Disclaimer: I don't own Code Lyoko.

Chapter 10

Yumi smiled as Ulrich told her a joke. She was leaning on him with his back against a tree. His tree. He always kept this tree for himself, but tonight he was sharing it with her.

"Yumes, why is Sissi sitting with us for a week, anyway?" asked Ulrich. Yumi sighed.

"I really wish I could, but I can't tell you," said Yumi. She knew he'd find out eventually, but a part of her wanted to delay that moment as much as possible.

"Are you two suddenly buddies now?" asked Ulrich, twirling a lock of her hair around his finger.

"Not even in my worst nightmare," said Yumi.

"Heh, I had a feeling you'd say that," laughed Ulrich, kissing her temple.

"You know me too well," said Yumi.

"That's what happens when two people fight evil together as long as we have," said Ulrich.

"Do you think Jeremie's going to find the antivirus soon?" asked Yumi. "He's been working overtime since he and Aelita started going out."

"I hope so," said Ulrich. "I'd have thought Jeremie would take a few breaks off the computer now."

"I guess I get why he's stressing himself out about it," said Yumi, shrugging. "He hates it when she has to go to Lyoko."

"How do you know?" asked Ulrich.

"He told her and she told me," said Yumi. "She actually got him to go to Lyoko, can you believe it?"

"Really?" asked Ulrich, surprised. "How'd she manage that?"

"I'm not sure," said Yumi. "She wouldn't tell me what he looks like, either. She said she's sworn to secrecy."

"I'm afraid I am too, so I can't tell you either," apologized Ulrich.

"One of these days I'm going to pull him by the ear into that scanner," said Yumi. She shook her head. "Scratch that. I remember what happened the last time I sent him to Lyoko."

"How about we leave the technical stuff to Jer and Aelita and take care of the Xana bashing?" offered Ulrich.

"Sounds good to me," said Yumi.

"I still can't believe all of this happens to five teenagers," said Ulrich. "Pretty crazy, huh?"

"The world is crazy," said Yumi, kissing him on the cheek. "We just have to live in it."

"I don't mind so much, as long as I live in it with you," said Ulrich. Yumi blushed.

"When did my boyfriend turn into Romeo?" asked Yumi. "Oh, yeah, I remember."

"Ugh, I hated being in that play!" said Ulrich. "Thank God Jeremie found a way to make it work."

"I'm sure Sissi was disappointed," said Yumi, smirking.

"Yes, because my life's duty is to please It," said Ulrich, snorting. "I personally think you would have made a better Juliet."

"Kiwi would have made a better Juliet," Yumi reminded him.

"True enough," said Ulrich, kissing her hair.

"Ulrich, thanks for caring," said Yumi, smiling at him. "After the play my parents started working things out."

"I know it's none of my business, but are they...okay?" asked Ulrich.

"I think so," said Yumi. "They still fight sometimes, but it's not so bad."

"That's great!" said Ulrich. Yumi nodded. He blushed lightly. "Do they know about you and me?"

"Yeah," said Yumi dryly. "Hiroki knows, too. He started teasing me a lot worse, but I expected that. My mom thinks the best of you, so she's happy for us. My dad yelled for about an hour, but after a few cups of tea he calmed down."

"I didn't want you to get in trouble," said Ulrich.

"It wouldn't matter which boy it was, he treats them all the same," explained Yumi. "He thinks you'll break my heart and I'll cry about it for a week, then I'll give up guys and focus on my schoolwork. Something like that, anyway."

"Your dad isn't very subtle with his opinions, is he?" asked Ulrich, flinching at the thought of hurting Yumi.

"No, not really," said Yumi, shrugging. "At least he isn't interrogating you for four hours like he's been threatening to do to my first boyfriend since I was born."

"I'm glad of that," said Ulrich, grinning.

"I think you'd do all right," quipped Yumi. "What's not to like about you?"

"I'm sure your dad would be happy to write a list," said Ulrich. He thought for a moment, then added, "Or a book."

"And your dad would fall in love with me?" asked Yumi doubtfully.

"Not as long as I'm keeping a C- average," said Ulrich. "Anything besides soccer is an obstacle to me in his eyes."

"Parents have been hating whoever dates their kids since the beginning of time, we're no exception," said Yumi, sighing.

