Late July
Sparring with an Audience
It was Saturday morning and Yumi woke up early. Picking up her phone, she groaned when she saw that there was about a half hour before her alarm went off. Not enough time to get back to sleep, but enough that missing it was going to be noticeable, especially after staying up late talking to Ulrich again. She also saw that she had a message from Xavier.
Yumi's groaned and swung her legs over the side of the bed with an accompanying yawn. After shaking her head in an attempt to get rid of the grogginess, she checked the message.
'Would it be ok if I watched you and Sissi sparring sometime? I've always thought that martial arts were pretty cool. That, and I'd like to meet your friends, if that's ok with you.'
Yumi didn't mind so she sent a message to Sissi.
'Would you care if Xavier comes to sparring to watch?'
Standing up, she stretched and started to get changed when her phone buzzed with Sissi's reply.
'Talking with Odd, call in 15 min?'
Yumi smiled, thinking about when Sissi told her how the two of them put so much effort into their relationship before she sent her own reply.
'That's fine.'
Yumi finished getting dressed headed downstairs. The scent of tea being brewed alerted her that someone was already up too. Yumi headed to the kitchen to see who it was.
"Morning Yumi!" Her mother greeted. "You're up early for a Saturday."
"Yeah, I just kinda woke up on my own."
"Would you like some tea?" She offered cheerfully.
Yumi thought about it for a moment. "Actually, I think I'm going to need coffee this morning."
Akiko narrowed her eyes in concern. "I hope your insomnia isn't coming back."
"No... it's my own fault. I stayed up too late." Yumi said with a yawn.
"Yumi..." Akiko scolded gently. "You know better than that. Were you on the phone again?"
"Yeah..." Akiko smirked, incorrectly assuming that it was Xavier that Yumi had been talking to.
Ring ring ring ring
Yumi's phone started ringing and she pulled it out. "It's Sissi," she informed her mother and answered it. Walking up the stairs back to her room, she was grateful for her friend's timing and told Sissi to give her a minute.
"I'm going to make you some coffee and put it in a to-go mug. After that, I'm going to the store." Akiko called out from the kitchen.
"Thanks mom, I'll see you later! Don't forget that I'm headed out to do more work on the project with Xavier later." Yumi answered back before shutting her door.
Sitting down at her desk, Yumi put the phone to her ear. "Morning Sissi, what's up?"
"Morning," Her friend greeted in return, though not very cheerfully. "I don't have any problem with Xavier watching, but first I think I need to know some things because I'd rather not put my foot in mouth!"
"Huh?" Yumi grunted in confusion. "Like what?"
"Like are you dating? Friends? Or what? You've told me that you two have had a couple more dates since the first one went well, but other than that You've been pretty quiet on the subject."
Yumi thought for a second before answering. "I guess we're just friends that have gone on a few dates, but that's all for now."
"Ok, now how about Aelita? Have you mentioned her at all, or about her past? I just want to make sure that our story lines up."
Yumi was starting to get frustrated with the interrogation, but she conceded that this one was important. "I told him that Aelita's an orphan and Jeremy helped her get enough scholarships to attend Kadic after they met online. He also knows that they're now engaged." Yumi paused before irritatingly adding, "anything else?"
"Hmm." Sissi seemed to think for a moment before asking quietly, "does he know about your history with Ulrich...?"
Yumi squirmed in her seat. "No... just that we've been really good friends for a long time."
Yumi heard Sissi sigh. "You know if this goes anywhere, you're going to have to tell him about it, and you're probably not going to be able to talk to Ulrich as much as you do now." She seemed even less cheerful than before for some reason, but Yumi was more irritated with the implication of her words and groaned audibly.
"Another lecture about boundaries?" She said with an eye roll.
"No, simple practicality. You'll have a relationship to work on and probably won't have the time," Sissi retorted, and Yumi's stomach knotted at the undeniable possibility of cutting down on her phone-time with Ulrich. Still, she attempted to shrug it off in the name of 'moving on.'
