Work Text:
Thank you to Ani (Cosmic_Glare) for bringing Laumi to my attention. We need more f/f pairings in CL fanfiction! And a million thank yous to SinoCario for beta reading!
Art by Ani (Cosmic_Glare) !!
Illogical
“You took the time to code digital wings that can self-initialize and interact with a Lyoko avatar, and then you gave them to Aelita?”
Laura looked incredulously at the blonde, bespectacled boy in the computer chair next to her. Her arms were crossed and her head tilted in confusion.
Jeremie blushed and looked away. “Why not? They’ve been helpful. And I thought it looked nice with her avatar.”
Laura rolled her eyes. “After all you’ve told me about Lyoko and the programming, I would have thought we’d be on the same page here. You just got finished telling me one of your biggest regrets is Yumi falling into the digital sea.”
The blonde girl pushed her tablet screen into Jeremie’s face and continued, “I’ve been keeping up with every statistic you tell me. Time and time again, it’s Yumi being sacrificed, and you don’t see that as an issue? Literally everyone else on the team has a mobility skill. It’s amazing she’s even able to keep up at all.”
Jeremie pursed his lips thoughtfully. Maybe Laura did have a point. If Aelita had her wings, Ulrich had super sprint, William had his smoke form, and Odd had his claws… Had he overlooked Yumi?
“She’s never said anything about it,” Jeremie offered lamely.
“Of course she hasn’t. She’s just as stubborn as you are.” Laura took her tablet back and huffed.
“Maybe I can come up with something,” the boy suggested. Ideas were already beginning to bubble up in his mind before reality burst them all.
“The only issue is time,” he admitted reluctantly. “There’s too much going on with this virus stuff, and I already have to fix the Skid from the last mission. After all that’s done, next on my list is analyzing the Cortex to look for any trace of a unique signature for Aelita’s mom.”
Aelita, Aelita, Aelita. Laura echoed in her mind irritably. For someone who claimed to be so logical, Jeremie’s judgement was entirely clouded by his feelings for the pink-haired girl. It was amazing he didn’t see it himself.
“Fine. I’ll do it,” she decided. This was clearly the only possible option. How hard could it be?
“You’ll do what? Create a whole new code?” Jeremie laughed and shook his head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Why not? You brought me in so I could help. This is a huge help. If we can reduce the risk of Yumi getting stuck without the Overwing, or worse, falling into the digital sea, the success rate of every mission she’s involved in will go up. Your overall success rate will go up. Isn’t that a good thing?” Laura insisted.
She knew she was trying to convince a genius, but she was a genius herself. And she knew she was right.
Jeremie sighed before looking back at his computer screen, clearly being worn down. “The gang will be upset if I let you use the supercomputer, especially if you’re changing things on their avatars.”
“Yumi won’t be,” Laura countered. “If I can get Yumi’s permission, can I update her avatar?”
What’s the worst that could happen? The boy genius told himself. Yumi will probably say no anyway, right?
The older girl had always trusted Jeremie. He had no doubt about that. In fact, she was probably the most trustworthy in his eyes too. She always followed his instructions and had excellent judgement of her own. She was brave, attentive to the others, always self-sacrificing…
Maybe I have let her down, he admitted to himself. The leader of the Lyoko gang rubbed his tired eyes under his glasses.
“Fine,” he finally responded. “But don’t be surprised if she says no. You know how Yumi can be.”
“Yes!” Laura beamed. “This will be great. Don’t even worry about it.”
She packed up her bag and walked quickly, almost skipping, to find Yumi somewhere on the campus of Kadic Academy.
.
As expected, the older girl was leaving the gym after her martial arts class with Ulrich. They were talking and laughing (and blushing) like usual.
But Laura didn’t mind interrupting.
“Hey!” She stuck a hand up in a small wave to the duo before looking at Yumi. “Can I talk to you for a minute? It’s about Lyoko.”
“What’s wrong?” the brown-haired boy interjected.
Laura’s lips pursed in irritation. “Nothing’s wrong. I just want to talk about Yumi’s avatar.”
Yumi frowned in confusion before glancing at Ulrich to confirm they had heard the same thing. “My avatar? Why?”
The blonde girl grinned as she answered, “I think I can make it better.”
Laura shared her plan with the pair, but kept her eyes on Yumi to see her reaction. In a thrilling turn of events, Yumi seemed intrigued with just a brief explanation and agreed to follow Laura back to her room.
Ulrich still seemed skeptical, but didn’t try to stop them from proceeding.
“Just don’t go to Lyoko by yourself, ok?” He looked at Yumi meaningfully to convey some unspoken message that Laura didn’t understand.
She also didn’t really care. Practical trials were a bridge to cross later.
For now, she was just thrilled to be walking alongside Yumi and listing all things she wanted to learn from the oldest Lyoko warrior.
They continued talking through dinner that night and almost every day afterwards.
