A/N: Behold, a collection of side stories for my Jerlita Roleswap AU—an alternate universe where Jérémie and Aelita have swapped roles, if you need a refresher. These are the stories that didn't quite make the cut for the main story "The Boy in the Computer", but are still canon to the general AU.

Disclaimer: I do not own Code Lyoko in any way, shape, or form.

Chapters of TBITC to Read Before Reading This One: 11 – What is Love?, 13 – A Break in Routine

Beta read by FP7ETDP43

!~~~J~E~R~L~I~T~A~~R~O~L~E~S~W~A~P~~A~U~~~!

"Jérémie has questions about emotional issues and a wish based on the answers he receives."

The Girl From the Outside

Episode 13.1: Kiss and Make Up

Jérémie is laying down on the top platform of a tower as he ponders over the attack he just finished diverting.

He is relieved that his friends are alright. Whenever XANA is quiet, it's never good. This time, the AI actually had the nerve to infect the supercomputer (where it lived) in order to access a program it did not have access to (for a reason). Thank goodness he was fast enough in deactivating the tower.

But there had been a very uncomfortable tension between Ulrich and Yumi. Aelita had said that they were fighting, as in arguing, describing it as a bug in their programming. Could humans even get bugs? What did a human getting a bug mean?

According to his research, that phrase commonly means that the human is becoming ill, usually with a cold or a fever. That certainly does not describe what Ulrich and Yumi were doing or going through, so there had to be another reason.

But his research has just hit a dead end. This is something he has to ask Aelita about. She's currently in class, though, so he has to wait.

Why were Ulrich and Yumi fighting? What set them off? There is so much that Jérémie doesn't know, doesn't understand, and he has no idea where to begin. Honestly, it bothers him that friends could even fight at the level that Ulrich and Yumi were.

He remembers his own argument with Aelita. And it wasn't even an argument. Aelita had just snapped at him out of stress, and feeling like they were mad at each other (when they weren't), the two gave each other their space, until one of them gained the courage to apologize first. It was just a misunderstanding, and Jérémie is hoping that he and Aelita never get into an actual argument.

Because he still remembers how afraid he felt at the thought of Aelita being mad at him. He still remembers how alone he felt waiting for her next call. He still remembers how isolated he felt even when she was sitting literally a meter away from him at that oasis.

He still remembers all of those emotions, and they all hurt to think about, even now. Every day, he waits for Aelita to get out of class so they can talk to each other, and it pains him to wait. He hates being away from her, especially now that he knows how they feel about each other.

Love...

What is love? It feels so wonderful, yet so awful sometimes specifically because of the aforementioned hurtful emotions.

Odd previously said that Ulrich and Yumi loved each other, the same way Jérémie and Aelita did. The purple-loving blonde then explained that Ulrich and Yumi's dynamic was one where they tend to bicker a lot, but then they always 'kiss and make up' not long after.

He knows what kissing is, and that it requires the sense of touch in order to appreciate it. But his information on it is severely lacking.

His train of thought is derailed by Aelita calling out to him, "Jérémie? Are you there?"

He found himself smiling, "Yes, I read you." The loneliness is fading now that she's talking to him. He sits up, the interface already active with the virtual communicator. "Are you working on... what's it called? Homework?"

She giggles, "Yes."

He also hates feeling confused. He's like XANA in that regard—things need to make sense to him. Emotions don't, and that's why he's always thinking about them. And he's glad and grateful that Aelita doesn't judge him for it. Instead, she giggles (because she finds it cute) and tells him what he wants to know.

"I have to write a story for a creative writing assignment," she continues. "Actually, I'm almost done. Yumi just read it over for me and gave me some tips on how to improve it. So I'm checking it over and rewriting it using her advice."

As friends should, he felt. "What do you have to write about?"

"An important moment for us in a fictional setting."

He knows what his would be. "Mine would be meeting you." But what fictional setting would he choose?

Aelita's face turns red, "A-Actually, that's also the moment I chose."

"Really?"

She nods. "I have you as a prince from a lost kingdom with amnesia, and me as the princess from a neighboring kingdom helping you get your memories back. Over time, we fall in love with each other..." Her blush deepens.

He softly smiles at her. "I would like to read it. When you're finished, of course."

"O-Of course."

She then turns back to her paper, as she begins typing it on her computer, in a word document program. The two sit in a comfortable silence (something else he appreciates about her), and she's just finished her paper. She has saved it and printed it out when he can no longer hold back his confusion.

"Aelita." She looks up at him, in the midst of her putting her paper in her folder for Ms. Kensington's class. "I need to ask you about something."

"Go ahead."

"Well..." He takes a deep breath, before continuing, "you previously described Ulrich and Yumi arguing as them being 'buggy'. That would imply that...something has caused them to divert from their usual pattern. Yes?"

"Yeah, that's exactly what it means," Aelita explains. "Yes, they argue, but that was their first serious fight."

That makes sense. It was an anomaly in their usual behavior, and it was evident in how much it affected the group by proxy.

"Are they still fighting?" he asks. "Or have they 'kissed and made up'?"

The pink-ette giggles at his phrasing. "They've made up, don't worry. And according to Odd's testimony—and their repeating blushing all throughout today—the 'kissing' part was literal."

"Oh." For some reason, his heart falls in disappointment. "You mean it's yet another phrase that is more figurative than literal?"

Her smile fades a bit. "Yeah, sorry. Were you hoping it would be literal?"

"Part of me, yes, and I'm not sure why."

To his surprise, she laughs. Like a full-on laugh instead of a giggle. "I know why! You have become what is called a 'shipper' of Ulrich and Yumi. It means you support their relationship and are more invested in the details than you normally would be."

Oh.

"Don't worry, Jérémie. You're not alone. Odd and I are also shippers, as is Yumi's brother Hiroki. And remember, while it's just a saying, the 'kiss and make up' is literal in this particular sense."

He felt better now. "I see. So our argument... we also 'kissed and made up', yes?"

"Yes, metaphorically."

"I hope we never get into another fight," he found himself confessing, his heart moving faster than his brain, "but if we do, then I would prefer if it was literal."

Aelita's blush returns tenfold. "R-Really?"

He nods, mentally reminding himself that the verbal glitch is called a 'stutter' and that it's normal. It means that she's currently embarrassed or flustered.

"O-Okay. S-Sure, but um...we, uh, we don't have to wait for an argument to kiss, you know."

He leans forward in immediate intrigue, "Really?" So kissing is for any time that you feel like it?

It's her turn to nod.

Jérémie smiles excitedly. "I can't wait."

Through her reddened cheeks, Aelita returns his smile, "Me neither."

!~~~J~E~R~L~I~T~A~~R~O~L~E~S~W~A~P~~A~U~~~!

A/N: If you have any ideas for side stories of this AU, please let me know in a review or a PM.

Chapter Notes: This was meant to be shorter, but I kind of got carried away.

Also, people on Discord (they know who they are) love literal-minded Jérémie (they call him "The Autism Creature") as well as Jerlita, so this chapter is dedicated to them.