A Good Day, a code lyoko fanfic

A Good Day

A Good Day

By Majinbuttercup

Disclaimer: I own nothing Code Lyoko related, and am not even sure who does. Please don't sue me.

Timeline: Right after Aelita gets her memories back.

Pairings: None definite, just a few relationship possibilities.

Warnings: Mostly dialogue, possibly OOC, Very long, not much happens I'm afraid, I had a couple scenes in my head, and to get to the necessary points, it kind of got away from me; I also took a few liberties, but I don't think they are anything significant enough to make it an AU

That said; reviews and constructive criticisms are very much appreciated.

Rating: G

"It's none of your business, Jeremie. So just leave me alone! Odd, will you throw this away for me? I'd like to be alone."

"Sure, Princess. Can I eat your leftovers first?"

With a quick nod, Aelita ran out of the cafeteria, tears streaming down her cheeks. "What do you think is wrong with her?" Jeremie asked. Ulrich and Yumi shrugged, while Odd, too intent on scooping Aelita's leftover mashed potatoes, green beans, and apple cobbler onto his plate, didn't notice.

"Too bad Aelita had already finished all of her lasagna before she gave me her tray. It's really good. Maybe Rosa will give me seconds."

"Shouldn't you finish the food you already have before you go back for more, Odd? Besides, you already had seconds," Ulrich responded.

"Yeah, but Aelita hasn't."

"Odd, you know that eating so much really can't be healthy for you. I've gotta go, I wanted to talk with William about our presentation before class."

"Wait, can I have the rest of your lasagna?"

"Be my guest Odd, but you have to dump my tray."

"No problem Yumi."

"Ugh, what does she see in that William? I'm gonna go too. Odd's getting a little too excited about his food for my stomach to handle. 'Bye."

"See ya." Odd finished licking off the mashed potato remnants from Aelita's tray and looked over at Jeremie, "What'd he mean I'm too excited over my food? I'm hungry."

Jeremie reached across the table toward Odd's cheek, and showed him the mashed potatoes he had picked off, "Maybe you should try eating a bit more neatly, like with your fork? I'm gonna see if I can find Aelita, and figure out why she's so mad at me. See you in class."

"See you later, I'm gonna finish this up."

"Yumi, have you seen Aelita? She didn't come to any of our afternoon classes. I had to tell the teachers that she got sick and went back to her room for the afternoon. Jim gave me the usual speech about how 'the dormitories are strictly forbidden during the hours of 8 and 5 for all students' and had to go pretend to find her and take her to the infirmary. If Jim decided to go check on her to see how she was feeling, she'd be in real trouble."

"I'm sorry, Jeremie, I haven't seen her. She's probably just still upset. If I see her, I'll let you know you're looking for her."

"Okay, thanks Yumi. I just hope Xana doesn't launch an attack while she's sulking. She should know better than to shut off her cell phone. She knows she's the only one who can deactivate a tower."

"Yes, Jeremie. She knows, you remind her every day."

"Why, Yumi? Did she say something to you?"

"Crrckkck, oops, sorry Jeremie. You're breaking up. Crchchck. Gotta go. Crchck." Click.

"That was kind of mean, don't you think Yumi?"

"Ulrich, don't you think he needs to lighten up on her a little? So, she had a bit of a temper tantrum during lunch and wants to be alone. Big deal. We all do sometimes. And, Jeremie still treats her like a program sometimes, and you know it as well as I do. Now come on, let's get back to training. Kyaa!" With a perfect roundhouse, Ulrich is laying on the ground, looking up at a smirking Yumi, standing over him with regal superiority.

"Hmmph. Bet you can't do that again."

"Stakes?"

"Loser pays for the winner's tickets to a movie this weekend. Umm, in the afternoon. With everybody else there too."

"Deal."

The two nod simultaneously at one another, and resume their stances.

"Hiya, Princess. I figured I'd find you here. Jeremie's been looking all over for you. I'm surprised he hasn't called the police to set up a search party for you yet."

Aelita, tears streaming down her eyes, sat huddled against the wall on the remnants of her old bed, clutching the tatters of an old teddy bear. "I'm surprised Jeremie didn't think of this place himself. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that if you're upset, you'd go back home. I mean, I've figured it out quite a few times, and I'm certainly no Einstein."

