A/N: And November ends.. Kind of sad year if you ask me. Anyway, had some laptop/WiFi trouble. Hence the delay. It's been two years since I've been telling myself to buy a new laptop. But even when Black Friday comes along, it doesn't really have an impact ^^"..

I'll post the other bonus chapter tomorrow or Wednesday. Depends on my energy levels. Thanks for the follows etc. once again. I hope you enjoy the read! This is an elobaration on the final paragraph in the previous chapter. I'll skip the author note at the end today. If you want to share your thoughts on chapters, please do so!

UnknownxAuthor24: Thank you for your input. You have a valid point indeed. And you will surely get to see a chapter on that. I don't think it fits a bonus chapter. Tackling Ulrich's father is too important for that.

Disclaimer: I do not own Code Lyoko! Only my imagination :)!


Silent seconds lingered in their conversation. Either of them was content to just lie there, knowing the other was doing the same. Eventually Ulrich spoke up. "Back then, in the beginning," he paused, "I tried searching for you. To see where you had gone. Your parents only told me which area you had moved to, but not the exact address. They probably figured out we would get to hear about it anyway and I couldn't deny it because somewhere I hoped that would have been the case. I found it was hard to find time to travel that far. Mainly because I couldn't afford to fail. I made it to the district twice, but – seeing it now – I searched in the northern and eastern parts. Of course, I had no luck finding you and eventually life got to stressful and I had to let it go. Only temporarily. You might not believe me, but I was pretty determined to at least talk to you one time." Yumi could hear him take a deep breath.

"After all that happened to me, it wasn't a coincidence that I applied for a job in this area. I wanted to know whether you were still here. Maybe, just maybe, there was a chance I would get to see you again. I've always kept that in the back of my mind. I'm glad that the little luck I have, brought me to you. But I guess I didn't give you the best second first impression," he finished speaking.

Yumi took a moment to take in the revelation. Feelings of guilt arose inside of her once more. Ulrich sensed it and hurriedly added, "I think we've been passed the apologies. Some might think my attitude towards you at the beginning of the year compared to a little after that was extremely different. The reason I told you this is because I wanted to explain why I was more open than you would have expected."

"Because you never gave up on me," she whispered to herself. "Thank you," she said. "After all those years, why wouldn't I, Yumi?" Ulrich's soft tone resounded in her ears.

"It was really selfish of me. I would say sorry a hundred times over again, but you're right. I want to move on too," she told him. Yumi remembered the times William and her had talked about Ulrich. How he actually hadn't let her move on from her past, whereas he had promised he would help her with starting anew. "This time, I'll move on properly," she said. "What do you mean?" He asked.

"The conviction I had following my decisions was largest when I was still in Paris at my parents' home. After I left, it was replaced by lots of worries and regrets. Like I explained before, I practically drowned in those emotions. I had never given myself the chance to let it go or to forget all of you. To be honest, I dreamed about you so many times that I always wondered if perhaps I would randomly run into you someday soon."

Ulrich laughed. "It worked. But it took two and a half years for your wish to come true." Yumi smiled. "During which you changed, but luckily also kept the old you," she rhymed. "That reminds me, was there a particular point in time when you felt you really wanted to change?" She asked, hinting that she wanted to know something else.

He turned to lie on his back. "Well, setting aside the fact that I craved the courage to ask you out despite the 'rule' we had," he air-quoted "rule", then reminded himself she couldn't see it and lowered his hand. "There have been a few times. After you left and I couldn't find you, I needed the will power to keep going. Then after I broke my leg. I dedicated my time to studying, wanting the strength to put it all behind me. Finally, after I failed to perform well during a scouting session," he revealed.

Yumi waited for him to continue after he mentioned the subject. She knew how much the sport had meant to him and wouldn't question why he tried it out again. To him, it was probably the real goodbye to professional soccer. "I think it helped me clear my mind and heart," Ulrich continued. "It was hard, but not unbearable. There was this inkling that it wouldn't work out, but I needed it. Since no one was going to be direct, either because they favoured ignoring it or didn't want to hurt me, I pulled the string and let go."

She heard him laughing again. "And that's funny because?" Yumi frowned. "It was my ending scene, my final soccer act. Afterwards, I abruptly remembered how we once had a one-on-one match where you managed to score a few times. The last goal was the one where I tripped on the grass, which gave you a point in the process. A fitting end," he dryly commented. "True," she agreed.

"How about you?" Ulrich was curious.

"Hmm," Yumi pondered. "Naturally, I felt that way when I left. But that was more because of the purpose in life. I think I haven't felt the compulsion to change myself. Is that weird? In some ways, I have changed though. Like becoming more doubtful or defensive," she answered.

"Whether it's all for the better, I'll have to wait and see," Yumi said.

"That depends," Ulrich said, a grin appearing on his face.

"On?"