"I guess if that's the case, then so be it." Yumi heard Sissi sigh again before she replied.
"Ok then. Anyway, go ahead and tell Xavier that he's welcome to watch, and I'll see you shortly."
"Bye." Yumi hung up the phone and took a moment to wonder about Sissi's odd behavior. She definitely wasn't happy about something. Yumi hoped that there her and Odd weren't having issues, but whatever it was Yumi assumed that it wasn't her business, so she put it out of her mind. After scrolling down to his name, she sent a message to Xavier.
'Yeah that's fine. Do you know where Kadic Academy is?
A minute later, her phone buzzed.
'Yes'
'Meet me at the front gates when you can this morning.' Yumi instructed and headed out.
When she arrived at Kadic, Xavier was already there.
"Morning, Yumi!"
"Morning!" She greeted in return before he walked up and gave her a hug. He'd kissed her cheek at the end of each previous date, but this was the first time he'd gotten this close and Yumi kinda liked it... even if he was a bit on the skinny side.
After they broke the hug, Xavier asked, "why did you have me meet you here?"
"Sissi's father is the principal here, and he lets us use the gym when it's not being used for class. He also knows me because I went here too," Yumi explained. "Come on." She led him to the gym and entered to find Sissi already there stretching.
"Morning guys. You must Xavier." She greeted, coming out of a lunge. She walked over and held her hand out to offer him a handshake. She was acting more cheerful than earlier, but for some reason Yumi thought it still felt off... like she was faking it.
"Yep, that's me." Xavier replied, shaking the hand that was offered while Yumi started doing some warm-ups herself. A few minutes later, the two girls squared off and their audience was forgotten.
They started off rather lightly, which was their usual, before they really started getting into it. Even though Yumi didn't really know how to use Abrazare, she had certainly faced it enough in the last several months to know what to avoid. Even so, Sissi's mix of that and Pencak Silat, combined with her size advantage made her a fearsome opponent. Yumi, on the other hand, had real combat experience and could channel her old Lyoko battle ferocity in a way that Sissi couldn't match. They quickly escalated the intensity and were furiously punching, chopping, kicking, and dodging, with Sissi attempting to grapple when opportunity struck. Sometimes it was Yumi that came out on top, sometimes it was Sissi. Regardless of who was winning the current bout, the whole spectacle had Xavier completely slack-jawed and rather intimidated.
The two girls were going at it pretty consistently for about an hour before Yumi fell victim to a particularly brutal throw, immediately followed by her managing to catch Sissi in the stomach with a well-placed kick from the ground preventing any follow-up attacks. Sissi dropped to a knee and struggling to catch her breath, while Yumi rolled onto her back and did the same for a few minutes.
"Want to call that last one a draw?" Sissi joked.
Yumi grinned. "Yeah, sounds good to me. I think I've gotten beat up enough for one day."
Sissi chuckled and helped Yumi to her feet. "Yeah, me too."
"You guys are really good! How long have you been doing this?" The girls had completely forgotten about their spectator!
Sissi smirked and responded first. "Thanks. It's quite a rush!"
"Yeah, it certainly is!" Exclaimed Yumi. "I started when I was in elementary school."
"I started in early high school in an attempt to impress Ulrich." Yumi felt a knot form in her stomach as Xavier looked at her.
"Your friend Ulrich?" He asked.
Yumi was about to answer, but Sissi beat her to it. "Yeah. I had a major crush on him for years, but he was never interested in me." Yumi's knot got even tighter. "Eventually I gave up on him and ended up falling for his roommate!" She laughed. "It's funny, if someone would have told me back then that I was going to end up marrying the guy I would have had them committed!"
Yumi let out a small sigh of relief as Sissi smoothly covered, and Xavier laughed. "Yeah, Yumi told me that you two couldn't stand each other for the longest time, what changed?"
"Something happened, and he reached out to me. We became friends after that, and eventually fell in love," she said tenderly. "Don't bother asking what that thing was, because that's between him and me. Even my own Maid of Honor," she gestured to Yumi, "doesn't know the whole story."