"Maybe that means he just doesn't know me as well as he thinks he does." Aelita said angrily, a fresh burst of tears streaming down his face.

"Nah, I think he just doesn't understand girls. When you've gone out with as many girls as I have, you get to figuring out how they think. When girls are upset they go to someone or somewhere they feel safe. Seeing as most of your friends are friends with Jeremie as well, and those that aren't don't know you as anything but my pretty cousin, you're going to go somewhere you feel safe, instead of to someone."

"The bad thing is, the reason I'm upset has nothing to do with Jeremie at all. He just got caught in the crossfire."

"Did you tell Jeremie that?"

"No, and I don't want to. Odd, can we go somewhere, in town? I want to get out of this room."

"Sure, Princess. Do you want me to get a hold of Yumi and the others?"

"No. I'm not in the mood to talk to a lot of people right now. And you might actually be able to help me with my problem."

A blush crept up to Odd's cheeks, and he rubbed the back of his head. "Umm, I can?" a nervous chuckle erupting from his mouth.

Aelita cocked her head to the side slightly, and, with a realization, her eyes opened wide. "Odd!" Chuckling she slapped him lightly on the arm, and preceded to hold her hand out for assistance standing. She walked over to a cracked window, and checked out her face in the slight reflection of the glass. Seeing the splotches on her cheeks, she grimaced before walking over to the dresser and pulling something out of the top drawer and sliding it into the pocket of her hooded sweatshirt. Noticing Odd's quizzical expression, she held out her hand, and asked, "Are we going or not?"

"Sure thing, Princess."

"Where can Aelita be? She can't still be mad at me over such a silly little thing, can she? Maybe Odd's seen her." . . . "Straight to Voicemail. Odd, this is Jeremie. I still haven't been able to find Aelita. If you see her, give me a call, will you? I'm heading over to the factory, to see if maybe she went there. Thanks." He hung up. "Maybe Ulrich's seen her. Come on, pick up, pick up!"

The phone opened to the sound of laughter in the background. "Jeremie, what's wrong? Is it Xana? Do we need to go to Lyoko? "

"No, I was just wondering if you had seen Aelita. Her phone is going straight to Voice Mail and I still can't find her."

"That's what you called about? I'll have you know, I was so startled by hearing my phone that I lost a bet to Yumi. Thanks a lot Jeremie."

"What was the bet?"

"Umm, well, uhh… that's not important. What is important is that I lost, and it's all your fault. Besides, did you even try Odd?"

"Yes, I did, and he's not answering his phone either."

"What's that? Oh, Jeremie can't find Aelita, and Odd's not answering his phone either. Yeah, I know, that's what I was thinking, too. I'll tell him. Yumi says that Odd probably found her and they probably went to the movies or something to help calm Aelita down."

"Aelita wouldn't do that. She wouldn't go on a date with Odd. He's just . . . not her type."

"It wouldn't be a date; it'd be two friends hanging out while one of them is upset. Would you assume it was a date if I was the one to go to the movies with her? No. So, just because it's Odd, doesn't mean it's a date either."

"What do you mean, 'just because it's Odd?' Do you know something I don't Ulrich?"

"All I know is that Odd and Aelita are just friends, but, if you don't stop being so jealous, you're going to lose her before you even get the chance to go out with her. Now, I've got to go, Yumi and I are training. We'll have Aelita call you if we see her. Call us if there's an attack. Otherwise, we'll see you at dinner. 'Bye, Jeremie." Click. "Now, where were we?" Ulrich asked with a smirk on his face. Yumi's thoughtful expression turned to one of determination as she resumed her battle stance.

"So, Princess, I've noticed something. And please don't blow up at me like you did at Jeremie. I mean, he did overreact this afternoon, and if you don't want to tell me, you don't have to, I won't push. It's probably no more my business than it was Jeremie's. Less in fact, seeing as Jeremie's your boyfriend, and I'm not."

"Boyfriend, what makes you think Jeremie's my boyfriend?"

