Note: Apparently I have a lot of feelings about Yumi and Aelita's friendship. That is all.
17. Saturday nights were Girls Nights, no matter what.
It starts, unofficially, during Aelita's first…attempt. Back when they are young(er) and clueless, so high on bringing her into the world successfully that they hadn't considered what to do with her afterwards. Hadn't thought of how to fit her into their world.
Yumi's parents had taken some convincing, but Aelita had charmed them with her genuine earnestness and joy at the world. Her first excited exclamation at eating sushi, the mad grasp for something to stifle her burning mouth when Hiroki had convinced her to eat more wasabi than was recommended, and the respectful way she offered to help. In those first moments, Yumi had found herself so grateful that they had succeeded, that they were able to rescue this strange, charming girl and make her human.
/
Yumi sits on her bed watching Aelita bounce around her room. She's spent the past forty minutes perusing Yumi's bookshelves and poking curiously through her closet. Yumi watches her, tries to imagine what's so fascinating about dog-eared paperbacks and winter scarves.
"What do you want to do?" she asks as Aelita picks up a stuffed soot sprite from her dresser.
"I don't know," Aelita replies.
"Is there anything you want to see? Anywhere you want to visit? We can go tomorrow."
Aelita bounces on her toes, sets the soot sprite down and flips through her copy of Peter Pan, loses interest in the book and moves to the corkboard covered in photos of her and the boys, her and her family, her friends back in Japan… "Aelita?"
"Hm? Oh, I don't know," she replies. "What do you usually do?"
Yumi shrugs, picks at a loose thread on her duvet. "Homework, hang with the guys, stop X.A.N.A.'s latest attack…" She smiles up at Aelita. "I guess we won't have to worry about that last one for much longer."
Aelita smiles back, all teeth and squinted eyes. "No, no I don't think we will," she agrees.
. . … . .
The second time they materialize Aelita, Yumi doesn't have to do the song-and-dance for her family. She's kind of disappointed about it, but it's better this way. Jeremie hacked the system to get Aelita enrolled officially at Kadic. They have a room set up for her. Jeremie and Odd worked together to forge some kind of paperwork and Yumi's impressed…and a little scared.
Sometimes Yumi wonders what Jeremie and Odd could do if they combined their talents. Most times she's happy they haven't put it to the test.
Ulrich flags her down as she's exiting the language building at the end of the day on Friday. "You want to do some practice rounds tomorrow afternoon?" he asks.
She tilts her head, considering. "I can't, Girls Night with Aelita," she replies. "Someone has to get her cultured."
"Hey!" Odd complains from where he's sitting next to Ulrich. "I'm culturing her."
"That sounds weird," Ulrich comments, face twisting in a combination of disgust and confusion. "Don't say it like that."
"Video games and bands aren't the only thing in the world, Odd," Yumi replies. "You guys can have one of your monster movie marathons instead."
"Spoilsport," Odd replies, but he's smiling.
/
Yumi knows that the boys try with Aelita, but, well, they're boys. And sometimes you need girl-talk. Or something. It's what the teen movies all preach, so she'll try it with Aelita. And it's nice to bond with the other girl. Sure, she isn't what she expected, but her enthusiasm is contagious and she's got a wicked sense of humor when she wants to show it off.
"Good evening, Mr. Ishiyama," Aelita greets. Yumi looks up from where she's setting the table on Saturday to see Aelita in the doorway.
"Aelita," her father replies. He steps aside to let her in. "How are you?"
"Very well, how are you?" she replies, all bright smiles and bubblegum pink hair. Yumi's father's reaction to Aelita's hair hasn't changed since the original virtualization attempt. "Hi Yumi! Mrs. Ishiyama, do you need any help?"
Her mother smiles warmly at Aelita. "No, thank you. Why don't you go set your things in Yumi's room? Dinner will be in a few minutes."
"Great, it smells delicious!" Aelita enthuses.
And the thing is, Yumi knows, she's being genuine. Aelita hasn't met an experience she hasn't wanted to jump into feet-first. She sees her parents smile and knows Aelita has won them over, continues to win them over each visit. Aelita dances away upstairs to put away her overnight bag and Yumi finishes setting the table.
"Such a sweet girl," her mother murmurs.
"So different to her cousin," her father agrees.
/
They watch terrible teen movies and eat too much popcorn and potato chips. Aelita has discovered a love of potato chips dipped in crème fraiche and American ranch dressing mixed together. Yumi still isn't completely sold on it, but she's beginning to come around to the idea.
