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everythingunderthestarsthings · 2 years ago

Note

Can I have a Ulrich Stern x Fem autistic reader where he helps reader with a panic attack?

A/N: Of course! Disclaimer, though -- I'm not autistic and I had to google to see how experiences vary from one individual to another. And based on what I've understood, I've typed this out. I've done my best to make this piece accurate, but if there's any area in which I should improve on, do let me know. We learn and grow together.

Another disclaimer: I do not own the image, or Ulrich Stern, or any of the characters in Code Lyoko.

I hope you enjoy this, @micheleamidalajedi

Note:

(Y/N) - Your Name

(E/C) - Eye color

(H/C) - Hair color

This is set after "Final Round", after William is captured by X.A.N.A.

I've also made a reference to the episode titled "Attack of the Zombies" but it's very mild.

Reader and Ulrich are friends, no confessions as of yet. I hope you enjoy this, and I hope to get better at writing these things.

TW: Anxiety, panic attacks.

"So William's just... gone?" Yumi asked, eyes widened in disbelief.

"... Yes." Jeremy replied, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Lyoko is completely gone, and I don't see him on my monitors."

"Jeremy and I are going to reconstruct Lyoko," Aelita spoke up, looking at the rest of the group as Jeremy turned away and back to the monitor. "William might show up after a while."

Silence followed.

"What... what if he doesn't?" (Y/N) asked slowly.

"Aww, relax, (Y/N)!" Odd exclaimed, setting his hands behind his head. "He will. He'll be fine. X.A.N.A. doesn't like throwing away new toys."

"Odd's reasoning is somewhat logical, for once." Jeremy's voice agreed. "I'll look for him."

"What about William's absence? Jim's going to kill us." Ulrich pointed out, hands folded.

"A simple morphed call as William's father should do the trick."

"I knew something like this would happen." Yumi grumbled, clenching her shaking fists. "He was too careless, and now he's just stuck..." she swallowed and exhaled, and her voice came out shaky when she spoke after, "We shouldn't have asked him to join."

"Agreed." Ulrich sided with her.

"Th-that's not important right now!" (Y/N) piped up hotly, making the others -- even Jeremy -- turn to look at her. A breath. Though they were all friends, it still made her nervous to have so many people looking at her, especially Ulrich, whose eyes were the ones staring directly into hers. "We have to find him and set this right. He's a person for god's sake and he's missing!"

"(Y/N), you're right." Aelita was the first person to approach her, gently squeezing her hand. "I promise you we'll find him. Okay?"

Jeremy and Aelita stayed back at the Factory while the others climbed down the sewers.

Usually, Odd Aelita, Jeremy and Ulrich, being boarding students, would part from Yumi and (Y/N), the day students, to get to Kadic's boiler room. The girls would then travel to the neighborhoods and get home. Tonight, just the walk through the sewers was agonizingly slow.

Too silent. Too silent.

It's because of you, a voice in (Y/N)'s head whispered. It's because of you. Apologize.

(Y/N) clenched and unclenched her fist. It wasn't a noticeable action, but it did help her calm herself a little bit.

"I'm sorry for raising my voice back there." (Y/N) said after about ten clenches. "I'm just worried."

"That's alright, (Y/N)." Odd smiled. "We understand. Besides, Ulrich and I might have been insensitive too."

"Yeah, sorry about that, (Y/N)." Ulrich supplied.

Yumi, who was the one walking ahead of all of them, suddenly came to a stop.

"I should send William's Dad's contact number." she said, her voice thick. "You guys go on ahead."

She went to lean against the walls of the sewer tunnels.

"I have his number." (Y/N) piped up, opening her phone's contact list. "I can send it to-"

"Just go, please." Yumi said forcefully. "Please."

Gahh, what was wrong with her today?

An unsettling pit of acid bubbled in (Y/N)'s stomach. It's you. You're the problem.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you." (Y/N) said. "I-"

A hand squeezed her shoulder, and she squeaked in surprise, seeing Ulrich behind her.

"Let's go, (Y/N), I'll walk you."

"But I didn-"

Yumi sank to the ground, sliding down the wall till she could put her head on her knees and cry. It was no secret that she liked William, even after Ulrich had been particularly sour about it, so a part of (Y/N) could understand why she was so upset.

