Holiday Angel

It was winter vacation. School was out for 2 weeks and the Lyoko warriors were all visiting each of their respective families, everyone except Aelita, whom Jeremie’s parents had warmly invited her to stay with them for the duration of the off period from Kadic.

Their ride finally came to a stop at a humble little building nestled back in amongst several snow-covered trees. Trees also lined a large clearing around the house that marked the edge of the property. Everything was cast in a cold monotone that yet also glistened in a way that easily sparked a sense of magic and wonder.

“Look at all the snow, it’s so beautiful!” Aelita says with excitement as she and Jeremie make their way across the snow-covered walk of the Belpois residence while Jeremie’s parents begin unpacking the car. This was likely her second or third time to actually see snow in real life since Jeremie and her friends brought her to Earth.

“Yeah, around here we get plenty of it during winter. Too much if you ask me,” Jeremie replies shaking his head and dusting off some snow from his coat that had drifted onto it.

“It looks so fluffy and soft. Jeremie, why don’t we make snow angels, or a snowman?” Aelita asks with a grin. The snow was still falling gently around them, adding on to the already piling banks and dotted her pink coat and hair like hundreds of tiny diamonds.

Jeremie shivers. “No, I think we should get inside. It’s far too cold to go goofing around out here,” He says. “Besides, it’s been a long car ride to get here and it’s already pretty late, wouldn’t you like to get warm and relax a little inside?”

“Come on Jeremie, don’t be like that. We still have a few hours before the sun sets and this is the first time we’ve gotten to have any time together. Plus, we won’t be having to worry about XANA either, so let’s have some fun and enjoy ourselves. Please?” Aelita replies sweetly. She hoped he would change his mind.

Jeremie sighs and gives in. “Ah, well alright. But you’re the only angel I need, Aelita,” He blushes. That made the girl next to him grin even more. How could he possibly deny such a beautiful face as hers?

“Thank you, Jeremie!” Aelita giggles. The snow crunches as she dashes into the yard leaving deep depressions in the snow where she had stepped. Jeremie just stands watching. Seeing her so joyful and happy in the white purity of the snow really was all he needed to be happy. She spun around and around, dancing in the piles of cold glistening feathers. A few minutes felt like an eternity watching her. A good eternity.

He smiles just before something cold and hard hits him in the face, jarring his consciousness and ripping him away from his daydreaming. He literally had no idea what had just happened, but he got a good feeling who the culprit was when he sees Aelita giggling from behind a tree with a snowball in hand.

“Jeremie! You’re not planning on standing over there like a statue are you?” Aelita asks.

“Uh, well, no! Its just, I-” He is interrupted by another snowball hitting him squarely in the chest. He dusts it off and sighs. She may not have said it directly, but he was being a bit of a stick in the mud. He grins slightly and kneels to scoop up some snow in his hands and he packs it. Aelita’s face brightens significantly when she sees Jeremie finally joining in.

Jeremie’s aim was rather poor and most of the snowballs he threw missed her completely. Aelita did not seem to mind that, she was just happy he was spending some time with her and not worrying about everything. She hits him on the shoulder with another and he grins even bigger. Finally, Jeremie seems to let go of his tension and allows himself to relax. With all the stress from XANA, he had almost forgotten what it was like to let go and just have some fun.

The two plop down exhausted in a large pile of snow. Aelita’s face was beaming with happiness and Jeremie couldn’t help but smile and feel warm inside despite the cold just getting to see her so happy and carefree. As Aelita proceeded to turn the snow around her into the impression of an angel, Jeremie reaches over to wipe away a few snowflakes from her hair and cheek.

Jeremie sighs. Aelita looked so beautiful laying there with the snow lining her hair like a delicate lacy hat. It felt as though all the snow and ice around them were vast enough to even freeze time.

With no one around but the two of them in the bleak winter-scape, Jeremie suddenly didn’t feel quite so afraid to show how he felt about the pink-haired girl next to him.  Aelita smiles at Jeremie as he gently takes her hand into his then leans over and kisses her gently on the cheek. She blushes deeply and reciprocates the kiss, instead, pressing her lips into his.

Caught by surprise, Jeremie let the kiss linger for several long seconds before he gently pulls away from her. Aelita did not seem upset; in fact, she looked the opposite as she giggles and relishes in his embarrassed expression. For once, he was not buried in his computer and she enjoyed being able to look into his face without seeing the perpetual look of exhaustion that usually plagued him.

