Disclaimer: I do not own Code Lyoko or any of it's characters.
Aelita's heart was still racing. She could hardly believe it: she was alive. Now she could live life on Earth with her friends, and she could be with…him. Nothing he told her in "preparation for this day" could have adequately prepared her for how she felt at this moment. It is one thing to explain life, it is another thing to actually live it.
There were so many new sensations, she was overloaded. All the smells, sounds and… touches. She probably should have felt silly, dragging him along by the hand and she explored her new world, but excitement had overtaken her. She felt his pulse quicken and hers reacted in kind. The mutual heat generated by their touch, was that love?
For the past year, she had been able to interact with all of her friends, all except the one she wanted to be with the most (unless you want to count talking through a computer screen.) Before tonight, the closest they had been to touching was when she almost lost him forever. After an argument they had, he virtualized himself to try and apologize in person and almost ended up deleted due to a scanner error and Aelita had to come to his rescue. During that brief moment that their fingers touched, an understanding came over the both of them. She knew how much he meant to her, as he knew how much she meant to him. No more was needed to be said. Now she was with him, and she would never feel alone again.
This world seemed infinite. It wasn't a defined sector with the Digital Sea below, it was real; and now, so was she. She wasn't some digital program; she was a living breathing girl. Her life was hers to choose, not dictated by code. Soon, XANA would be gone; the supercomputer would be shut down forever and she would be free. It wouldn't be long before Jeremy came up with a solution to the virus XANA gave her. She didn't have any idea what was ahead for her in life, but she knew that she wanted always Jeremy to be a part of it. He was so perfect for her. He was so smart, and he understood her. Whatever she wanted, she was sure that he would help her get it. She imagined that everything she would find interest in; surely, he would as well.
Laying down on the bed in the guestroom of Yumi's house, Aelita was excited for tomorrow and another day of brand-new experiences. She would see Yumi, Ulrich, Odd, and especially Jeremy. Of all of them, it was Jeremy she was most eager to see. Since kissing him goodnight, a longing had been growing inside her heart; a pain, a wound, that could be only healed by seeing him again. That, she decided, was love. Not the heat, but the pain that its absence brings.