Before she could say anything, Ulrich was guiding her towards the entrance that led to the city. (Y/N) turned her head around, her (H/C) hair nearly whipping Ulrich, to glimpse Odd hugging Yumi to comfort her before they took another turn.

"I didn-didn't mean to start anything off." (Y/N) said when Ulrich let go of her slightly. "I just..."

"I know." Ulrich said gently. "It's just that Yumi doesn't exactly like expressing her feelings in front of people she's not very close to."

Yumi, Y/N and William were in the same class. Y/N and William had joined Kadic together from the same previous school, and William had taken to Yumi immediately.

(Y/N) had tried too, but..

"I'm not very good at understanding social cues, I'm sorry." Same reason why she hadn't been able to make any other friends except William in her previous school too.

And now, she had lost that friend.

"Yumi didn't like me knowing about the scanners and Lyoko too... did she?"

"What?" Ulrich gaped. "No, no. It's not about-- okay, well, yes." he changed his answer after (Y/N) gave him a look. "But you can understand why... Lyoko is a dangerous thing and the more people knowing, the more dangerous it is."

They walked together in silence.

(Y/N) knew how she had heard Ulrich, but she couldn't help the queasiness in her stomach, couldn't help but listen to the voice in her head telling her it's all your fault, you should have tried better, you should be more normal and understand Yumi, you should have gone in and scanned yourself and let it be you instead of William.

She clenched and unclenched her fists again.

When (Y/N) had been younger, the panic attacks came without warning, where even the slightest misstep caused her to spiral down into what she could only describe as absolute, agonizing hell. She wouldn't be able to breathe, wouldn't be able to think straight, let alone stand. She would feel queasy and vomit.

Going to school when she was younger had also been a herculean task. Loud noises, and people, so many people she had to look at and talk to -- and so many people who made fun of the way she spoke, the way she was slower than others, and how she was weird and different -- and no matter how much she tried, she would end up getting hated anyway.

William was the only person who understood -- the only real friend she'd had.

(Y/N) stopped walking. It was all too much.

"(Y/N)?" Ulrich whispered, meeting her eyes. The night made his eyes look black.

Black void. Black despair. William. It was all too much.

"I have to go.." was all she could manage before she got to an open corridor where sewer water was collecting. She knelt down and hurled the contents of her stomach into the stream, hurled and hurled and cried and cried, panting, out of breath.

"(Y/N)-- Oh shit, what happened?"

"I'm-- I'm sorry." (Y/N) sobbed.

"Are you alright?" he asked, sitting down beside her. She avoided his eyes. "Hey, hey, look at me."

She sobbed some more at her own inability to be able to look at a person and hold their gaze. Eye contact scared her, and it was hard when it was like this, when she felt like she couldn't quite do anything worthwhile.

"(Y/N), please, please don't cry.." Ulrich sounded helpless. She was looking at his crossed legs, wiping her eyes. "Is there something I can do?"

No, nobody could do anything. William was in the digital sea, Yumi hated her, she couldn't even look at people -- there was nothing that could be done.

Hands touched her face. Rough, calloused hands. Ulrich's -- penchaksilat's doing, no doubt -- and they were familiar. She had definitely felt them before. Hands that slowly tilted her face upward. She closed her eyes.

"D-don't do that." she told him and his hands dropped at once. Everything put her on edge when she couldn't breathe. But, Ulrich.... Ulrich was trying to help. "I'm having a p-panic attack. Tha-that doesn't help."

"What does help, then? I want to help."

What helps?

She wiped her eyes, lowering her head till it about touched her own cross-legged feet. Covering her mouth with her hands, she breathed in and out. The sewers were suffocating, but she needed this. The exhales came out as sobs, and no matter what she tried, they didn't stop coming out as sobs.

"G-go." (Y/N) choked out to Ulrich, still not looking at him. "It's l-late. Go."

"I won't leave you like this."

She had only known Ulrich a short time -- shorter compared to William -- but she knew that he was stubborn. And kind.

Come on, get up, (Y/N).

Slowly, (Y/N) lifted her head up and opened her eyes. She saw Ulrich's face. He sighed, looking very clearly relieved now that she was looking at him.

"Trying to calm down is difficult. I've always taken a long time after a panic attack. It's hard." she explained, trying to keep her voice as leveled as she could, but a sob and a stream of tears escaped her after the 'hard'. "Sorry that you had to see me like this."