For her part, Yumi did her best to answer all of Laura’s questions accurately and thoroughly, even if she didn’t fully understand them.
“My ideal ability? I guess… acrobatics?” she answered during one late-night brainstorming session.
“Acrobatics isn’t something in your code,” Laura corrected. “That’s just something you already know how to do.”
“Oh,” Yumi paused. “Maybe you could add claws, then? Like Odd has? Anything that will keep me from falling in the digital sea again.”
She laughed lightly, as if she had made a joke, but Laura didn’t laugh with her.
“That’s the goal,” she promised. “You shouldn’t have to be afraid of that ever again.”
Yumi’s mouth fell open slightly, speechless. The younger girl was still looking at her tablet and sketching something, so she didn’t notice Yumi’s surprised expression.
This was the first time anyone had spoken aloud how terrified she was of the digital sea. And it wasn’t even Yumi herself who voiced it.
“Yeah…” she finally responded. “That sounds really nice.”
Laura looked up quickly and smiled in response, but Yumi was already too lost in her own thoughts to see the pink tinge to her cheeks.
.
A week later, Aelita found out what they were doing.
Laura had tried her best to keep it from the other girl, and she knew Yumi had been discreet as well, but it was bound to come out one way or another. They’d have to use the supercomputer and go to Lyoko eventually.
Aelita was pissed, but Laura had expected that much already.
Fortunately, Yumi was better at talking her down. Aelita also seemed to actually listen to Yumi, unlike how she seemed to reject all of Laura’s ideas on principle.
As one last ditch attempt, Aelita offered to code something for Yumi herself.
Laura scoffed at the idea internally, but did her best to keep her real feelings off her face.
Still, the look that Yumi shot her told her that her face wasn’t as neutral as she had thought.
“I appreciate that. I really do,” Yumi said to Aelita comfortingly. “Your time is better spent looking for your mother and helping Jeremie though. This is just a little project when we’re not doing anything else. A little way for Laura to help.”
“Why do you have to be a guinea pig for her to play mad scientist?” Aelita protested.
Laura crossed her arms on the sidelines. Why was she always so rude? Why couldn’t Aelita ever just trust her for a change?
“It’s going to be fine,” Yumi promised. “We’re not changing anything with my base code, just the accessories.”
“Yumi, you don’t know anything about coding,” Aelita sighed before shooting a glare at Laura. “Send it to me when you’re done, ok? I’ll double check it for you. We don’t need any more virtualization problems.”
Yumi looked pleased with this compromise, but Laura was less thrilled.
“Fine. You can look at it when I’m done. You won’t need to make any changes though.”
Aelita smirked. “We’ll see.”
“I’m glad we worked that out!” Yumi put her arm around each girl like an older sister trying to force her younger siblings to get along.
“Now, we’re off to the factory! Say hi to Jeremie for us!” Yumi squeezed Aelita’s shoulders tight before letting her go to walk in the direction of the sewers.
“Bye, Yumi,” she said pointedly ignoring the other girl as she turned and walked away towards the dorms.
“Phew!” Yumi sighed in relief once they had made it to the woods. “You two really can’t be left alone, can you?”
Laura rolled her eyes. “It’s pointless for us to fight. What a waste of time. I don’t even understand why she hates me so much.”
Yumi let out a thoughtful exhale. “I don’t know for sure, honestly. I think it’s mostly because Jeremie pays attention to you. She’s used to being the only girl in his life.”
“He’s head over heels for her though. Even I can see that,” Laura snorted in laughter. Then, a thought occurred to her.
“What about you? You’ve been in Jeremie’s life longer than her. Don’t you count as a girl?”
Yumi shrugged good-naturedly. It jostled Laura, still under her arm. “Jeremie sees me as a Lyoko Warrior, not a girl.”
Laura looked away before her next statement. “I think of you as a girl. And I’m not interested in Jeremie, just so you know.”
“I know,” Yumi said simply, squeezing the shorter girl’s shoulders tight like she had for Aelita, but holding for just a second longer before letting go.
Laura almost wished she hadn’t let go. But, of course, they were at the manhole cover and there was work to be done.
No point in thinking about anything else.
.
A month in, and the process was taking longer than Yumi had expected.
Then again, she really had no idea how any of these things worked to have an estimate in the first place.
The worst part was going to Lyoko and getting de-virtualized, over and over again.
Or maybe it was Ulrich being upset that she was going to the factory today instead of being free for a last-minute request to walk around town.
Either way, this return trip from Lyoko hurt more than normal, and she took her time traveling back from the scanner to meet up with Laura at the supercomputer.
The blonde girl paused her typing when Yumi appeared at her side.
“Does it hurt?” she asked out of the blue, instead of a normal greeting or ‘welcome back.’
“Does what hurt?” Yumi tried to clarify.
“Taking damage on Lyoko.” Laura finally turned to look at her with concern. “I’m just curious. I know we’ve been doing this for a while, but I never asked if it hurt.”