Xavier grinned widely at the sentimental story. "That's sweet."
"Well, we've got to go get cleaned up," said Yumi, addressing Xavier, "but I'll meet you at the school later like we planned."
"Would you like me to give you a ride home?" Xavier offered, but Yumi was not going to let Sissi see her in pink riding gear, no matter what. She would never hear the end of it!
"It's nice of you to offer, but I really need a shower and I don't think you want me to get your sister's gear all gross."
"Umm... ok, fair enough. Same place at the library then?"
Yumi grinned slightly. "Yes. I'll see you there."
The three of them left the building and Xavier parted from the girls.
"Well, he definitely seems to like you," Sissi remarked. "What about you?"
"He's a very nice guy," Yumi answered.
"That doesn't answer my question," Sissi huffed. "Let's put it a different way: if he asked you out officially, what would you say?"
"I'd probably say yes." Yumi replied flatly, starting to get a little irritated with Sissi's pestering.
"Ok then," Sissi said. She definitely agreed that Xavier seemed like a very nice guy but didn't really see much chemistry between him Yumi. Figuring that probing further would probably really get on Yumi's nerves, she let it go. The rest of the walk was uneventful and the two spent their remaining time together talking about fighting techniques.
Arriving home, Yumi' found a note on the counter saying that her parents were out and apparently Hiroki had finally asked Milly on a date and they were out to lunch! She marveled at how those two moved even slower than Jeremy and Aelita! Yumi headed upstairs to draw up a bath and soak her aching muscles, just another part of her Saturday routine. Finishing the bath, she got dressed and left before anyone got home.
Meeting Xavier in the Library on campus, the two got to work on their project like usual, but Xavier seemed kinda spacey again, similar to how he was before asking Yumi out on their first date. Like before, a couple hours later Yumi just had to find out what was going on.
"Is something wrong?"
"No, why do you ask?" Like before, his reply came a bit rushed.
"It just seems like there's something on your mind. You seem to be having a hard time focusing."
Xavier blushed. "Ok... there is something..."
"Alright... What is it?" Yumi asked, propping her elbow on the table they were working at.
Xavier took a deep breath before speaking slowly. "Would you... would you go out with me?"
Remembering her walk with Sissi earlier, Yumi couldn't help but chuckle slightly at the timing before giving her answer, "yes, I would." Xavier's face lit up and his smile practically reached his ears.
"Great!" He exclaimed while Yumi grinned slightly at his excitement. "Could I ask you something else?"
"Sure."
"After we leave here, would you like to head to my place? I can make us dinner and then maybe we can watch a movie." Yumi leered at him suspiciously. "I know what that look is for," he said confidently, "and I promise I won't pressure you into anything that you're not comfortable with." He leered right back at her in a teasing sort of way. "That includes coming to my place. We can do something else if you want."
"That's just because you know I can kick your butt." Yumi joked, trying to tease him back. Xavier, on the other hand dropped the grin and looked suddenly serious.
"I know you can, but that's not why," he began and Yumi tilted her head to the side in curiosity. "It's because I respect you. You're smart, pretty, independent, and very strong. I consider myself very lucky that you accepted my request to be your boyfriend.
Yumi blinked a few times. She was completely taken aback by his compliments, his declaration of no-pressure, and the fact that her and Xavier were really boyfriend and girlfriend now really sank in. It felt a bit strange now that it was official, but she figured that would wear off. Still, she was even more reassured about his intentions than before, so she smiled.
"You know what, I'd love to have dinner at your place," she told him and the large smile he had earlier returned. She got her phone out and messaged her mom telling her that she was going to be out a bit later to keep her from worrying, and then the two of them worked on their group project for about another hour before calling it quits for the afternoon.
They headed out and put their school stuff in the compartment that Xavier stored the hated protective gear and they were on their way after suiting up for riding. At the end of another mildly unpleasant ride they arrived at a nice-looking apartment complex.