Ulrich looked sympathetic. Kind.

"You don't have to apologize for anything, (Y/N)." he said. He looked contemplatively at her for a moment, maybe two. Then he sighed. "I can't imagine how hard this entire situation has to be for you. You're new to the whole Lyoko thing and William's a close friend of yours...."

William had noticed a long time ago that Yumi and her friends were always disappearing, always off into a world that seemed different than the ones they lived in. He told her of dreams he had, of defusing bombs to save the whole Lyoko gang, how it all felt too real to be a figment of his imagination.

(Y/N) hadn't understood then, but with dreams of zombie students and a heartfelt moment between her and Ulrich out in the snow, she had started to realize that his theories had some substance to it.

He had been right -- the Lyoko warriors were in a world of their own. And by proving his resourcefulness, he had been inducted as one of them, and -- with one thing leading to another -- so had she.

"Best friend," she corrected. How many times had he stood up for her since they had been kids? "You said that the Return to the Past won't bring him back?"

He shook his head. "No, it doesn't work that way." Then, he added, "Odd was right back there, though. William was great with that sword, and X.A.N.A will not let a good fighter go."

"But he will be under this X.A.N.A's control?"

"Not for long, you can bet on that." He set his hands on his knees. "Jeremy's good at what he does, and Aelita's his better half. We'll keep trying to bring him back."

(Y/N)'s mind thought of Mr. and Mrs. Dunbar. They were back home, going on about their night, not knowing that their son was trapped in a virtual world. An involuntary sob choked her, and as she recovered, coughing, she prayed that this truly wouldn't be for long.

"How long have all of you fought X.A.N.A?"

"Nearly two years." He scratched the back of his head with one hand, and she met his eyes again. Brown, not black, she noted to herself. "It feels like forever."

"You're... really brave." (Y/N) said quietly. Ulrich's eyes widened and she averted her gaze to the tunnels on the side. "I've only known about this for two weeks, and here you are, fighting this monster for two years with nobody knowing."

"It becomes a part of your day. I don't see heroism in it." he shrugged.

"I think it shows that... all of you really care about this world." she countered. "And everyone in it."

"I don't know what to say." Ulrich admitted. "That's nice of you."

"Thank you."

Silence followed again, but this silence was warm. Surrounded by sewage made things less ambient, but it was fine nonetheless.

"How long have you know William?"

"Four years. We... went to the same school together. He came here after his expulsion, and so did I." It was only logical.

"He's a boarder, though?"

"His parents work at our hometown since that's where their business runs. My parents shifted here so that I could travel to Kadic easily."

A thought occured to her.

"Oh no, it's too late." she whined. "I've got to go home."

She got up and dusted her clothes with her hands. Ulrich stood up too. "I'll come with you."

"No, that's alright-"

"Just until the gate. Then, I'll go back."

(Y/N) smiled, albeit a little unsure. "Are you sure?"

"Of course."

They walked till they got to the cityside entrance of the sewer base.

"Thank you, Ulrich." (Y/N) told him sincerely.

"Not a problem, (Y/N)." he replied. "Get home safe." A pause. "I know this wasn't really the greatest introduction to Lyoko, or to our lives, but this won't be for long." He met her eyes fiercely, with determination. "I know I haven't been the best to William, but I'll do everything I can to find him. We all will."

"I believe you." (Y/N) assured him. She looked at his hands. Calloused hands, she would always remember them for the kindness they showed her. A flicker of a dream appeared in front of her -- of him holding her hand as they ran from zombified students. It hadn't been a dream. She gently touched his hands and smiled, "Good night."

She let go, and he waved, and she walked out into the night, a smile lingering on her lips.

Ulrich watched (Y/N) go -- her (H/C) hair dancing slightly in the night wind, and watched her till she turned to the next street, where her house was.

His phone rang, and he picked the call, going back into the sewers.

"Where are you?" rang Odd's voice. "I'm back inside our room. Jim's on rounds!"

"Coming. It took a while to drop (Y/N)." He got back to the sewer tunnels. "How's Yumi?"

"She's okay. Better. Really missing that Cassanova. I still think that if (Y/N) and William hadn't shown up, you and Yumi would've fallen in love with each other instead of them."

"Odd." Ulrich hissed warningly.

