alright, now things will stop being a continuation and we're going to flash forward a couple years next up. There's not to much I can fill in other than dates and other people watching how the group functions without having to deal with XANA. We're not going to get straight into what I have planned, but we are coming up on it. I hope you guys enjoy that.
