A/N: Hello! First of all (even if it's a little late) Happy New Year to all of you! Stay healthy and safe! 2021.. time flies. Anyway, I had a little trouble writing the next chapter, so this one was delayed! Enjoy the read though :)! I hope this year will be filled with as many updates as the year before. I don't have an ending A/N today, so see you next time ~

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


"Good morning," Yumi greeted her co-workers in the main office. "Just a reminder that we have a meeting at 10 AM. There are some important announcements," she left after hearing a few confirmations and hums. Yumi hadn't slept all too well, but she was sure Ulrich would be feeling worse. She entered their office, put down her bag and walked to Ulrich's office. "Ulrich, are you there?"

No response. She opened the door and saw no one inside. Yumi took out her phone and called him. Her question was answered before she could speak. "Yeah, I'm late. Don't worry. I'm almost there," Ulrich assured her. "Okay, see you soon then," she hung up.

When he arrived, there was still a little preparation work to be done for the meeting. Yumi didn't have time to talk about yesterday. "Shall we eat out today?"

"Lunch or dinner?" Ulrich asked while shuffling through his papers.

"Lunch," she said.

"Sure," he said. "Let's go, it's almost time." Ulrich lead the way to the meeting room. Yumi understood he just wanted to be busy with work and didn't think much of his dismissive behaviour.

"Is everyone present?" Ulrich addressed the colleagues seated in the room. Someone reported two were missing due to urgent matters.

"Relay the information to them directly when you see them today," Ulrich ordered. Even the others picked up on Ulrich's bad mood, but everyone was wise enough to stay quiet.

"Emily, we have a few candidates for the job. There interviews have been scheduled. Yumi will notify you. There shouldn't be any overlapping tasks in your schedule. If there are, please inform Yumi. She'll rectify it," Ulrich said.

He continued in the same way until all but one point was discussed. "Now, there is one thing. I won't be going abroad for the special project. However, some of you are. As a result your teams won't be supervised for a while. We are not hiring new people to fill in for you nor are we transferring other colleagues. I'll be responsible for the teams that will be left behind. You are to send me a report containing your current projects, any abnormalities, points of attention etc. Yumi has the complete list of information that I need. The deadline for this is two months from now. Are there any questions?"

Silence.

"Next meeting will be next week's Tuesday," Ulrich walked out of the meeting room after shutting down the computer.

"Are you okay?" Yumi whispered after they were well out of earshot.

"Just fine," he replied grumpily. "I have a meeting with my uncle in a few minutes," he revealed. Yumi was confused and checked his agenda. "No you don't," she said. "Yes, I ran into him when I entered the building. I guess it's personal business," Ulrich said bitterly.

"Should I come along?" Yumi asked. Ulrich shook his head. "No, I already asked whether my dad would be there. It seems he isn't. I can handle this, but I might be late for the next appointment. Call me ten minutes before time, okay?" He asked.

She nodded. "Sure." Ulrich stopped walking when he reached the door to the staircase. He briefly glanced around to make sure no one was watching. Then he pulled her closer and kissed her. It lasted one second, but Yumi blushed nonetheless. "Sorry, I've been sour all morning. I needed to wake-up. It worked," he grinned. Yumi raised her fist to punch him, then reminded herself that she shouldn't give people a chance to spot their public affection. "Consider yourself lucky," she said. "I'll be back," Ulrich said. Yumi smiled.

Once she returned to her office, she sat down and decided to give Aelita a call. Her friend cheerfully greeted her. "Hey Yumi, how are you?!" Yumi chuckled. "Well, it could be better," she explained what had happened. "Oh, that sounds awful. If we can help, don't hesitate to tell us," Aelita said. "Yeah, about that. I was wondering if you two had time to get together with Ulrich and me."

Yumi heard Aelita clicking on her mouse. "We're pretty packed with appointments, because there are a lot of renewal contracts that have to be signed. You know, with the anniversary coming up. But we're always free on Sundays. I know you're coming to ELITA in a few days, but we might not be able to talk freely. How about next week's Sunday?"

In her mind she wished it could have been a little sooner. Then she recalled her conversation with Ulrich the day before. "Yeah, it's fine. I'll tell Ulrich." She noted it in her agenda. "So, how are things on your side?"

"Well, no work problems. We just have to keep going. However, Jeremie has been a little jittery lately and I still haven't found out why," Aelita said. "It's definitely not because of work. For instance, in the lab or during meetings he's entirely fine. Only when he's alone with me, he starts acting strange."

"He's hiding something," Yumi immediately concluded. "I think so too, but I'll wait to see if he brings it up by himself," Aelita decided. "I don't think he's doing something bad, but you can sign him up for a getting-scolded-by-Yumi lesson anytime," Yumi joked. Aelita laughed. "I'll keep that in mind."

The two of them talked a little longer while continuing their respective work. "I have to go," Yumi announced when she noticed it was almost time for Ulrich's next appointment. "Okay, bye Yumi. Good luck!" Aelita said. "You too, Aelita. Bye."

Yumi called Ulrich, but hung up when she saw him standing in front of the door. "Just in time," she said. He didn't look happy. "What happened?"

"They're making plans to transfer you to another department."

"What…" Yumi was shocked. None of them had expected his family to go that far. "That's ridiculous," she said. "They can't just do that without discussing it with me first. That's against regulations."

"Not if you're my uncle."

Anger burned inside her. "You're being calm about this," she said, then waited for his answer. "Because I'm not going to give in," Ulrich replied. "First of all, the transfer cannot happen immediately, since we don't have a replacement. By the time it is possible, the business trip will happen. With my increasing responsibilities, I'll need someone with brains to keep up. You're more efficient than all people I've worked with or am working with. Of course, there will be negotiations, but they will take time. So, no, I'm not worried yet."

Yumi relaxed a little upon hearing his explanation. "Besides, it's not like I haven't thought of the possibility that you'll be leaving this company when you're finished with your studies. Unless you want to develop further within this company, but I'd understand it if you didn't choose to do so."

She opened her mouth to counter his arguments. Ulrich took her hands in his and she closed her mouth again. "Us dating does not necessarily have to relate to our work. Of course I would love to have you as my partner for work as well, but I won't deny you the opportunity to search for other options. Okay?" Ulrich explained as he moved to hug her.

"Okay," Yumi answered, leaning against him. They stayed in that position for a while before Ulrich pulled back. "We're late," he suddenly said. Yumi panicked and checked her watch. "How can you be late twice a day?" She accused him as she took the files for the next meeting from her desk.

"We have five minutes," he said. "To get to the sixth floor…," Yumi reminded him. "No time to waste then," he said, kissing her afterwards. This time she managed to punch him in his arm. They grinned at each other before hurrying to the next meeting. Ulrich seemed to be doing okay, for which Yumi was glad. Of course, she would keep watching over him. The idea of staying and working with Ulrich brought about a feeling of joy within herself. But she knew he was right. Although Yumi had no specific dream to fulfil, she wanted a goal in life. One she would have to find in the two years she had left to complete her studies.

As they were running on the stairs – the elevator was not on ground floor – she felt like this was the start of finding her true purpose in life. Her search would definitely not be as smooth as their current strides, but she would get there. Yumi glanced at Ulrich, then smiled to herself. At least, she wouldn't be alone. And for that, she was thankful.