"Very true," agreed Ulrich, tipping her face up to him and kissing her mouth. Yumi felt herself wrapping her arms around his neck, raking her fingers through his rich brown hair. Ulrich groaned when he felt a buzzing in his pocket. He slowly pulled back and pulled out his vibrating phone. "I'm gonna have to cut this short."

"Curfew?" asked Yumi.

"Yep," answered Ulrich, standing up. "I don't have enough time to walk you home without getting busted by Jim."

"That's okay," said Yumi, planting her lips on his cheek briefly. "I'll see you in the morning."

"All right, let's get to work," said Bastien, poking a sleepy Ulrich in the head. "No dozing off, we've got a girl to flirt with."

"Are you sure you aren't just a nightmare that I'm about to wake up from?" asked Ulrich, swiping at Bastien.

"He's always testy in the mornings," Odd told the teachers cheerfully. "So, what are we going to write to Yumi?"

Many of the gazes from the boys turned to Jeremie. "What?" asked Jeremie defensively.

"Not counting Ulrich, you're the only one of us who actually has a girlfriend," said Christophe. "We need some ideas from you, too. How do you sweet talk Aelita?"

"I don't know what you mean," said Jeremie. "Be more specific."

"You know, what do you tell her to make her blush and stuff?" asked Romain. "What do you compare her to?"

"I don't tell her anything but the truth, and there's nothing to compare her to," said Jeremie blankly. "She's perfect, and no flower or sunset is going to do her justice."

"Jeremie, I'm not sure if you're aware of this, but..." started Alexandre, taking in a deep breath. "You're too friggin' corny!"

"Ulrich's not the only grouchy one," Jeremie observed.

"He's got a point, Einstein," said Odd, smirking. "What do you tell her, anyway? You can't be talking about 'homework' all the time."

"I think that's a little private," said Jeremie crossly.

"Uh oh, Jeremie keeping secrets? I wonder what he's hiding," said Jean-Baptiste. Jeremie blushed.

"Is your sole source of entertainment to pick on me?" asked Jeremie, heat rushing to his face. "We're here for Ulrich. Why don't you ask him?"

"If we put anything too personal down, she's going to think she's being stalked," said Ulrich, coming to Jeremie's rescue.

"In a way, she is," said Romain.

"How would William write it?" asked Jeremie. Ulrich scowled. "Think about it. William would be the perfect Almost Secret Admirer. He knows how to be romantic, but the girl isn't interested. So, how would he put it?"

"He'd probably say something along the lines of 'we're meant to be,' but I think that will still creep her out," said Ulrich flatly.

"That's good, put it down," said Jeremie. "And a 'roses are red, violets are blue' poem."

"How should the ending go?" asked Alexandre.

"Anything that rhymes with I love you," said Jeremie. "Bastien, you got some jewelry, right?"

"Yeah," said Bastien, holding a velvet case in his hand. A small golden pendant lay inside. "But I sort of took it when my uncle wasn't around, so...I need it back before he notices it's gone."

"Smooth," said Jeremie, rolling his eyes. "It's supposed to be a gift! How do you plan on getting it back?"

"It's not like she's gonna keep it!" said Bastien.

"So you're going to walk up to her and ask for the pendant she got from her secret admirer?" asked Ulrich, raising an eyebrow. "Emphasis on the secret part?"

"Well, I was hoping you could get it," said Bastien meekly.

"How am I supposed to get it?" asked Ulrich incredulously.

"You're with her all the time!" shot back Bastien. "When you're kissing her goodnight or something, grab it!"

"Unbelievable," said Ulrich. "I'm beginning to see why Jeremie and I are the only one's with girlfriends. We're the only sane ones!"

"Are you calling us crazy?" asked Odd indignantly.

"Weren't you listening?" asked Ulrich.

"Back to business," said Jeremie. "Bastien, take the pendant back. We'll have to do without. Romain, did you get the flowers?"

"All here, chief," said Romain, holding a large bouquet of daisies. He gave the group a small smile. "And a date with Jean."

"Nice!" said Christophe approvingly.

"The love letter is still a little short," said Alexandre critically. "We want to sound serious, after all."

"Right," agreed Thomas.

Ulrich tried to stay calm as he opened the creaking gate to Yumi's house. All the lights were out. That was a good sign. Why he had to be the one to do this was beyond him, but he was taking Jeremie's threat to suffocate him with one of Odd's shoes seriously.

