I do not own Code Lyoko, but I do own Neville and Beatrix Hopper, as well as Lily.
A/N: This is story number 7 in the WCN continuity, and as such it builds off of many events in the previous stories that have all taken place between the end of the main show (not including CL:E) and now. That being the case, I would recommend reading the stories in the order I have listed in my Bio, but ultimately that's up to you.
Seven Years, Five Months after XANA's deletion.
Early April
To Grandmother's House we go
We are beginning our final approach towards Newcastle Airport imminently. Please fasten your seatbelts and put your tray tables up and your seat backs in the full upright position. Thank you
The pilot announced over the plane's loudspeaker. It wasn't necessary with Jeremy Belpois though. He had been white-knuckle gripping his armrests since they took off from their last layover in London.
"See, we're almost there and we haven't even hit hardly any turbulence," said Aelita, alternating between patting his hand and rubbing his shoulder gently. His pink-haired fiancé was being comforting for the moment while he was still scared, but she knew that she'd be unable to resist teasing him at least a little once they'd landed! He had faced death countless time with a brave face, but fact that he was petrified by flying never failed to amuse her!
Several minutes later there was a loud 'WHUMP' sound which made Jeremy renew his grip!
"Everything's going to be fine, that was just the landing gear..." despite Aelita's reassurances, the young man didn't relax one bit until the plane came to a complete stop.
"For as many times as you've flown, I can't believe it still scares you!" Aelita pestered Jeremy playfully when they entered the terminal, earning her a glare. He wrinkled his nose and lightly gave her an equally playful shove, causing her to giggle.
"Jeremy! Aelita! Over here!" The couple looked over toward the voice to see a tall young man with dark hair waving to them. His eyes were shut even as he called over.
"Hi William!" Greeted Aelita when the couple got close enough, and she surprised him with a brief hug. "It's good to see you!"
"Thanks for offering to give us a ride to my grandparents, we really appreciate it," said Aelita.
"Trust me, it's not a problem. You guys helped me get my life back!" William opened his eyes for just a second to get a better sense of where his friends were standing, then got close. "I also really need to talk to you guys, and I wanted it to be in person," he whispered before pulling back again while Jeremy and Aelita exchanges confused looks.
"Ok, we'll talk on the road," said Jeremy. William helped the two of them collect their luggage, and they headed to his car with Aelita walking strategically behind William. Once arriving, the young couple immediately noticed that it was no longer the cluttered mess it was the last time they rode with him. They smiled at each other, happy that William seemed to be doing better in all aspects of his life. They loaded up their bags, got in, and took off.
"So, exactly one week until Odd and Sissi's big day, huh?" William asked when they were on the open road.
"Uh huh!" Replied Aelita excitedly.
"I remember the first time I saw them two holding hands, I thought I was going crazy!" All three of them laughed. When the laughter died down, William got quiet. "I guess I realized it was serious when she said that you guys told her about Lyoko." Jeremy and Aelita looked at him curiously, not sure what he was getting at.
"We could see how much it hurt, knowing that we were hiding something from her," said Aelita quietly.
"I know what you mean..." he replied, barely above a whisper. "At first Lily was ok with me not telling her about everything that happened..." he sighed deeply. "But we've been together for over two years now, and not being able to open up has been hurting her for a while now, I can see it in her eyes. I think she might be starting to get resentful of you two because I have shared everything with you guys. I don't even know how to tell her why without getting deeper into it." Jeremy and Aelita exchanged worried looks. "It hurts me too, not being able to open up to the person who means everything to me..."
"I can't even imagine how hard that is..." Aelita trailed off.
"I'm not asking for permission... I'm letting you know that I'm going to tell her," the dark haired man said, a bit more assertively.
"Oh... ok..." replied Jeremy, worry written clearly over his face.
"But I am asking if you would do it with me. If nothing else, that way you can use a return trip if it doesn't go well." Jeremy sighed and knew they really had no choice. He looked back at his fiancé. The concerned look on her face mirrored his, but she nodded regardless and he gave William their answer.
"Ok, we'll do it."
"Thanks Jeremy, Aelita." William said, while he breathed a sigh of relief.
"If you give us a ride from my grandparents in a couple days, we can pick up Lily and then go straight to the factory," suggested Aelita. "We can even take the car on the ferry."
"Alright, that sounds good." William said with a grateful smile.
"We're telling the others though, that's non-negotiable," said Jeremy and the dark haired man nodded. "If nothing else, I'd rather not have them freaking out over a random Return to the Past if it comes to that!"
"That's understandable, but knowing Lily I really don't that's going to end up being necessary."
"And we don't say anything incriminating until we get to the factory," added Aelita.
"Deal!" Exclaimed William, clearly happy with the way the conversation went, but then the car fell into uncomfortable silence. Jeremy and Aelita kept nervously glancing at each other, and after about a half hour William spoke again, more softly this time.
"Look guys, I'm sorry I didn't really give you a choice in the matter, but I want to spend the rest of my life with this girl. I can't ask that of her while we both know I'm keeping secrets from her. That just isn't fair."
"We understand, really. We've seen how that can really tear someone up," replied Aelita, referring to Sissi.
"We're just a bit nervous about telling someone that we've never met about everything," added Jeremy.
"I know. That's why I asked you two to be in on it. I figured I owed you guys at least that much."
"Ok then, I guess we should figure out exactly how we're going to go about it," Aelita said with a small sigh. The three of them then discussed what and how much they were going to reveal to Lily, and by the time they had a plan ironed out they had arrived at Aelita's grandparent's house. Like at the airport, William helped with their bags and when they walked up to the house Aelita knocked on the door. A short time later it opened revealing Neville Hopper. Upon seeing the young couple he grinned widely.
