Disclaimer: This is a work of not-for-profit fan fiction. The appropriate parties own the rights to the universes, characters, and plots referenced herein. I don't.
Lover's Quarrel
Chapter 1: Finally
Jeremy pulled off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. It was three in the morning, and Jeremy was no closer to coming up with an anti-virus for Aelita.
Jeremy blushed as his thoughts were consumed by Aelita. When Aelita was stranded on Lyoko, he could watch and love her from a distance. But with Aelita around all the time now, Jeremy was finding it harder to keep his emotions to himself. More and more Jeremy desired to reveal his feelings to Aelita, but the fear of rejection held him back.
With a sigh, Jeremy powered down his computer and went to bed. He had a mind to stay up longer, but he knew Aelita would get upset if she found out how late he was working. Before he could lay his head down on his pillow, Jeremy was fast asleep.
Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. Seven a.m. came too early for Jeremy. He reached over and tried to slap the snooze button on his alarm clock, but turned it off instead. He rolled back over and nodded off to sleep again.
Knock. Knock. "Jeremy, are you in here?" It was Aelita. Aelita opened the door and found Jeremy fast asleep. Aelita walked over and sat on Jeremy's bed. She leaned over and whispered into Jeremy's ear, "Wakeup sleepyhead, it's time for school."
Jeremy slowly opened up his eyes and looked at Aelita. He had every intention of yelling at her for disturbing his rest, but the moment he looked upon her face he felt at peace. "Hi, Aelita. What are you doing here?"
Aelita looked at him, puzzled. "What am I doing here? What are you doing still in bed? Don't you know it's ten till eight? We have class in ten minutes Jeremy." With that said Jeremy jumped out of bed and starting pulling off his clothes from yesterday. Before he got to his underwear, he realized Aelita was still in the room. "Sorry, Aelita. Could you leave for a second?"
Aelita, who had been gazing at Jeremy's chest, sputtered for a moment before answering, "Ah, sure, no problem Jeremy." Aelita backed out into the hallway and shut the door. She rested her back against the wall as she contemplated what just happened. Was I just staring at Jeremy because I enjoyed looking at his naked body? I know he's cute but I don't . . . agghh. I've got to talk with Yumi and find out why I feel like this. And find out what is appropriate behavior in this situation.
Aelita jumped again as Jeremy came rushing out of his room. She began walking with him while she contemplated apologizing to Jeremy for ogling him. But Jeremy spouted out an apology first for getting undressed in front of her; and he seemed so oblivious to the fact that she had been watching him that she decided to let it go.
Aelita, Jeremy, Ulrich, Yumi, and Odd sat around the lunch table. Everyone except Jeremy was discussing this morning's lectures. When Aelita realized Jeremy hadn't spoken two words, she reached over and touched Jeremy's hand. Jeremy, who was half asleep, yelled at this sudden contact. Aelita quickly pulled back her hand. "Jeremy, what's wrong. You slept though your alarm and now you're about ready to land in your mashed potatoes."
Jeremy looked at Aelita, oblivious to everyone else around him. "I was up late working on the anti-virus, that's all."
"How's it coming along, Jeremy?" Yumi inquired.
Jeremy slammed a fist down onto the table. "It isn't coming along at all. I haven't made one breakthrough in over two months," Jeremy yelled angrily. Seeing the fear and shock in his friends' faces at his outburst, especially Aelita's, Jeremy faked a smile and peered at Aelita. "I'm sorry. I'm just getting upset that I can't find the solution. And I'm afraid XANA might find a way to exploit the fact that we don't want Aelita to die, as much as we want him to."
The entire table sobered at the last statement. After a moment, Odd broke the silence by saying, "Well, at least try and get some sleep. We already have one Ulrich at the table. We don't really need a second one." While Ulrich began playfully punching Odd, Yumi turned to Jeremy. "He's right, you know. It won't help anyone if you aren't healthy enough try and find the cure, let alone help us stop XANA. Jeremy nodded his head in humble shame. He looked up at Aelita, and saw that she had tears in her eyes. Before he could say a word, Aelita got up from the table and sprinted away.
Aelita ran to her room and locked the door. Tears flowed from her eyes. She was having all of these weird feelings about Jeremy, and from what she had gathered from Yumi, it meant she was in love. But Jeremy kept saying and doing these unpleasant things, and she didn't know why. He spent all of his free time working on her anti-virus, he tried to skip hanging out with her and everyone else so he could go work, he didn't meet her in the park one day because he hadn't woken up in time, and now he was risking his health and his grades.