"Well, you're both so smart, and you do everything together, and he flipped over you in Lyoko from the first time he ever saw you, and he'd do anything to protect you."

"Well, yes, he is all of those things. But that doesn't mean he's asked me to be his girlfriend. And besides, even if he asked, I'd probably say no."

"Why, 'Lita?"

"It's simple really, before my father virtualized me, I thought of myself as a child. I was in Junior High, but I still played with dolls, and slept with stuffed animals, and called my father, 'Daddy.' I hadn't really started to mature to my proper age. I began being really sheltered by my father after my mother was gone. This made it worse. After that, my father trapped me on Lyoko for 10 years. I understand that he was trying to help me, but still, I was isolated for 10 years. I would be in college right now, probably getting ready to graduate with my Bachelor's Degree, and putting together my resume. Some of my friends probably have children of their own by now. And yet, here I am, still a child. Jeremie was the first boy I came in contact with for many years. He helped me regain my memories, and for that, I'll be eternally grateful to him, and feel a special bond with him. But I don't want to tie myself down to him, before I even have a chance to experience any of what life has to offer. Any of the other people life has to offer. Jeremie and I could very well end up together someday, but for now, it's too soon. I don't think Jeremie really understands that. I don't think he really understands how overwhelming my life can be sometimes. Even leaving romance alone, which at our age, is difficult to do, other aspects of life are very different. Technology is different, clothing styles are different, music is different, television programs are different. There's an extra 10 years of history that have happened in my lifetime that I know nothing about. I am relearning everything, and trying to fit it into the patchy memories I have of my life before, and make sense of everything. It's just, very hard sometimes."

"I understand, Princess. Or rather, I understand as much as someone who hasn't actually gone through what you have and only who only knows the situation can. But, why haven't you told Jeremie any of this?"

"I don't want to disappoint him. Plus, he admires my father. To him he's only a a scientific genius who created something, rather than a paranoid man who wanted to keep himself and his daughter locked away from the world, alone together, for all time. He doesn't think about me, who was stuck in that tower by my father who 'loved me so much' for so long, that I couldn't even remember my name or anything else by the time he found me. Sometimes, I kind of resent that."

"When you put it that way, it makes sense. And, I won't tell anyone what you just told me, unless you want me too."

"Thank you Odd. I tried talking to Yumi about this once, but she interrupted me and started complaining about Ulrich, and I let her. It feels nice to get this off my chest."

Odd put an affectionate arm around her shoulders, "Anyway Princess, what I was gonna ask, was, why have you been wearing your hood so much lately? You wore it all day yesterday, and all day today, and frankly, it's so hot out, I can't figure out why. Except for during the movie, I'd think you'd be sweating to death. I mean, it's almost summer, even I switched to a short sleeved shirt."

"Promise you won't laugh?"

"Now, that's just not fair Aelita. I can't do that, because, then, even if it's not funny, I'll want to laugh, or to make a joke. I can promise to try not to laugh."

"Close enough, I guess. But first, where do you buy your hair dye?"

"My hair dye? Dramatic Planet, why?"

"Will you take me there?"

"Sure, you can meet Sam. She and I dated while you were still on Lyoko. She works there. She's really cool."

"Thanks, Odd."

"No problem, Princess."

Ding a ling a ling. "Welcome to Dramatic Planet, how may I – Odd? How are you? I've missed you! Is this your new girlfriend? She's really hot! Way too cute for you."

"Thanks a lot, Sam. No, she's not my girlfriend. Not that I'd turn her down if she wanted to be –"

"Odd!"

"- But seriously, Sam, this is Aelita, Aelita, this is Sam. Sam, you should hear her techno mixes sometime, Aelita could give you a run for your money."

"Nice to meet you. Where is your hair dye?"

"Thought so, I wondered why a pretty girl such as you would be running around with a hood or a hat on such a hot day. Your dye's starting to fade, and you don't want people to see you looking like that. Well, it's right over here. I think you'd look really cute with blue hair."

"No, I'd rather stick to pink, if that's okay."

"Hey, it's your head; I can't force you to do anything to it. Odd, she's kind of a pushover; maybe you should dump her and go back out with me!"