Aelita grabs hold of Jeremie’s hand. “Let’s go make a snowman! A really big one!” She says. Jeremie nods. He would do anything for her. He was still lost in his trance when Aelita stood and helped him to his feet. His pink, snow-kissed, angel hurries off as she quickly begins rolling up a fast-growing ball of snow for the base of the snowman.

As he gathers up a lump of his own to help her, he notices several body-sized shapes on the ground. Counting five of them, he could only assume what they were. They appeared to be snow angels of him and their other friends. It could not be much else because he notices that one of them had been given finger-drawn glasses. All of the snow-angel’s hands were interlocked in a line to signify their friendship.

Jeremie takes the basketball-sized ball of snow in his hands and begins to place it onto the snowman when Aelita’s hand stops him.

“Jeremie, that’s way too small, it needs to be bigger, like this!” She says. She stands close to him as she adds another pile of snow to his, making it the size she desired. The two together placed a final globe of snow on top for the head. Aelita does not delay to begin drawing it a face with her fingers.

“Now, it still needs something.” Aelita contemplates.

“A nose?” Jeremie suggests then roots around in the snow until he finds a buried pinecone to use.

“Yes! That’s great!” Aelita exclaims and, taking the cone from Jeremie, she places it on the snowman’s face. Then she removes her scarf and gently ties it around its neck. “There! It’s perfect!”

“Not as perfect as you, Aelita,” Jeremie says and the girl’s arms were soon wrapped around him warming him to his core and causing his constant blush that day to redden more.

“How about we head inside now?” Aelita asks, not loosening her hug.

“A-are you sure? We can stay out here a bit longer if you want,” Jeremie replies, not wanting her to feel like they had to go.

“I know. But it’s already starting to get dark and I am starting to get a just a little bit hungry,” She replies. Jeremie looks at the sky and, sure enough, the sun was almost gone over the horizon. How the time had flown while the two were blissfully enjoying each other.

Jeremie nods. “Alright then. I’m sure my mom will have dinner ready soon so we shouldn’t have to wait long,” He replies, standing close to her as he guides her up the walk and to the front door where he holds it open for her. One step into the doorway and they were greeted immediately and warmly by Jeremie’s parents.

The dusty-brown short-haired man wearing a brown jacket and a lovely blonde woman with straight hair down to her shoulders wearing a green-colored sweater and blue slacks led the two kids towards the dining room where they could immediately smell the strong aromatic presence of a perfectly cooked meal made by Jeremie’s mom.

“So, did you two enjoy your time in the snow?” His dad asks. It was then that Jeremie knew they had been spying from the window.

“Yeah, it was great, dad,” Jeremie replies, trying to blow it off.

“Yeah? I bet it was, wasn’t it?” His dad says with a big grin and, this time, Jeremie had to try really hard not to blush from the comment. He did not want to imagine just how much they might have seen.

“Geeze I wish they didn’t have to be like this,” Jeremie says quietly to Aelita.

“How do you mean?” Aelita asks.

“They just seem to be -pushy - and overbearing,” Jeremie replies.

“Jeremie, your mom just got done setting dinner on the table, so why don’t you and Aelita come sit down and eat?” His dad prompts, making a motion to a side of the table he set up for him and Aelita to sit together.

“See what I mean?” Jeremie sighs.

“You’re being silly, Jeremie. I think your parents are really nice,” Aelita replies. Jeremie exhales in frustration. He really did not want to tell her what he really thought so he decided to just brush it aside and try to enjoy dinner in peace.

Dinner was indeed pleasant. Everyone enjoyed the festive-looking homemade curry pasta Jeremie’s mom made while taking about his or her random everyday things. Jeremie was quiet, still embarrassed from earlier, but Aelita was very actively chatting with his parents. She could not see what Jeremie was so worked up over and they all laughed, having a wonderful time together.

Before long, they were all done eating and Jeremie’s mom took up the plates to wash them. Aelita thanks them politely for the food then follows Jeremie to the guest room they had set up for her to stay in.

“Jeremie, you’ve been awfully quiet tonight, is everything alright?” Aelita asks.

“Y-yeah. Everything is fine, Aelita,” Jeremie replies, casting a glance around to see if his parents happened to be spying from around the corner. If they were, he could not see them and he was not sure just how smooth is dad could possibly be in hiding.