He held the stems of the flowers in between his teeth and started his climb up the rain gutter, praying that Mr. Ishiyama wouldn't find him. He forced himself to keep his eyes on the second story window. Now wasn't the greatest time to have his vertigo kick in.

Ulrich sighed as he got a grip on the windowsill. He smiled when he saw Yumi sleeping peacefully inside, then shook his head to clear his thoughts. It wouldn't be right to spy on her. He carefully slid the window open and arched over the windowsill, setting the envelope and daisies on the carpet. Ulrich froze when he heard Yumi moan and sit up. He quickly snatched the gifts back and slid back down the gutter to avoid being caught.

"I don't remember leaving the window open," he heard Yumi mutter between yawns. He glanced up and began sweating bullets when he saw the underside of her chin as she looked out the window. He started mouthing every four-letter word that he felt was appropriate for the situation and stayed perfectly still, hoping against hope he wouldn't fall.

He heard her crawl back into bed, deciding to leave the window open. Ulrich didn't make a second attempt until he heard a quiet snore, then pushed himself up and laid the presents back on the floor.

"Ulrich."

Ulrich snapped his head up so fast he could have gotten whiplash. Yumi's eyes were closed and she was still lying down, but there was no denying she had just said his name.

"Ulrich," Yumi repeated, turning on her side. He could see the corners of her mouth twitch up in a smile. Was she dreaming about him? "Ulrich!"

Her brow furrowed and she frowned. Her expression was antagonized, and she was turning underneath the blanket. Her dream was turning into a nightmare of some sort. Ulrich waited for her to calm down before descending back to Earth, but she didn't.

"Let him go," moaned Yumi. Beads of sweat were lining her forehead. "Ulrich..."

Ulrich didn't know how it happened. At one moment, he was watching her from outside the house, ten feet from the ground. The next, he was kneeling at her side, planting a kiss on her forehead.

"I'm okay," murmured Ulrich. "We're both fine."

Yumi stopped moving at the sound of his voice. Her face became serene, and he blushed. Surely he didn't have anything to do with that? Yumi flipped over onto her stomach, rubbing her cheek against her pillow and saying his name again. Ulrich remembered his position and smacked his head for letting himself get here.

His jaw dropped when he saw her eyes open. They adjusted to the darkness, then immediately focused on him. There was no anger or surprise. They were void of any emotion. She sat up and blinked.

"Ulrich? What are you doing here?" asked Yumi, swaying slightly. Ulrich did the only thing he could think of.

"You're dreaming," said Ulrich, waving his arms around. "You should go back to sleeeep!"

"If...I'm asleep, how am I supposed to..." Yumi's eyelids started drooping, and she didn't finish the question.

"Shaba laba ding dong!" hissed Ulrich frantically, pushing her back down. Yumi put up no resistance and curled up, her breathing coming out slower with each second.

Ulrich grinned and stood up, stopping to detach her hand from his arm. His face must have resembled a tomato. Stepping over the letter and daisies, he got a firm hold on the rain gutter, closed the window, and shimmied down, then proceeding to run back to Kadic before he could press his luck any further.

Yumi slapped the OFF button on her buzzing alarm clock and dragged herself out of bed. She'd had the strangest dream last night. She could have sworn...Well, it was just a dream, there was no point in dwelling on it. She surveyed the room and her eye was caught by a bunch of white flowers by her window.

"What in the world?" Yumi muttered, bending down to examine them. A small letter was underneath. There was no writing on it. She tore it open and found a neatly folded paper inside, with even neater handwriting.

My Dearest Yumi,

I've admired you from afar for so long. What's not to admire? Your face, your hair, your voice, your very scent gives me the chills. I can't stand being away from you. I know you wouldn't give me a second glance, so forgive me for not revealing myself, love. But I just couldn't keep it inside any longer.

We were a match made in Heaven, I can guarantee it. I will always love you. From day one I knew you were the one for me. One day, you'll see it, too. I'll wait an eternity for you.

I may be sounding forward, but I'm completely smitten with you. Take these daisies as a token of my unwavering affection for you. I don't need you to love me yet, I know that you're currently seeing someone. When he's gone, I'll still be here.

Love always,

Your secret admirer

P.S. Roses are red

Violets are blue

I hope you feel the same

Because I love you

Yumi let the letter slip through her fingers. She nearly tripped when she sprinted across the room and grabbed her cell phone, dialing as quickly as possible.

"Aelita!" yelled Yumi, pacing back and forth. "We've got a bit of a problem."