"I'm not saying it's a bad thing! It's cute. Love is something you can't control."

"I'm hanging up on you." Ulrich stated before doing just so.

(Y/N) was different than most people, in that she was kinder than most people were, more empathetic. He still remembered how she had believed him when he told her that they knew how to help everyone else from the zombie attacks, and how she had accompanied him to the factory without hesitation. A Return to thhe Past had erased her memories of everything they talked about that day -- about her autism, about his vertigo, about how long they had been figting X.A.N.A. for. It was that kindness that made him fight the others to tell her about Lyoko in the first place.

He wanted that kindness -- needed it.

I believe you, she had said when he told her about X.A.N.A the first time.

I believe you, she had said when he assured her they would bring William back.

Now, all he had to do was keep his end up, and -- one day -- believe in himself enough to tell her how he felt.

And that's all I've got for now!

Maybe later down the line, I'll write something to elaborate on the "Attack of the Zombies" episode moments.

I really hope you enjoyed this.

#ulrich stern #ulrich stern x reader #code lyoko x reader #jeremie belpois #aelita schaeffer #odd della robbia #william dunbar #yumi ishiyama #code lyoko warriors #lyoko #kadic academy #ulrich stern x fem reader #friendship #cute fluff #i love this #ulrich stern is pining #love

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everythingunderthestarsthings · 2 years ago

Note

Can I have Yumi Ishiyama x Fem autistic reader where they tell each other their feelings and begin dating? (Make it all fluffy!)

Of course!

Thank you, @micheleamidalajedi for requesting this, and also, for sending me resources to begin my research with.

I hope you enjoy!

Added A/N: When I started this, I was confident, but I'm not too sure of the ending? I think it's okay? Not sure? Gaaaaaah! But yes, I have to mention that this request took away some of my writer's block and helped me acheive some of my personal word count goals (also, i apologize for typos).

Word count: 4008

Reader Pronouns: She/Her Gender: Female Paired with: Yumi Ishiyama

Being a Lyoko warrior was demanding. Exhausting. Sometimes, all Yumi wanted to do was scream.

She values everything she's gained from being a Lyoko warrior, though -- she's met her absolute best friends, and learnt more about herself and her world than she had ever known before -- and through it all, she's understood the value of the little moments.

The time she gets to spend eating with her family. The time she gets to hang out with her brother. The few minutes of quiet she gets when she's walking home and everything is calm ...

Yumi understood how precious those moments were. X.A.N.A. might be something she and her friends faced alone, but all of it was worth it if they could do whatever they can to protect this world, and the people in it.

Besides, Jeremie was getting close to finishing his multi-agent system against X.A.N.A. Just a few more days, and everything would be worth it.

Of course, being a Lyoko warrior had too many downsides -- Yumi had almost died twice; her parents had almost died twice; Jeremie, Ulrich, Odd, Aelita, and Sissi had almost died multiple times, and she had lost count of the number of times they'd had to return to the past to fix everything.

Then, she had to lie to her parents about staying late, keep away from William, and think too many times before having to make committments with other friends of hers. Yumi's social life was in ruins.

Especially when it came to (Y/N).

(Y/N) lived two streets away from Yumi's, and both of them went to Kadic together. Every day, the two of them would walk to school grounds, first holding their bags, and -- as they grew older and closer -- linking pinkies.

Classes were a breeze. (Y/N)'s neatly organized notes, cataloged and underlined with pens and highlighters of different colors held a special place in Yumi's heart, and -- having known her for a long time -- Yumi was the only person in Kadic who could understand (Y/N)'s behaviors and provide whatever she would require (reassurance, assistance, or even just some extra pens) when she needed it.

"Arigato!" (Y/N) would always reply, pleasantly, like the chirp of a lovely little bird, and it brought a smile to Yumi's face without fail.

(Y/N) always gave Yumi her notes to study with whenever she had to leave the classroom (X.A.N.A being a pain in the ass), with small notes with hearts and smiley faces between the pages just for Yumi to see.

The world does not deserve someone as precious as you, (Y/N), Yumi would tell her, handing her notes back to her with a big grin.

What are you thanking me for, silly? Anything for you!, (Y/N) would reply back.

It was one year after X.A.N.A had plagued Yumi's life that something else also happened -- Yumi and (Y/N) had been put in different classes for the new school year.