“You sure? You seem distracted,” Aelita responds but Jeremie shakes his head to disagree with her. A short chirp of a sneeze escapes from the girl and Jeremie’s attention instantly focuses on her.

“Hey are you okay?” Jeremie sighs. “I knew it would be a bad idea to play in the snow, now you’re sick.”

Aelita giggles at his concern. “Oh, Jeremie. It was just one little sneeze, that’s all,” She says. She did not like for him to worry so much about everything, but she did also enjoy it when she was the target of his concern. It reminded her every time that he really does care about her.

“Are you sure?” Jeremie asks, not quite convinced.

“Of course,” She replies and lands a gentle peck on his cheek and he smiles instinctively. “Goodnight, Jeremie.”

“Ah, goodnight, Aelita,” Jeremie replies, blushing a little but smiling ear-to-ear.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

The next morning was bright, but cold. The overnight snow practically reset every footstep and snow angel that littered the yard the previous day like a return to the past.

Jeremie walks to the guest room and knocks lightly on the door. No response. Deciding Aelita must still be sleeping the boy decides to let her stay that way a bit longer while he makes his way to the kitchen where he makes himself a quick bowl of cereal. Looking out the window, the light that shone off the snow was dazzling and beautiful, but almost blinding causing him to squint a little. He smiles when he sees that the one piece of proof of his and Aelita’s adventure that remained outside was the snowman that he had helped to build. Oh, how happy she had been to make it.

Finishing his breakfast, he heads back to Aelita’s room. Again he raps on the door with his first two fingers and a soft waking groan tells him she is just waking up. He slowly opens the door just a crack and peeks in. Aelita was still in bed with the covers wrapped around her firmly.

“Hey, sleepy head, you gonna get up sometime today?” Jeremie chuckles.

“What time is it?” Aelita’s stuffy, groggy voice questions from beneath her blanket.

“About 9:42,” Jeremie replies. “You don’t sound so good, are you okay?” He asks worriedly and he sits down at the foot of her bed. Aelita stirs slightly and coughs dryly as she moves the covers down just enough to allow her to sit up a little bit. Her eyes were watery and red and it was more than obvious that she was sick.

“I don’t feel good,” Aelita says, her expression miserable.

“I’m so sorry, Aelita. This is my fault, if I hadn’t let you stay out in the snow so long you wouldn’t be sick,” Jeremie replies.

Aelita cracks a slight smile despite the pressure in her face. “But it was so fun,” She replies in a nasally tone.

Jeremie grins a little as well. “Yeah, it was fun,” He says then frowns, “But at what cost? You’re miserable,”

Aelita giggles. “You know, I always love it when you worry about me.”

“Of course I worry about you, Aelita. You’re important to me, more than you can imagine,” Jeremie replies sincerely. Aelita smiles. She wanted to give him a kiss but did not want to risk getting him sick as well.

“How about I make you a nice warm breakfast? I can fix you some eggs. The protein will be really helpful in getting you all better again,” Jeremie replies.

“Thank you, I’d like that,” Aelita replies. She stands and throws on a robe from her suitcase and follows him into the kitchen. Jeremie immediately begins rummaging through the cookware to find a skillet to cook the eggs. Soon the sizzling sound of eggs being fried fills the room though Aelita could not tell if they smelled good for the fact her nose was so stuffed up.

“Hey! Something smells good in here!” Jeremie’s dad says, walking around the corner into the room.

“Hello Mr. Belpois,” Aelita greets stuffily.

“Well, hello Miss Stones. I’m sorry to say that you don’t sound so good this morning,” The man replies. Aelita shook her head side to side to confirm followed by a short cough.

“We’ll I’m really sorry to hear that. Jeremie’s mom and I are about to head to an all-day holiday festival. We were going to invite you to come along but I’d sure hate to make your condition worse,” He replies sympathetically.

“Oh, don’t worry about me, I’m sure you two can go on without me, right Jeremie?” Aelita asks, sniffling.

“What? No way. I’m not going to leave you here all by yourself while you’re sick,” Jeremie replies as he places a warm plate of two eggs and a piece of toast alongside a glass of orange juice in front of the girl.

“Well there’s no sense in you not getting to enjoy it just because I’m sick,” Aelita protests, taking a bite of egg.

Jeremie shakes his head. “If you can’t be there, then I won’t enjoy it anyway. I would much rather stay here and take care of you,” He says. Jeremie’s dad smiles a little and so does Aelita.