A blush on his cheeks, Odd retorts, "I told, you, she's not my girlfriend! Just help her buy her dye!"

"Do you need any? We just got a new shipment of purple in."

"No, I've still got half a bottle left."

"Okay. Now, Aelita, was it?" Aelita proceeds to nod, "If I'm gonna help you, I'm gonna have to see your hair. I need to see how badly it's faded, and your natural hair color to see if you need any bleach to make the color hold better. Do you usually use bleach?"

"Umm, well, I, I don't know…." Aelita looked over towards Odd in a silent plea for help.

Odd, sensing the problem, rushed to the rescue with a good cover story. "Well, uhh, actually Sam, Aelita's parents always dyed her hair for her, and since she wasn't wearing her contacts at the time, she couldn't tell what all they were using. But, since she transferred in to my school recently, she decided to do it herself this time. With my help, of course."

"Of course. Watch him, Aelita. He can be very sneaky when it comes to pretty girls."

"I resent that remark. I was never sneaky when we were going out. I was open and honest. You always knew when I was making a move. And it worked too. No girl can resist my charms. And why should they? It's me, the one and only Odd Della Robia."

"Should we continue, Aelita? It's getting a little deep in here. Now, let me see your hair."

Aelita complied, showing hair which had grown out a bit since the last time Odd had paid any attention to it, seeing as when he saw her was usually on Lyoko or during lunch or class. On Lyoko, her hair never changed, and during lunch or class, there were other things to focus on. Food; other girls; picking on Sissy; occasionally even the lecture, but not usually. Her hair was definitely a fainter pink with light brown roots peeking out. It looked like a nice color if she should ever decide to stop dying her hair.

"Okay, it's probably best to try dying your hair without the bleach first since you still have so much dye in your hair, and too much product in your hair at once isn't good for it. This shampoo here will help your hold your color longer. Odd knows what to do; he can give you a few pointers. Did you need anything else, or want to browse the store for a while, we have an excellent music selection, and some really cool retro trinkets, along with some clothes racks in the back of the store."

"I think I'll pass today, I just want to get back to my dorm and do my hair, but maybe this weekend."

"Alright, come on over to the register and I'll ring you up."

"Hey, Princess. Why didn't you ever tell us your hair was dyed?"

"You thought my hair was naturally pink? Anyway, on Lyoko, it doesn't matter, because nothing changes, and it was dyed shortly before my father virtualized me, so, when I became human again, it was still pink. It just recently began to fade."

"Why did you start dying it in the first place? Like you said earlier, you weren't very old."

"You dye you hair, and you're the same age as me, so why shouldn't I?"

"I was just curious, that's all."

"I know, Odd. It's just painful, that's all. As you know, I was stuck on Lyoko for 10 years. Before that time, before my mother was gone, she was very trendy, and it was something everyone did, dyeing their hair. I vaguely remember a man, I can't remember if he was an uncle, or just a friend of my mother's, but his hair was green. Anyway, my mother's hair was pink, and I idolized her. So, I made my parents dye my hair pink, too. And, then she was gone, so I continued, so I could have a way to remember her. Things may change as I recall more of my memories, but right now, I remember I loved my mother, and that her hair was pink, and that's about it. So, I'm keeping pink hair."

"Okay, do you want help doing your hair?"

"Oh, Odd!" She reaches over and throws her arms around his neck, and wetly kisses his cheek, "That would be wonderful, Thank you!"

"I think we should do your hair in the girl's bathroom. You can check to make sure the coast is clear before I go in, but at least I'm less likely to see something I shouldn't in there than you are in the boy's bathroom." Seeing her confused look, he said, "Never mind. I'll show you what I mean some night after all of the other guys have gone asleep. Or maybe Yumi or Yolanda can explain it. I don't think it's really my place. Anyway, when we get back to the dorms, find an old ratty t-shirt, shorts, and a towel you don't mind destroying, and then come get me."

"Odd?"

"Ready, Princess?"

"Ready."

"Okay, let's go."

"What do you think, Princess?"