Aelita sat on her bed and cried, confused by her own feelings and by Jeremy's actions. She picked up a book Jeremy had lent her, a book filled with different sayings and pieces of wisdom from Earth. Most of them she didn't really understand, but she tried her best to learn what they meant. She turned to the page where she had left off and began reading, hoping to find some answers to her grief.
She read for a minute, until she was puzzled by one of the sayings. Actions speak louder than words. Aelita stared at the page. Actions can't speak. They only showwww . . . . . . That was it. Aelita smiled as she finally understood these frustrating feelings she was having. She got up and sat at her computer. I have to research the customs of Earth a little bit more.
It was after suppertime before Jeremy found Aelita. She had skipped the rest of her classes and no one knew where she had gone to. Yumi had talked to her before lunch, but she refused to give any details. The sun was setting by the time Jeremy found her walking near the edge of the woods. He approached her cautiously, not wanting her to run off again. "Aelita," he spoke quietly.
Aelita turned her head and looked at Jeremy. After a moment went by, she turned and walked over to where Jeremy was standing. They stood in awkward silence, until Jeremy began apologizing. "Aelita, I'm sorry for the way I've been. . ." Aelita put a finger to his lips. "You've been a really selfish jerk today, Jeremy," Aelita said angrily. Jeremy felt a pang in his stomach as Aelita spoke those painful words.
Jeremy tried to apologize again, but Aelita shushed him. "But that's not why I ran away today," Aelita spoke more gently. "I ran away because I realized you were doing all of this for me." Aelita put her arms around Jeremy and continued, whispering, "I realized that you were giving everything you had to help me Jeremy."
"Aelita, it's no big deal . . ."
"But it is a big deal Jeremy," Aelita cut him off. "Because I never realized how much you loved me." Jeremy began blushing, unsure of how to respond. Aelita pulled back and looked into Jeremy's eyes. "You do love me, don't you," Aelita questioned? Unable to use his voice, Jeremy simply nodded and dropped his eyes to the ground. Aelita re-embraced Jeremy and whispered into his ear, "Do you know what I think of you Jeremy?" Jeremy shook his head.
"I love you Jeremy. I love you. But I want you to know something. I don't care if you never find a cure for XANA's virus. You're already my savior. So I don't want you to hurt yourself anymore for my sake Jeremy, because I want a healthy boyfriend who will meet me in the park when he's supposed to."
Aelita strengthened her hug and, with strength she didn't know she had, began kissing Jeremy passionately. Jeremy, after momentary shock, returned the kiss with just as much intensity. Their hands wandered over each other's bodies as their tongues entwined. After what seemed like an eternity, Jeremy came up for air.
She did it. And, I did it. We both . . . Jeremy was at a loss for words. Days and nights spent dreaming about his angel had finally come true.
He grinned from ear to ear as he looked upon Aelita. They stood there for several moments smiling, looking, touching, and hyperventilating. Jeremy placed his hands on Aelita's cheeks, and with gentle strokes, he began exploring the depths of Aelita's face. Aelita stood there and stared back, studying Jeremy's expressions as he touched her. She smiled a smile that could launch a thousand ships. Even though he hadn't spoken one word of love, his face and his actions were screaming it.
When Jeremy was finished, he glanced down at his watch and was shocked to see what time it was. "I hate to cut this short, Aelita, but we both better get back to our dorms before we get in trouble." Aelita, upset at the news, nodded in agreement. Jeremy grabbed Aelita's hand and began walking toward the dorms. Aelita leaned her head on Jeremy's shoulder as the made the trip back.
Stopping outside of the girl's dorm, Jeremy prepared to wish Aelita a good night, but Aelita cut him short. "Jeremy, would it be okay if I slept with you tonight? I don't want to be apart from you right now." Jeremy weighed the pros and cons and answered, "Well, sure, if you really want to."
"Great," Aelita replied, giving Jeremy a kiss on the cheek, "Just let me go get my bag."
