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everythingunderthestarsthings · 1 year

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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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