“Why don’t you and your wife just go on without us? No sense in everyone having to stay home on my account,” Aelita says, she sneezes a couple of times and snuggles herself deeper into her robe.

“You sure, sweetheart? Although I do suppose it would give you two a little alone time, I trust you two together,” He says and gives a not-so-inconspicuous wink to Jeremie to which the boy cannot help but blush and look away.

“Then it’s settled. You two go enjoy, I’m sure Jeremie and I will manage,” Aelita says.

“Alright then. Just be sure to drink lots of water and stay plenty warm okay?” Jeremie’s dad says with concern. Aelita nods and finishes the last of her breakfast.

“Well then, I guess I’ve got to finish getting ready, already getting close to time to go, you two be good,” The man says just before leaving the room to check if his wife was ready to go or not. A minute later and the two were heading towards the door, hand-in-hand.

“My husband told me you weren’t feeling well this morning, I hope you get better soon dear, be sure to get plenty of rest okay?” Jeremie’s mom says.

“Thank you, ma’am,” Aelita replies weakly and the woman closes the front door behind her. She sighs and leans her head back in the chair.

Jeremie sighs in a tone that touched on relief that his parents would be gone, but his face still wore his obvious concern for Aelita. The girl seemed oblivious to everything at this point. She sits slumped down in her chair and does not notice when Jeremie walks over and touches her on the shoulder.

“Hey,” Jeremie says gently, only barely getting the girl’s attention. “Would you like to watch a movie? My dad has a pretty good selection and our couch is really comfy.”

Aelita nods softly. “Yeah, that sounds fine,” She replies quietly. Jeremie helps her out of her chair and helps her over to the couch. He takes a blanket from a rack in the corner of the room and gently tucks it around her but leaves her arms free. He mulls over the list of movies  set upon the shelf by their entertainment center and finally chooses a cute G-rated movie to cheer her up with.

“Jeremie? Where are you going?” Aelita asks when the boy suddenly leaves the room towards the kitchen.

“I’ll be right back, don’t worry. I’m just getting something for you,” Jeremie replies. A moment later he comes back with a glass with a warm clear liquid in it. “Here, drink this. It’s just hot water with a little bit of lemon in it. It’ll help ease your sinuses,” He says, handing the cup to Aelita.

“Thank you,” Aelita replies, holding the cup close to her for the warmth then takes a sip of the soothingly warm drink. By the end of the movie, Jeremie had gotten up three times to refresh her drink. She seemed to be enjoying it and also seemed to be helping her feel a little better because she became a bit more talkative.

“Can we watch another one?” She asks sweetly. She felt a little better but still did not feel near well enough to want to leave her comfy spot on the couch.

“Of course. Whatever you want,” Jeremie replies with a warm smile and she smiles back. A second movie soon turned into a third. Jeremie was hardly paying attention to the films; just sitting there having Aelita next to him was more than enough for him. He only left her side when she needed something, whether it was a drink or to get a warm bowl of soup for her at lunch.

Aelita blushes making her face even redder than before as Jeremie slides his arm around her shoulders and holds her close. She felt warm and comfortable next to him and she did not want to be anywhere else but where she was right then. As the movies went on, the sun also vanishes over the horizon. Jeremie looks over to the girl who is snuggled up close to him. He did not usually get to have such quality time with her and he really liked the closeness that they had gotten that day and the day before.

“A-Aelita?” Jeremie questions and a soft mumble replies to him. His blush deepens even more, she looked so cute buried in her covers next to him.

“I don’t know if I’ve actually ever told you… But – I love you,” Jeremie stammers. The words were sincere but had a hard time passing his lips. Surely, she also felt the same, but he was nervous. Aelita’s head turns and she looks to him with her red watery eyes. She still looked cute to him even when sick, he notices she also had a big smile on her face.

“I love you too, Jeremie,” Aelita responds. Although her voice was muddled by her sickness, it could not have sounded more beautiful as she spoke those words to him and he no longer felt nervous. She was ecstatic, just simply overfilled with joy that Jeremie finally spoke those words to her, she wraps her arms around him, and he leans over and kisses her on the forehead. The rest of the movie went on without either of them noticing.

As they sit there, blissfully, Aelita’s eyelids begin to droop and she soon drifts off to sleep snuggled down into Jeremie’s arms. When the movie ends Jeremie casts his gaze back to Aelita who is sound asleep.

“I love you, Aelita. I always will,” Jeremie says and kisses her again on the forehead, lingering there as he holds her tight.