After dodging the dorm supervisors, Aelita and Jeremy settled into Jeremy's room. Jeremy locked the door as Aelita reached into her back and pulled out some candles and a pack of matches. Aelita giggled as she lit the room with candle light. She had found out a lot of things today, and some things she shouldn't have, but most importantly, Yumi had told her, "Jeremy loves you more than anything else in the world. Take your time with him. You two have the rest of your lives to spend with each other; the journey's the best part." Yumi had winked at that last part, and Aelita, although not understanding what Yumi had said, had felt in her heart the deeper meanings to Yumi's words.
Jeremy turned off the lights and his computer monitor, hiding their uncertainty in the shadows. Aelita and Jeremy moved to the center of the room, close but not touching. They both wanted to experience so much, but neither knew how to approach the other. Gathering his courage, Jeremy grabbed hold of Aelita's waist and pulled her into him. Aelita willfully pressed her body into Jeremy's and snaked her arms around his shoulders.
Lips, tongues, hands, and bodies pressed and moved together. Their kisses were hard and demanding; their arms were rigid and tight. But the minutes passed, and as their urgent needs were sated, hard kisses were traded for soft caresses. Aelita rested her head on Jeremy's shoulder as she ran her hands up Jeremy's shirt and explored his smooth chest. Jeremy ran one of his hands through Aelita's hair while his other stroked her backside, from her neck all the way down.
Aelita let out a soft moan. Everything she was feeling was wonderful. She had decided earlier that she wanted to take her time developing their relationship, but she was now having a hard time sticking to her plans. Everything Jeremy did to her felt great, and she didn't want the feelings go away. But she was also scared. She wasn't sure if she wanted Jeremy to know everything about her body. Well, she knew she wanted that one day, but she didn't think today was that day. She wanted Jeremy to open up to her, and she needed to open up to Jeremy too. There were a lot of things she wanted to tell him, things she should have before. And Jeremy had a lot of explaining to do.
"Jeremy," Aelita said softly. "What are you thinking?"
"About what?" Jeremy asked.
"About us. About what we're doing."
Jeremy looked at her, scared. "Are you saying you don't want to be with me?"
"No," Aelita squealed. "I want to be with you very much."
"But you don't want to continue, do you?"
"It's just that, I'm scared," Aelita whispered.
Jeremy looked down at his love, his angel, and realized that he hadn't told her how he felt at all. She, not even from earth, had been trying to lead the relationship how she thought it was supposed to go. Gaah, I'm a genius, yet I still haven't figured relationships out.
He smiled at Aelita. "Shush, my princess. I love you, very much. And we don't have to continue if you don't want to. I would never force you into do something you didn't want. I just assumed you knew what you wanted." He kissed her brow. "How far we go is up for us to decide. If one of us is uncomfortable, they should speak up. I promise I'll never get angry with you for wanting to wait. I'm actually surprised that we went this far. Most couples wait weeks or months before being physical with one another."
Aelita melted. He said it. He said he loved her. And he said he wasn't upset with her. Her prince was smart and wise and knew what was in her head and heart. She threw her arms back around Jeremy and gave him a big kiss. She grinned from ear to ear. She decided to flirt with him again; reassured that Jeremy wouldn't be upset with her.
"So, my handsome prince, are you ready for bed?" Aelita pulled out her nightshirt from her bad and backed away from Jeremy. She turned her back on Jeremy and took off her dress and began undoing her bra. Jeremy stuttered at the sight before him. Aelita turned her head and winked at him. She pulled on her bed shirt and walked over and sat on Jeremy's bed. She looked at him inquisitively. Jeremy's mind spun in circles for several moments; stunned that she was being this flirtatious with him. He finally caught on that she wanted him to play along.
Jeremy took off his glasses and pulled his shirt off. He walked over to his closet and pulled out pair of shorts. Partially hidden by the bed, he took off his pants and threw on the pair of shorts. He sallied up to his bed, pulled Aelita back up, and gave her a warm, loving kiss. This night had been wonderful and Jeremy reveled in Aelita's embrace. He pulled back the sheets on his bed and slid down inside of them. He then motioned for Aelita to join him. After a moment's hesitation, Aelita slid down next to Jeremy. Jeremy used one arm to pull her head to his shoulder and the other to pull her body into his.
Aelita moaned with happiness. Everything was perfect. She fit in Jeremy's embrace perfectly. His attentions to her needs and feelings were perfect. She felt like the luckiest girl ever to have such a perfect guy. As Jeremy pulled up the sheets, Aelita snuggled closer to Jeremy. Like this, it felt as though nothing could ever go wrong.
Too bad Aelita was mistaken.