"These are so unrealistic," Aelita laughs. They're halfway through the second movie, the teenage girl in the middle of a mass shopping spree in a mall. "Who has money for all those clothes? Who has room?"
"It's escapism," Yumi replies. She stretches out on her side of the sofa and rolls her eyes at the main character's antics. "Some people dream of being able to do this."
"Girl movies are so stupid," Hiroki comments as he passes behind them. Yumi makes a half-hearted swipe at him, but he dodges easily. "Honestly, I thought better of you."
"Good night, Hiroki."
"It's Saturday, I don't have a bedtime on Saturdays."
"Then go play videogames upstairs or something."
"Aw, be nice, Yumi," Aelita says. She tilts her head back, smiling at Hiroki. "They're kind of fun, even if they're unrealistic. Want to watch?"
He looks up at the shopping montage and pulls a face. "No way."
Yumi waits until she hears him thumping up the stairs before turning back to Aelita. "You're too nice to him," she states.
Aelita smiles, scoops a large glob of dip onto a potato chip. "Did you really expect him to agree?" she asks. "It doesn't hurt to be nice."
"I am nice," Yumi protests.
Aelita gives her a startled look, cheeks pink. "Of course you are! I didn't mean you weren't!" She stuffs the chip in her mouth and Yumi laughs. She hasn't felt this relaxed in ages.
. . … . .
Aelita is painting her toes at her desk when Yumi lets herself into the younger girl's room. "You started without me."
"Yumi?" Aelita asks, eyes wide.
"Yeah?" Yumi asks. She drops her backpack by the door and flops onto Aelita's bed. "What?" She pulls the stuffed frog out from under her back and rolls over to study Aelita.
"You're here?" Aelita asks, head tilted.
"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" she replies. "It's Saturday."
Aelita shrugs, spinning in her desk chair slowly. "I just thought that was code or something, like in the movies."
"What are you talking about?"
"Well. You're seeing Ulrich now. I thought…" she trails off, face red, and shrugs again. Yumi stares at her for a minute, maybe two, and Aelita shrugs. "That's what happens in those movies. One girl gets a boyfriend and the other covers for her so her parents don't freak out…"
"Hiroki was right," Yumi replies, sitting up. "Girl movies are stupid." She pulls her hair up into a bun and rolls her eyes. "Just because I'm dating Ulrich doesn't mean I'm going to ditch Girls Night. Unless you made other plans…?"
"Not unless you count trig."
"I never count trig," Yumi replies, smiling. Aelita grins back, chair spinning happily. "So, manicures and pedicures?"
"Of course," Aelita replies. "You know I struggle doing my right hand."
"Of course," Yumi agrees, voice dry but smile widening.
. . … . .
"Boys are such idiots," Aelita complains as soon as Yumi opens her front door. She isn't crying, which is a good sign, but her cheeks are flushed and her voice cracks.
"Come on," Yumi says. She takes Aelita's bag and drops it inside the door next to the coatrack. "What's up?"
"Ugh, I need Nutella," Aelita sighs.
"We're all out. Up for a walk to town?"
Aelita blows a breath out, hands buried in the pockets of her coat. "Yeah, okay," she agrees.
"Mom, Aelita and I are going to Carrefour!" she calls, grabbing her own coat.
"Ooh! Bring me Kinder Eggs!" Hiroki yells from upstairs.
/
The walk into town had mostly been silent, with only small talk about school and upcoming holiday plans. Yumi did most of the talking, Aelita nodding along and occasionally adding commentary. They wander into Carrefour, making their way to the supermarket and by-passing the toys and clothes set up at the front.
"So…Do you want to talk about what happened?" Yumi asks. They're walking down the chocolate aisle and Yumi grabs a box of superhero-themed Kinder Eggs. No one could ever say she was a bad sister. "Which of the boys is stupid? Or is it a collective whole this time?"
Aelita manages a smile, fingers combing through her pink hair. She picks up a package of speculoos from a display. "It's stupid."
"I gathered," Yumi replies, voice dry. Aelita laughs and Yumi nudges her. "What's wrong?"
"Odd invited me to Norway for Christmas," she says finally. "Says I should meet the rest of the family."
"Okay…?" Aelita grabs the largest container of Nutella and Yumi blinks. "Aelita, you don't need a thousand grams of Nutella. Where will you put it?"
"You underestimate my need for chocolately hazelnut spread," Aelita mutters. She puts it back though, grabbing the four hundred gram one instead. Yumi frowns but doesn't say anything. "I told Jeremie that Odd invited me home. And he got…all uptight." She waves a hand as they make their way to the cashiers. "You know how his mouth goes all thin and he blinks a lot when he's upset? He did that."