"Hi, Grandpa!" Greeted Aelita excitedly, giving her grandfather a big hug.
"Aelita sweetie, is that you?" Called Neville's wife Beatrix.
Seeing that his fiancé's face was buried in her grandfather's shirt, Jeremy called back into the house, "yes, it's us Mrs. Hopper."
Aelita and Neville let go of each other and stepped into the house with Jeremy following.
"Are you good if I just leave these here?" Asked William, while holding the bags he was carrying off to the side of the doorway.
"Yeah, that's fine," replied Jeremy, just as Beatrix walked into the front room wearing an apron
"Who's that with you?" She asked.
"Grandma, this is our friend William. He gave us a ride up here," introduced Aelita."
"It's nice to meet you Mr. and Mrs. Hopper." The young man shook both of Aelita's grandparent's hands. "I'm going to head out now though."
"Are you sure you won't stay for dinner?" Asked Beatrix. "I'm making bangers and mash, and I've got enough for extra."
"I appreciate the offer, but I really need to get going. Thank you though." William smiled and left.
"Very well then," said Aelita's grandmother. "Would either of you like to give me a hand with supper? It's not as easy getting around as it used to be!" Jeremy and Aelita grinned. Unexpectedly, the art and science behind cooking never failed to fascinate the two of them and they all went into the kitchen.
"So who was that friend of yours? I don't remember you talking about him before," asked Beatrix, after setting Jeremy up with some potatoes to mash.
"Well, Uhh..." stammered Jeremy. Aelita giggled a little and shook her head before speaking up.
"Do you remember the guy we told you got possessed by XANA and fought against us for a while?" Recognition came over her grandmother's face.
"Oh! That William!" Aelita nodded. "He's very polite, and seems to be doing quite well all things considered."
"Yeah, he is," the pink-haired woman replied, deciding not to mention the conversation in the car. She picked up a knife to start shelling peas from their pods, and the three of them made small talk about cooking until dinner was done.
"So, how are things going with school for the two of you lately?" Asked Beatrix after they all sat down to eat.
"It's going well. I've got my dissertation mostly written, but I still need to run a couple more experiments when we get back to Boston to finish up," replied Aelita.
"I've just got editing and some figures to check on for mine," added Jeremy.
"Then you'll be Dr. Jeremy Belpois, and Dr. Aelita Stones!" Exclaimed Beatrix and everyone grinned... everyone except Aelita. Neville noticed his granddaughter's morose expression and touched his wife's arm gently. Having gestured to the upset girl, Beatrix's smile faded as well.
"Oh my, what's wrong dearie?" Aelita frowned and shook her head before answering.
"It's just that the name Stones is a lie... and always has been."
"Oh, sweetie..." Beatrix murmured.
"I should be getting my PhD as Doctor Schaeffer... or maybe Doctor Hopper..." she cried out, visibly upset. After she murmured, "the name of my family..." Jeremy took her hand in his and gave it a comforting squeeze.
"Aelita dear, you won't be Stones for much longer." She looked to her grandmother, who had a warm smile on her face. "Soon you'll be Dr. Aelita Belpois, and that name won't be a lie." Aelita sighed and smiled at Jeremy briefly before looking back to her grandparents.
"I know, and that is comforting, but all my certificates and diplomas will always have the name Stones on it." She took a breath before continuing. "I'm ok, really. If things didn't happen the way they did I would have never met Jeremy." She glanced to her fiancé for another moment. "It's just that sometimes living a fabricated existence can be hard." Jeremy gave her hand another reassuring squeeze.
"Even if the name is a false one, you're the one who earned the accomplishments." Aelita looked back at Jeremy. "And we know who you are, and where you're from. Me, your grandparents, Yumi, Ulrich, Odd, Sissi, and even William. We're all very proud of you." The young woman slid out of her seat and wrapped Jeremy in a big hug while her grandparents smiled at the couple.
"How did I get so lucky?" She whispered.
"I always thought I was the lucky one..." he whispered back.
"How about we say we're both lucky and leave it at that," Finding not objection to that, Jeremy grinned. Another few minutes more and the couple sat back down. The family finished dinner and they all looked forward to spending the next few days together.
A/N: This story is going to be a bit of a departure from my other works as it's going to be more about life in general than romance. That's not to say that there won't be romantic and/or fluffy moments/chapters (they are my favorite after all!), but that's going to take a back seat for the most part. I'm going to try to keep the main focus more on Jeremy and Aelita tackling life together as well as the non-romantic parts of their relationship. That all being said, I hope you bear with me on this one because also unlike the other stories I've written I don't really have a clear destination in mind for this story. I've got a general direction and a bunch of story ideas that I want to make happen, but ultimately I think that this one, like life sometimes, is going to do some wandering at times. Anyway, I hope you still like it.
On an unrelated note, the Lyoko warriors have made it into adulthood and marriages have happened/will happen. As such, relationships have/will become intimate. From here on out in this continuity I'm not really going to shy away from the fact that adult content happens, but I intend to be respectful to the characters and their privacy. That being said, there will be occasional mild adult situational humor and a bawdy joke once in a while (Especially if Odd's in the scene :p), but written content won't be any more graphic or vulgar than anything else I've written. While I won't be censoring/deleting reviews, I would greatly appreciate if you all could keep it mature.
One last thing, the name Einsteins at Work was the idea of Lyokowarrior1994. His story Changing Destiny: Lila's Journey! Is really good and I've been enjoying following it.