This had happened in conjunction with Odd being put in a different class from Jeremie and Ulrich, and even after the whole mess with Jim and his disco tape -- even after Odd got to be in the same class as the others -- Yumi and (Y/N) were in different classes.

"Will you be okay, (Y/N)?"

"I'll be fine, Yumi. I'm only worried about you."

"I'll be fine if you are."

"Okay, I love you."

Yumi had nearly stopped breathing.

"What?"

"I love you!" (Y/N) had repeated, smiling brighter, (E/C) eyes twinkling brighter than the sunlight falling on her hair (the two of them had been sitting on one of the benches in the grounds). "Best friends forever, right? I love you."

"I love you too, (Y/N)."

Those words had set off something akin to a ripple in Yumi's heart, and, after a whole week of psychoanalyzing everything -- everything -- she had realized that, of course, she felt the same way towards (Y/N).

But not as friends.

Regardless of X.A.N.A's already troubling interventions, it became that much harder to hold a conversation with (Y/N) after Yumi had realized her feelings for her. Being around her made Yumi forget words, forget balance and sanity, and she was almost too thankful for her friends calling her to the factory.

In the background -- and it only became background since Yumi was being pulled in so many different directions -- (Y/N), after struggling in her new class, slowly made friends, and was enjoying her school days with those friends. Yumi made it a point to spend as much time as she could with her best friend, so she felt guilty for running off towards the factory with no explanations, leaving (Y/N) alone. So the new friends were a wonderful thing. More people could see how amazing and beautiful and kind (Y/N) was, how everything she did -- from the way she meticulously organized her notes to the way she animatedly moved her hands up and down when she was talking about birds and clouds and nature and everything she loved -- was so authentic and real and absolutely mesmerizing--

Oh no, Yumi thought to herself. I'm in love with her. Holy shit. I love (Y/N).

And when she spoke to the others about this, she was only met with knowing smirks, and Odd collecting about 60 bucks of betting money from the others (Yumi had no idea they'd had a betting pool about this).

"You should tell her how you feel, Yumi." Aelita encouraged her.

As if Yumi hadn't tried. She became a fool when she was alone with her best friend, which confused her and annoyed her to no end, because she craved that aloneness, that intimacy, them holding pinkies every morning on their way to Kadic, and she was reduced to a blubbering fool.

Every morning -- though now it became every morning that she wasn't at the factory or on school grounds already -- she would walk with (Y/N), link pinkies with her and watch her out of the corner of her eyes, trying to pick the right moment to tell her how she felt. She would stare at the way small strands of her (E/C) hair would sway with the wind, how the dimple on her right cheek would become more prominent as she smiled, and confessing became harder because it became that much harder to breathe and stay sane in the first place.

Many times, (Y/N) had noticed.

"Is there something wrong, Yumi?", "Is there something on my face?", "Are you okay, Yumi?". "Yumi, you've been distant and weird lately... is everything okay?" All of her concerned remarks slowly turned into something else. "Are you hiding something from me?" "Do you not like me?"

"Of course not!", "(Y/N), I'm fine.". "Nothing's wrong.", "We're okay. There's nothing I'm keeping from you.". Yumi replied with general replies, then, as time passed, and her silence and hesitation became more X.A.N.A. and William-related, she stuck to a new response. "I'm just pre-occupied with some stuff. It doesn't concern you, (Y/N)."

Yumi hated saying those words, because the more she said them, or some similar forms of them, the more she was putting distance between herself and her best friend.

Morning pinkie holdings had turned into once-a-month things now.

"I hate what I've done, Odd." she confessed to Odd and Aelita one day. This was recently -- two days before William had been brought back.

"That sucks, Yumi. It really does." Odd sighed wistfully. This was unlike him, but Yumi of course had rarely seen Odd sober up for once. "Einstein's working on something. Then it'll be worth it and you can go back to talking to (Y/N) as usual again."

Aelita gave Odd a withering look, and turned to Yumi.

"Yumi, I've seen you pine for (Y/N) for the longest time." she told her. "And I know that I don't know her very well, not like you do, but I can tell she misses you! Go and talk to her tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?"

"Yeah, tomorrow."

"She might have a point." Odd mused thoughtfully. "Sundays are no-Kadic days, so there's less chances of interruption when you have a heart-to-heart. X.A.N.A will also need some time to recover from the previous attack, so we won't pull you either."