"Here we are, home sweet home," Xavier said guiding Yumi to his door. He opened it and let her in first and for a brief moment she had a feeling of panic and Deja Vu when she heard Xavier shut and lock the door behind them. She whirled around to see him just about to start taking off his jacket. He paused at her sudden movement. "Is something wrong?" He asked. The concern in his voice reminded her of his promise and dispelled her panic.
"No, I'm good," she said with a smile.
"Good." He hung up his jacket and took hers when she had it off. "Welcome to my apartment, make yourself at home." She turned away from the door and looked around.
The entrance opened directly into what seemed like the main living room. There was a couch along the same wall as the main doorway, and an entertainment center with a TV on the opposite wall. Looking directly across the room she saw the entrance to a small galley kitchen with a dining area on the other side, and next to that was a short hallway with a couple doors coming off it, also ending in the dining area. Yumi assumed that one door was to the bathroom, and the other to the bedroom. As a whole, Xavier kept the place clean and tidy.
Xavier started walking to the kitchen. "There's movies in the cabinets next to the TV if you want to pick one out while I start on dinner."
Yumi looked at the time and saw it was around 3:30. "Isn't it a little early for dinner?"
"I'm making Beef Bourguignon, and it takes about three hours to cook."
Shocked, Yumi jerked her head in his direction. "You mean you're going to be at the stove for the next three hours!?"
He laughed. "No silly. It's got around fifteen minutes of prep time, then it stays in the oven for around three hours!"
"Oh..." said Yumi, feeling a little foolish. Her mother almost never used the oven, instead making everything on the stovetop where constant attention was required. She went to the entertainment center and hoped to move on from the current line of conversation and her complete ignorance of French cooking.
Opening up the cabinets, she browsed his collection of movies and sighed. There were the obligatory action movies that every guy seemed to have at least a few of, some dramas, some fantasy and science fiction, and even a couple of romantic comedies. She hadn't seen very many of them, but that was mostly by choice. Not even Ulrich knew her favorite kind of movies. It was a guilty pleasure she only shared with Hiroki and his silence was assured by threat of mutual exposure. Eventually she settled on a historical action-drama called 'Master and Commander' that looked alright. She took the movie and walked to the kitchen.
"How about this one?" She asked, showing Xavier the case. He grinned widely.
"Good choice, that's one of my favorites!" He exclaimed. "It's pretty long too so there won't be much wait between the movie and dinner," he continued as he started peeling some carrots.
Yumi left and put the movie on the couch, then went back to the kitchen. "Would you like some help?" She asked, feeling kinda weird just standing there while he did all the work.
"Nah, I've got it. It's not often that I get to cook for a beautiful woman like yourself!" He said with a grin.
Yumi felt herself blushing slightly at the compliment. She smirked, trying to deflect the attention. "Not often?"
He snorted, then smirked back at her. "Ok fine, never! Go sit down and I'll be there in a few minutes!" They both laughed. Shaking her head and grinning, Yumi flopped on the couch and waited for Xavier to finish.
After about five minutes, Xavier walked out of the kitchen, drying his hands on a dish towel.
"Ok, did you put the movie in already?" He asked.
Yumi held the case out to him. "No, I figured you'd be more familiar with your setup."
He shrugged. "Fair enough." He took it and got everything set up, then sat on the couch next to her. He slowly went to put his arm around her but stopped for a moment and looked at her apprehensively. "Is this ok?" He asked, and Yumi nodded. His arm settled around her shoulder and she settled into his side. He felt warm and Yumi kinda liked sitting like this.
"So, what did you think?" Xavier asked when the movie ended.
"You know, that was actually pretty good," Yumi answered truthfully, "but I thought the middle part was a bit slow."
"Yeah it kinda is, but I still like it," he responded. He suddenly started nibbling his bottom lip, looking extremely nervous.
"Is everything alright?" Asked Yumi.
He inhaled with his mouth agape and held the breath for a moment before replying. "Yeah..." there was another several moment's pause. "Can I kiss you?"
Though she thought it was getting to be a bit much, Yumi couldn't help but appreciate his dedication to making sure she was comfortable before he did anything new, so she just grinned.