"How often you need to be on the more defensive side," he implied. Yumi blushed, thinking about the 'bold' Ulrich.

"I have another story," she announced, while she heard him try to stifle his laughter.

"Go ahead, I'm all ears," he managed to say.

"There is a girl – we live three doors apart – and she always talks on the phone when she gets home. It's rather impossible not to overhear, since she has the tendency to hold her conversations in the hallway in front of our apartments. A majority of the conversations involved her boyfriend who had more female friends than male friends. She always talked about how she couldn't stand it. I quote "Wasn't I supposed to be the one closest to him?" Every time I heard one of those lines, I thought back to how jealous I used to be of Sissi and Emily and even other girls at Kadic."

"You're not the only one," Ulrich intervened. "Part of me was always scared to face you in the future, because of my past stupidity. Snide remarks, sarcasm, cold shoulder. Not really things to be proud of."

"My point exactly. I couldn't fathom why we were lost in a cycle that shouldn't have existed in the first place. All those fall outs we had, while we were well aware that we were closest to each other."

"We were idiots."

"Hiroki would be so proud of us now."

"Good thing he won't ever hear this."

"You can bet on that," she said.

"Shall we reminisce about good times as well? Or are you tired?" Ulrich asked. "Eh, shouldn't I be asking you if you're tired?" Yumi countered. "I'm already lying down. You can always sing me to sleep," he joked. "Uhmmm I might have been a vocalist in the past, but that doesn't mean I'm going to sing for you," she stated. He laughed. "Some other time then," he decided.

"Or not," she refused the idea.

"Like I was any good at the keyboard," Ulrich said. "I think I've already forgotten which key is C."

Yumi's turn to laugh. "Regarding musical talent, Aelita and Odd are the only ones. Reminds me of their previous collaborations. They even used it as distraction once to let you escape detention," she giggled. "Better to go to the extremes. Besides, I couldn't miss your birthday again. Not after that one time," he said.

"I appreciated the effort. It completely made up for your previous lack of memory." She remembered how they had sat next to each other all night listening to music. Ulrich had fallen asleep first and she had followed soon after. "When I woke in the middle of the night, you were slipping and almost fell onto my lap," he revealed. "But I woke up sitting straight." She shook her head. "Yes, because I made sure of that. I spared you the embarrassment of waking up while you were hugging me like you were tackling a bear. You had a strong grip," he sounded pained, as if reliving the point in time.

"You're lying," she was horrified. "No, if you were here, we could re-enact it," he teased her. Yumi felt a wave of warmth spread through her again, despite willing it to die down. Imagining the scene proved no help. "How often did that happen?" She suddenly recalled their sit-and-sleep moments. "Did the others see that too?"

"About five times," he counted on his fingers. "And I haven't noticed anything. If they did, they kept it quiet. Think about it, if you haven't heard from Aelita and I haven't had Odd talk about it at least a few times a week, we should be save," he said. Yumi just wanted to sink in her bed. "Great," she said. Ulrich closed his eyes and became lost in time, while his heartrate sped up. "Next time I'll only make sure you're lying comfortable," he assured her. "There might not be a next time," she warned him. "Do you want to bet on that?" He dared her. Silence and contemplation. "No…" Yumi eventually whispered.

She heard him yawn. "Are you tired now?" Yumi softly asked him. "Not yet," he lied. She stifled her own yawn. "Me neither." Ulrich stretched out and pulled the covered blanket over himself. "You aren't cold, are you?" He checked. "No, I've tucked myself in well." She smiled. "You?" He hummed. "Yeah, same."

"Where would you want to go on a holiday?" He questioned. "Japan," was the instant answer. "As expected. And which place would it be in Japan? One you haven't been to before," Ulrich said. "That's a hard one, but I guess somewhere quiet."

"Let's choose a place someday." The idea of having some free days to themselves seemed wonderful, but for now it was stuffed in their to-do-list. "Yes, someday," she trailed off.

Ulrich felt the effects of staying up too long. A random, yet important thought arose in his mind. "Do your parents know we're dating?" It surprised Yumi. "I'll tell them tomorrow," she decided. "Actually, with all the other things going on, it seemed like it could wait a little. Everyone at work found out abruptly. Let's at least tell my parents properly," Yumi said. "We'll do that. I hope they don't think it's too weird," he worried. "They had such a neutral reaction to the news of our employer-employee relationship, that I'm sure this one will just thrill them as well," Yumi pointed out. Ulrich smiled when he thought about his previous encounter with Yumi's parents.

Then they both yawned right after each other.

"Yumi? Ulrich quietly said. "Thanks for today."

"Anytime right?" She whispered.

It wasn't long until she didn't get a response anymore. "Ulrich?" She tried one last time, as softly as possible. Yumi didn't want to wake him if he already slept. She also had little energy left and felt she couldn't keep her eyes open. With a last effort to move, she tried to end the call before she fell asleep.