Sundays were holidays, but (Y/N) would be at the pool. She loved to swim -- young Yumi had joined swimming classes only because (Y/N) had talked her into it.

.... why not?

Aquatic therapy had worked wonders for (Y/N) as a child, and it had given her a love for nature, for air and water and earth, and swimming became a favorite passtime.

As she stepped into the pool, and the water hugged her from all sides, (Y/N) took a deep breath. Inhale, exhale. Inhale, exhale.

Putting her and Yumi in different classes, and their routines changing... all of it was hard for (Y/N), physically, mentally and emotionally. She had hence made a decision to join the swim team and use the pool as much as she could to find herself, her center.

There weren't many people around, mostly because it was a Sunday and only members of different clubs could attend school, to use their respective club areas. Nobody came to the pool on a Sunday, and even if they did, the members of the swim team -- kind souls -- would let (Y/N) do her thing undisturbed.

So, (Y/N) began trto swim, and let her mind drift. This had been a stressful time for her, and the water was good to her. She could feel her muscles, her limbs, understand the flow of her body, and ground herself. Swimming was a welcome escape.

(Y/N) calmly practiced her strokes. The backstroke was her favourite. She looked up at the ceiling as she swam with her back in the water, and smiled. Jim had told her once that she could be a great swimmer, if she put a little more effort into it, but she liked doing this for herself.

When she got out of the water and sat by the benches to relax, though, her thoughts somehow circled to Yumi.

Yumi.

When they were put into different classes, (Y/N)'s first concern had been Yumi. Yumi was a delight -- she was kind, mature, confident, and everything about her made (Y/N) so happy -- but she also had a tendency to keep her problems to herself, and (Y/N) hated seeing her struggle alone.

(Y/N) had made plenty of friends in her class -- some had proven to be 'idiots of the worst degree' (Yumi's words), making fun of her for her autism, making fun of her behaviors -- but she had found the good people. People like Yumi, who made efforts to understand (Y/N). People who were different from Yumi, but understood her and accepted her in their own ways.

New friends, who loved bird watching and biology just like she did.

New friends, who loved the same music artists and bands that she did.

New friends, who had completely different tastes than her but still appreciated her, like she appreciated them.

But nobody came close to Yumi.

She let out a sigh, and removed her swim cap, letting her (H/C) hair fall onto her shoulders. A pang in her chest. She missed her best friend dearly.

(Y/N) missed linking pinkies with Yumi. That was always her favorite part of the day. Their morning walks became a rare occassion nowadays, and she missed the little squeeze that Yumi did when their fingers touched every single time.

(Y/N) missed happily skipping to Yumi's house and hang out with her on a whim -- now, Yumi was barely around. She was studying after school hours with Jeremie, Aelita, Ulrich and Odd, barely even came home, according to Hiroki.

(Y/N) also missed being able to give Yumi her notes, her little sticky notes with hearts, and class notes neatly scrawled for her. She missed seeing Yumi show her one of the little messages she drew, and tell her that it made her smile.

Everything felt different without her.

(Y/N) could understand that there was something Yumi was going through alone -- something that she couldn't tell her -- and she hated that the comfortable silences they shared became too quiet for her to bear. She had tried asking too, but Yumi insisted that it was nothing to trouble her with. That there was nothing she could do.

She hated it.

She missed Yumi.

She let out a sigh, needing to slip her cap back on, needing the water and the calm it gave her once again. She never knew that she could miss someone who only lived two blocks away, never knew how it would hurt to miss someone she loved.

So much.

She was about to step into the pool again when she heard someone call for her.

"(Y/N)!"

Yumi stood at the entrance of the pool area, wearing her black and grey swimsuit. She had a towel around her neck and waved at (Y/N).

All (Y/N) could do was stare as Yumi walked to her. She didn't think intense longing for someone could actually summon them, but she wasn't unhappy that it turned out this way.

"I was just thinking about you." (Y/N) told her when Yumi was just a few strides away.

Yumi's eyebrows shot up. "Really?"

"Yes." I missed you so much, Yumi. "How come you're here on a Sunday?"

"I... um, I wanted to hang out." Yumi explained. "It's been a while, and I knew you'd be here today. I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

"Oh no, you're not." (Y/N) replied quickly, shaking her head. Quite the contrary! "I'm glad you're here. Shall we swim and catch up, then?"