"Why would he be upset?" Yumi asks, confused.
Aelita blows out a long breath and Yumi pays for the Kinder Eggs, cookies, and Nutella. "Odd," Aelita explains.
"Does he think the whole cousin-thing will backfire?" Yumi asks. They make their way out of the market place and back into the brisk late autumn air. "If so, I have to say I agree with him. I'm still not sure how Odd's managed to convince them this long."
Aelita lifts a shoulder, wrestling with the Nutella lid. Yumi hands her the open package of speculoos once she's succeeded in opening the container. "Maybe? I think it's because of the whole Herb-and-Nicholas incident from last year."
"Ah," Yumi says. Aelita nods, eating her Nutella-dipped speculoos as they head back to the house. "He's worried."
"He's being stupid," Aelita replies, cheeks flushed.
"What does Odd think?"
"He thinks Jeremie is jealous, which is also stupid." Aelita rolls her eyes and takes a vicious bite of her cookie. "Jeremie doesn't see me like that at all. I don't know why he's being all twitchy and uptight."
Yumi bites her lip and shrugs. "Maybe you should talk to Jeremie about it. You know, so he can tell you what's the matter?"
Aelita snorts. "Right. Jeremie's great and understanding and all, but getting him to open up? It's almost as hard as getting Ulrich to talk about his home life."
Yumi stifles a laugh. "You know that's not true. Jeremie talks to you all the time. Maybe he is jealous."
Aelita shoots her a dark look; it's ruined by the flush in her face and the Nutella on her chin. Yumi steals a speculoos to hide her smile.
. . … . .
Aelita stretches out on Yumi's bed, flips through a magazine absently, and hums along to the song playing over the speakers. Over the weeks, months, year she's been here it's become a somewhat constant fixture. If she stops to really think about it, Yumi can count on one hand how many Saturdays they haven't spent some portion of together.
"I was always kind of envious of you," Aelita says suddenly as the disc changes tracks. "The boys too, but more so you."
"Oh?" Yumi asks. She sits up from where she's working on a history project and Aelita nods. "Why?"
"You were so lucky, having your family here with you." Yumi frowns and Aelita smiles at her. "It's okay, there's nothing that can be done about it. It's just…after spending time with Odd's family over Christmas I realized how lucky I am."
Yumi must still look as confused as she feels because Aelita's smile softens. "You guys have said it forever, but I don't think it really sank in before. You all have families; families you didn't get to pick, but you did pick me. And whether it's you and your family letting me stay over, or Odd inviting me home for the holidays, or Ulrich checking to see if I'm okay, or Jeremie blushing before he holds my hand…you chose me. And I'm just really lucky."
"What's brought this on?" Yumi questions, blinking in surprise. "You're not about to tell me we have to restart Lyoko, are you?"
Aelita laughs, shaking her head. "No, I just…I don't know." She holds up the magazine she had been flipping through. "There's an article in here about making sure people know how much they mean to you. So, I'm making sure."
Yumi laughs, stretching out again to resume her project. "Message received," she replies. "And for the record, we're, I'm glad you're here too."
. . … . .
They spend the afternoon in town, checking out the smaller boutiques along the older section. Aelita's smile dims as the afternoon progresses, a frown appearing between her eyebrows. "You're worrying too much," Yumi comments as she browses the racks of the latest shop. It's the fifth one they've visited.
"I don't think so," Aelita replies. She shakes her head at the dress Yumi holds up for her. "No, it's too…pink."
"You like pink," Yumi counters.
"It's a wedding, Yumi. I shouldn't wear pink at a wedding."
"You're thinking of a funeral," Yumi replies. "You can totally wear pink to a wedding." She flips through the dresses on another rack. "Does Jeremie's cousin have a theme?"
"Not that he's told me," she sighs. "I'm meeting his family for the first time, I can't just look…well, I need to look presentable."
"You always look presentable," Yumi protests. Aelita raises her eyebrows and Yumi laughs. "Okay, except for when you let Odd influence your wardrobe." Aelita rolls her eyes, turning to another rack. Yumi stares at the back of her head for a moment before leaving her own rack to approach the shorter girl. "Is this the real reason you dyed your hair?"
"Blondes have more fun," Aelita mumbles. She puts back a purple dress and Yumi sighs. "I don't want to embarrass Jeremie," Aelita murmurs.
"Aelita, you could turn up in a potato sack and Jeremie would still look at you like you were the best thing in the world," Yumi protests. "Come on, don't freak out."
"I'm not freaking out," Aelita argues.