"Yes."
He smiled widely and leaned forward. Yumi closed her eyes and felt his lips on hers, and it was nice. Several seconds later they broke away, both grinning slightly. Yumi settled back into his side and they sat there in a reasonably comfortable silence for the next several minutes.
Eventually, Xavier checked the time on his phone.
"Dinner should be about ready." He said as he got up. Turning around, he leaned down and kissed Yumi again before going into the kitchen with a wide grin stretching across his face.
"Would you like some help with anything?" Yumi asked.
Xavier opened a cupboard above the counter and a drawer before opening the oven. "If you could grab a couple bowls and some silverware that would be great." Yumi did so and brought them to the table and sat down. Xavier followed shortly after several more minutes of preparations, bringing a dish full of meats and vegetables that Yumi thought smelled pretty good. "My mom used to cook this a lot. It's one of my favorite dishes and I made her teach me how to make it before I moved out." He dished out a couple of bowls and handed her one of them.
Yumi blew on a spoonful of the steaming concoction before taking a bite. It wasn't what she was used to, but it tasted good. "Not bad, not bad at all!" She complimented. After the first bite, she realized that she was quite hungry, and dug right in. The two ate their meal in relative silence and soon enough they had their fill.
"Would you like some help with the cleanup?" Yumi offered.
"No, that's ok. I'll take care of the leftovers, but I'll deal with the mess later or tomorrow."
Yumi looked at the time and groaned. "It's probably about time for me to be headed home anyway. I've got more class work to do... and I'll probably be up late doing it."
Xavier gasped. "I'm so sorry! I wish you would have said something, I wouldn't have..."
"It's ok, I had a good time this evening and I'm glad I came," Yumi interrupted, holding her hands up for emphasis.
"Ok then." He went to the closet and pulled out the riding jackets and handed Yumi the pink one. She scowled at it before putting it on, like always. He also handed her the pink helmet and they left for Yumi's house.
After another uneventful ride, they arrived. Xavier escorted her to the door.
"Goodnight Xavier, thanks for dinner."
"Goodnight, Yumi." He kissed her, went back to his scooter, and rode off.
Walking into the house, Yumi's was greeted by her parents. She told them the news about her and Xavier, and they expressed interest in meeting him. Yumi headed to her room and pulled out her phone.
Sissi was on the couch watching some TV when her phone buzzed. She looked at it and saw she had a message from Yumi.
'Xavier asked me out.'
Sissi sighed before responding.
'and you said?'
'Yes. We went to his place after the library and watched a movie. He also made dinner, he's a pretty good cook.'
Sissi groaned. Yumi never spoke about Xavier the way she still spoke about Ulrich and Sissi didn't see this ending well. Still, it was Yumi's choice and would support her friend's decisions.
'Congratulation, and good luck!'
Sighing again, Sissi scrolled through her Skype contacts until she reached Ulrich's name. They hadn't really talked much since him and Yumi started talking again, but Sissi figured she was going to need to open the door for him again.
'Hey, just letting you know that you can always talk to me if you need it.'
A minute later she got a response.
'?'
'I just want you to know I'm here for you if you need it.'
Several minutes went by before her phone buzzed again.
'Yumi just messaged me. I appreciate the offer, and I'll probably be taking you up on it pretty soon. I need some time to myself first.'
'You do what you need to do, ok?'
'Thanks, Sissi.'
Sissi felt bad for Ulrich, especially with how close it sounded like he'd been getting with Yumi again. Unfortunately, she couldn't do anything but be a good friend and be there for him. She sighed yet again and put her phone down and went back to her homework.
A/N: Wow, this one ended up being really long, but I guess if I'm doing a chapter every two weeks now than it's fine.
For what it's worth, Master and Commander really is one of my favorite movies, even though it's not really my 'type.' I'm also not telling what Yumi's taste in movies is. You'll just have to find out when I reveal it! XP Feel free to guess though!
Anyway, I hope you all like the chapter, and as always, you know what to do!