Both of them got into the pool, and this time, the water was that much more welcoming. Yumi splashed some water at (Y/N) playfully.

"Hey, I haven't got my cap on!" (Y/N) exclaimed, giggling. Her swim cap was indeed, forgotten.

"Neither have I." Yumi shot back and at this, (Y/N) swam away, kicking the water hard so that it would splash Yumi too. Yumi laughed and swam beside her.

"I love your swimsuit. Is it new?" Yumi asked her after a while. (Y/N) was wearing a new, red swimsuit, similar in style to Yumi's.

"Yep. Just bought it last week, actually."

"At the mall?"

"Mhmm! Hiroki bought a new pair too."

Yumi's eyebrows shot up again. "Hiroki? Really? He hates the pool! Anyway, when did the two of you go to the mall without me?"

"It was just supposed to be me." (Y/N) explained, turning at the pool's corner to swim back to their starting point. "Then Hiroki saw me and came with me. I asked for you, actually, but you were out with Ulrich?"

Knowingness dawned upon Yumi's face. "Oh, yeah... he needed help with studying. Ulrich doesn't understand math, and Jeremie's not good at teaching math in a way that he can understand."

They swam around the perimeter of the pool for a while, and (Y/N) went back to the backstroke again. Yumi, on the other hand, swam like a mermaid around (Y/N). Being the taller one, with longer legs and more graceful movements, she really did look like a mermaid.

Then, Yumi suddenly changed course, and joined (Y/N), swimming backstroke.

"Man, I forgot how fun this is." Yumi said as they both moved their limbs synchroniously.

"And relaxing."

"Of course."

"We can just float around now, though."

"Sure, that's fine by me."

They took out the emergency floaties from the club supplies and got back in, using the floaties to simply float in the water. There was no one in the pool area now -- some of the members waved goodbye to (Y/N) as they left -- and it felt peaceful. Just the two of them.

"I missed you, Yumi." she told Yumi, swimming under and reappearing inside the floatie, and letting her arms and legs hang out while she floated aimlessly. She sighed. "It's been a while since it was just the two of us."

Yumi smiled, and did the same, only, with one hand on (Y/N)'s floatie so that they wouldn't float away from each other. "I know, (Y/N). I missed you too."

She continued. "Hey, I'm sorry I've been distant for the past few months..."

"Oh. That's okay. Do you mind telling me why, though?" Yumi looked away for a moment, and that's when (Y/N) decided to add, "It's okay if you can't fully tell me. I just want to know a little bit. It sucks watching you hide things from me and go through things on your own."

Yumi nodded. "I get that, and it isn't my intention to hide things from you too, (Y/N). After all, you're my best friend, at the end of the day." She let out a sigh. "My friends and I have been having a hard time, I guess."

"Hard time with?"

"Stuff in general." Yumi supplied. "You know how Ulrich had a crush on me, and then Odd went and dated half the people in school. And then, with Aelita coming in, she had a hard time adjusting to Kadic. It was really tough for all of us. Not to mention stuff at home for each and every one of us, and Sissi and her antics. It's weird."

"I get that." It could be hard with a bunch of people trying to stick together. Even with the swim club, there were a lot of internal communication problems, and with others in her class too. "Please tell me next time. How are things now, though?"

"Better." Yumi said, smiling. "Loads better. And yes, I promise I'll tell you more next time." Yumi's hand by her floatie moved to grasp one of (Y/N)'s own. "I really did miss you."

(Y/N), unable to keep herself from doing so, linked their pinkies together. "I know."

"Can we walk together in the mornings again?" Yumi asked, smiling wider. "I missed that so much, you have no idea."

Was this a dream? Yumi seemed to know exactly what was going on in (Y/N)'s mind, almost like she was a mindreader. (Y/N) had just been gathering the courage to ask her the same thing.

"But you have after-school study sessions.. you must be tired and want to sleep in for a bit.."

Yumi shook her head. "That's alright. I'm changing my schedule for the better so that it isn't very packed. I can definitely make it now."

"If you're sure that it won't be too much trouble.."

"(Y/N), I am sure." Yumi then blinked. "Unless you don't want to..?"