Yumi ran a hand through her hair. This was a bigger conversation that her tired mind really wanted to have. But still, she tried her best to explain.
“It does, but not in the way you’re thinking. Everything feels duller on Lyoko. The worst part is actually the anticipation of something hurting. Like, you’re expecting falling or getting shot to hurt, so it does. But it’s just in your mind, not your body, so we’ve gotten used to it.”
Laura winced. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
Yumi shrugged. “Like I said, I’m used to it.”
Laura watched the older girl’s shoulders sag.
“It seems like it’s bothering you extra today.”
“Not really,” Yumi reassured her. “I’m just distracted.”
Yumi’s seemingly random moods were not unfamiliar to Laura after working together for weeks.
“Is it Ulrich?” she asked, even though she knew the answer.
Still, Yumi tried to feign ignorance. “Why would you say that?”
Laura smirked. “It’s always Ulrich.”
This made Yumi smile slightly and she admitted, “Maybe.”
Laura felt an unfamiliar resentment bubble in her chest at the other girl’s soft smile. It’s always Ulrich, Ulrich, Ulrich.
“You would save yourself a lot of trouble if you would just tell him you like him, you know. It would save the group a lot of trouble,” she snapped.
Yumi seemed unphased by her sharp tone. Instead, she chuckled dryly.
“Since when are you the relationship expert? Actually, Einstein could use some of this advice too. You should try talking to him.”
Laura rolled her eyes and returned her attention to the supercomputer.
“I’m just saying what’s the most logical option,” she muttered defensively.
But she doesn’t bring up Ulrich again.
.
.
.
Two months later, the entire group is together at the factory. Laura and Jeremie are at the supercomputer and the other five warriors are on Lyoko.
It’s rare that they’re all together like this, but it’s perfect timing with a reconnaissance mission in the forest sector that Jeremie insists is important anyway.
Laura has explained to him in great detail how her new creation works, and Yumi has practiced enough to feel comfortable with her Lyoko form’s newest addition.
They’ve kept it a secret from the others so far, so today really will be the grand reveal as long as everything works as it should.
Laura should be thrilled, she thinks, but for some reason she’s not. At least, not entirely.
She listens in on the way Yumi is teasing and being teased about the secret of her newest ability on top of her regular prowess. She hears the affection and familiarity among the group that she’s not a part of. The group she was never actually invited into, but invited herself.
She feels like an outsider.
However, Laura is used to that. She’s gotten mostly comfortable with it.
The surprising feeling in her chest feels more like… grief? Some sort of bittersweet longing?
She’ll miss the time she got to spend with Yumi over these past weeks. She’ll miss the meals and the walks and the late nights. She’ll miss the time alone with her. She’ll miss watching her face tense in concentration or her eyes light up with laughter when Laura makes a joke.
Laura tries to push the feelings away. They’re neither appropriate nor helpful.
“Maybe we should wait and do this another day,” she says before her mind realizes what her heart is doing. “I want to do some more tests with Yumi.”
Jeremie has a surprised expression in the seat next to her. “Well, I suppose we could do more, but I’ve already added the code to Yumi’s virtualization sequence like you asked. It’s too late to take it back now.”
Laura bites her lip. “Right. Yeah, that’s fine then.”
Jeremie pats her on the shoulder comfortingly like he has any idea what she’s thinking or feeling.
“It’ll be fine,” he tries to comfort her. “Aelita and I both looked at your work. It’s flawless. There won’t be any issues when she goes to use them.”
Laura smiles tensely. “I know. I’m just being silly.”
“This job will do that to you. At least we’re all in it together,” Jeremie says kindly as he re-focuses on the supercomputer.
Laura nods silently.
After everything I said about Jeremie with Aelita, how can I be feeling like this?
The girl genius forces her eyes to stay on the screen in front of them now, instead of thinking about anyone specific. Especially not the older girl currently speaking into their ears about Kankrelats coming through the trees, whose smile just happens to be burned into her brain.
Laura gives her head a shake to knock the useless thoughts loose. No time for this when there’s work to be done.
On Lyoko, the group of five is making quick work of the hoard of monsters ambushing them.
Yumi notices a Krab heading toward Aelita and sees an opportunity to show off what she and Laura have been working on for so long.
She takes one of her metal fans and sends it flying toward a tree branch hanging above the Krab. At the last moment, a long, red ribbon virtualizes between her hand and the fan, allowing her to pull herself up through the air to land on the back of the Krab.
Yumi is delighted that she gets to see the amazed look on Ulrich’s face right before he realizes he’s gawking and closes his open mouth.
She smirks before speaking triumphantly to the sky, “They work perfectly, Laura!”
Laura manages a small, bashful smile on the other side of the computer screen, but her voice is confident when she says, “Of course they do!”
A small disappointment that her creation is a success blossoms in her chest before she tamps it down.
Instead, she looks at the numbers running across the screen and considers what her next project should be.
Maybe the Overwing could use an update?