"Uh huh." Yumi pulls out a pale lavender dress. It isn't pink, but it still has a similarity to Aelita's signature color. "What about this? Come on, try it on." Aelita frowns and Yumi shoves the dress into her hands. "Go on, try it on."
Aelita disappears into the dressing room at the back of the shop. Yumi follows to make sure she actually tries the dress on. "Are you sure it isn't too casual?" Aelita asks, pulling the curtain back. Her eyes are bright and Yumi can tell she likes the dress, even if she won't admit it yet.
"No, it looks good," she says. The bodice is slightly more fitted with cap sleeves and the skirt flares out to just below her knees. Yumi smiles at her. "You look good in it," she reassures. "It's perfect for a country wedding."
Aelita frowns at the mirror, teeth worrying at her bottom lip. "It is very pretty," she says finally.
"Aelita, it looks good," Yumi promises.
Aelita stares for another moment or two before she finally smiles. "Okay," she says. She gives a twirl, laughing as the skirt flares out, and grins at Yumi. "I'm going to get it, gosh I'm so tired of trying on clothes!"
Yumi grins. "You only tried on four dresses. You refused everything else."
"Yeah, well, looking at dresses is exhausting," Aelita comments as she disappears back into the changing room. "Do you think Jeremie will like it?"
"I think Jeremie will be speechless," Yumi replies. She hears Aelita's laughter through the heavy curtain and smiles.
. . … . .
Yumi is exhausted.
She has been unpacking for three days and she still has boxes. She didn't even think she owned this much stuff. Her body aches from lifting and bending, she's coated in dust and sweat, and all she wants is a long bath. She isn't sure if she'll fall asleep, but she also doesn't want to collapse in bed in the state she's in.
She's about to head for the bath when there's a knock on the door. She frowns, opening it slowly, and stands, staring. Aelita grins at her from the hallway, overnight bag slung over a shoulder and tote bag filled with produce and a baguette in her other hand.
"You look terrible," she says.
"What are you doing here?"
"It's Saturday, remember?" Aelita replies. She brushes past Yumi into the apartment and grins. "You've done so much already! It looks great! I promised the boys I'd take pictures since you aren't sending any to the group text."
Yumi blinks at her and Aelita turns back, grinning. "How did you get here?"
"Train, duh. I have to head back early Monday to make it in time for classes. Sorry about that, I tried but they don't have trains on Sundays." Aelita sets her bags down on the table and makes a shooing motion at Yumi. "Go shower or bathe, while I make food. You really do look terrible."
/
Aelita's definition of making food turns out to mean slicing up apples and cheese, cutting up the baguette, pulling out pâté, and setting out a jar of Nutella and packet of speculoos for dessert. It's more than Yumi's eaten all day though and she digs in gratefully.
Now that she's clean and fed she can focus on what's actually going on. "You didn't have to come," she says.
Aelita shrugs and scrapes at the Nutella wrapper with her thumbnail. "I wasn't going to, at first. But it just felt weird, not seeing you. And I didn't have anything planned this weekend anyway." She looks up at Yumi. "Do you wish I hadn't come?"
Yumi considers and then shakes her head. "No, it's good to see a familiar face," she replies. Aelita smiles back at her. Yumi notices that she's added pink streaks to her blonde hair. "I'm still unpacking though."
"That's okay, I can help tomorrow," Aelita replies. She returns to scratching the label. "I know going to University is what happens next. We finish at Kadic and we go to work or University or whatever. It's logical, but it's so weird that we're all spread out now. Or will be soon."
"It just means we'll have more places to visit," Yumi replies. She tosses an apple stem at Aelita. "Come on, you know you and the boys are visiting your next break. My living room will be taken over and Odd will eat me out of house and home."
Aelita laughs. "I know," she agrees. "Sometimes I forget that being on Earth means things do change. It was easy to forget, when we were all still at Kadic and nothing really changed."
"Just remember, you wanted to come to Earth."
"And I'm still happy that I did. I just don't want everything to change."
"It won't," Yumi reassures. She gets up, cleaning away their meager dishes and debris. "We'll always be friends. You, me, and the boys."
Aelita grins at her. "Good," she says, "because Jeremie's feeling abandoned. He says you left him to fend for himself with us three."
Yumi laughs as well. "It'll do him some good, toughen him up."
"You know, it goes for you too," Aelita states. Yumi looks at her in surprise and Aelita pulls her into a quick hug. "We're all here for you too, Yumi. Even though we're still at Kadic, we're here for you. If you need us. You know that, right?"
"I know," Yumi replies, smiling. "Thanks."