"No, no, I didn't say that!" (Y/N) sat straighter, but the water made the floatie slippery and she lost balance, so she went underwater. A moment later, though, Yumi's hand had reached for her and she had pulled her up. Yumi's floatie was abandoned, and the two of them were at the centre of the pool, holding hands. "Thank you.."

"Careful, (Y/N), you could've hurt yourself." Yumi chastied her.

"It was a slip. Anyway," (Y/N) looked into Yumi's eyes, at her wet hair and kind face, and had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep herself from blushing. Certainly, being too close to Yumi was a mistake. "I didn't say I didn't want to. I just wanted to make sure it was perfectly okay with you."

"Are you kidding? It's perfectly fine with me--"

"Because, well, what if we start walking together, and everything became normal, and something stresses you out, and you shut me out again?" (Y/N) asked before Yumi could finish. At this, Yumi fell silent. "That thought worries me a lot."

"(Y/N)--"

"And when I did ask you all those times before, you couldn't even look at me. I don't want you or me to go through that again."

Yumi shook her head resolutely. "That's not going to happen again. I promise." Then, she took both of (Y/N)'s hands into her own and squeezed them gently. "Listen, (Y/N)... I'm really sorry I shut you out. I'm sorry I kept my problems to myself and worried you. I should have come to you, at least to let you in a little bit, and that's on me. I hated doing that to you, and I won't do that again -- ever again."

(Y/N) nodded. "Okay, Yumi. I appreciate it.."

"Wait, that's not all I wanted to say." Yumi added, almost hurriedly. "When I couldn't look at you, when we walked together during mornings.... that wasn't entirely because I was keeping my friends' problems from you."

"Then?" Yumi looked at her contemplatively for a moment too long, and (Y/N) pressed, "Yumi?"

Yumi snapped back into her senses, shaking her head. "It was because... well, you're beautiful when you're walking with me in the mornings."

That was the last thing (Y/N) had expected her to say. She swam slightly away from Yumi, though they were still holding hands.

"What do you mean?"

"Sorry, I should rephrase that." Yumi laughed nervously. "This is hard."

"Then tell me in a way that isn't hard, Yumi." (Y/N) told her. "What about it is hard?"

"The part where I'm confessing to you is hard, (Y/N)!" Yumi exclaimed.

Her words echoed across the room, and time stopped for (Y/N).

"What?"

Yumi blushed. "I love you, (Y/N). I... When we changed classes, and when we weren't able to speak and hang out... I realized how much I missed you. How much I love you. And yet, whenever we did get to hang out, walk to school together, I tried to tell you, but I... I just couldn't. It was so hard to tell you the truth and risk our friendship when things were already changing between us. I.. wanted to tell you before it was too late."

She let go of (Y/N)'s hands, and that was when (Y/N) spoke up.

"Don't let go." she said, grabbing Yumi's hands and holding them again. Yumi gasped, audibly, obviously surprised and taken aback. "I love you too, Yumi."

"What? Really?" Yumi exclaimed, eyes wide, smile even wider. "Oh my god, I... I can't believe it!"

"I thought that you liked me only as a friend, and so I didn't want to say anything." (Y/N) admitted. All those years of what-ifs were finally answered, and it felt so good! "And then, when you became friends with Jeremie and the others, and Ulrich and William had asked you out, I thought I would never have a chance, but I was okay with being friends with you if that's what it meant to have you in my life. That's why I never said anything.."

Yumi laughed, throwing her head back like a little kid, beautifully so. "Ulrich and William? Please, they don't hold a candle next to you."

The thought of being adored by Yumi all this while, even with good-looking boys drooling over her, made (Y/N) squeal with delight. She hugged Yumi, who laughed loud and hugged her back, reveling in the closeness. "You have no idea how happy I am right now."

"I think we're both equally happy, (Y/N)." Yumi reasoned as they pulled slightly away. "You have no idea... watching you speak, watching you walk, swim, take those beautiful notes... all of it drives me crazy. I love you so much." Slowly, she bent down to press her forehead to (Y/N)'s. "Will you be my girlfriend?"

(Y/N) looped her arms around Yumi's neck with a smile. "Yes! Yes, I'll be your girlfriend, Yumi."

Yumi kissed her forehead and (Y/N) could feel herself melt with happiness. She smiled up at Yumi and kissed her on the lips.

This was so much better than linking their pinkies together.

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