"Odd, it's perfect! You see this picture? This is my mother. I remembered while at the Hermitage where I had hidden her picture in my dresser. You got the color even closer to hers than my father did the last time he dyed it! Thank you so much!" With that, wet, dye stained t-shirt and all; she again threw her arms around his neck in joy. Without really knowing how it happened, Odd suddenly found his lips on top of Aelita's and his eyes closed.

-Flash!-

The two guiltily jumped apart to see Sissy, Milly, and Tamiya all staring at them with wide eyes and dropped jaws. "What do you know? Mrs. Einstein's cheating on him with her cousin, the dumbest boy in school!"

"Milly, this is an amazing scoop. Here, I've got my tape recorder, ask them some questions!" Tamiya whispered excitedly.

"This is Milly and Tamiya, live in the girl's bathroom, where we have not only found Odd Della Robia, a boy, inside, but found him kissing his cousin, Aelita Stones, recent transfer student thought by many to be steady love interest of Jeremie Belpois. Odd, Aelita, do you have any comments about this shocking development?"

"Never mind that, aren't you worried what your kids would be like? They'll come out three eyed and four toed! They'll be stupider looking than their father!"

"Not that we're looking to get married anytime soon, or even that it's any of your business, Sissy, but Aelita's my cousin by adoption! My aunt and uncle adopted her from a Canadian orphanage, and then she went to live with my aunt when they got divorced. I hardly knew her until she transferred here." Odd had always thought Jeremie had good taste in picking Aelita to be his love interest, and during a bout of insomnia, had sat up one night trying to come up with a convincing excuse should one day things happened that changed his and Aelita's status, given the fact that the school thought they were cousins.

"Even if we were biologically related, unless we had any genetic abnormalities any kids we had would most likely not have any physical or mental problems. All over the world there are cultures where first cousins are considered the preferred mating partner. Don't you remember - we learned about it in History class last week?"

Odd snorts, "I wasn't paying attention in class, I was distracted," Odd smirked, "I had other things on my mind."

"Odd!"

"What? Even I can think about stuff other than girls! I was thinking about lunch! It was spaghetti and meat balls, peas, and bread sticks that day. I even got Rosa to give me thirds and a pudding cup for desert. Mmm! Chocolate! Which reminds me, I'm hungry!"

"What about Jeremie, Mrs. Einstein? Why shouldn't I tell him what I saw here? Or have Milly and Tamiya print the picture in that rag they call a school newspaper?"

"Go right ahead. I'm not Mrs. Einstein, or Mrs. Anyone Else. Now, if you'll excuse us, we're going to get Odd out of this bathroom, change into clean clothes, and go have some dinner."

"Bye, bye Sissy! Don't forget to use some concealer for that huge spot on your neck! Oh, wait, that's your head!"

"Ah, Salisbury steak. The Eighth Wonder of the World! This has been a good day don't you think, Princess? We hung out, crossed boundaries we shouldn't have, learned more about each other, saw a great movie, and now are eating kick – ass food. By the way, are you ever going to tell Jeremie why you were so annoyed?"

"Probably not. I worked it all out talking it over with you, and it seems silly now, the two of us getting so worked up over a sweatshirt, when it was more my feeling like I was losing my connection to my mother than actually being mad at him for being so nosy and possessive."

"Well, he just walked in the room. He's on his way over. Hey, Aelita? Before he gets here, would you like to hang out again some time? Just the two of us? No Lyoko, no Jeremie, or Ulrich or Yumi?" Jeremie stopped a few tables away when he noticed blushes on the cheeks of his two friends. Sighing, straightening his glasses, and squaring his shoulders, he resumed his stride over towards their table.

When Jeremie was still a table away, Aelita nodded, "I'd like that."

"Aelita! I found you! I'm so sorry we fought earlier! I've been trying to reach you all day! You turned your phone off! About 10 minutes ago Xana activated a tower! We have to get to Lyoko before people get hurt by his attack! Where were you?" He stopped, shook his head, and concluded, "We'll talk about that later, for now, let's head for the factory!"

"Bye, bye Salisbury steak! I'll miss you." As he stood up to reluctantly dump his tray, he winked at Aelita, and rushed to catch up with Jeremie who waited near the cafeteria doors for them.

--Owari--