Ulrich wasn't sure when he and Odd's relationship shifted into something a bit more than best friends, yet a bit less than being together. Maybe after you sideswipe death a few times, your relationships with those around you are bound to change. After all, he and Odd kept a page in his diary specifically for tallying how many times each of them nearly bit the dust. They never could understand why, it's just something they did. Something they started doing without any prior reasoning, and by this point, there was no use in thinking of one.

However, as Ulrich traced a pencil down to tally another mark under Odd's name, he felt sick to his stomach. Bile rose in his throat, and it took all he had to swallow it down and keep his face stoic. Odd was upset enough, he didn't need to make a scene and freak him out more. The blonde sitting next to him, eyes locked on that pencil line, was more important to him than anything else. Even his own feelings.

It wasn't a shock when Odd leaned his head against his shoulder. It wasn't a shock when Ulrich set the pencil down, wrapping his arms tightly around the shorter boy. It wasn't even a shock when Ulrich settled them back against his headboard, cuddling Odd close to his chest. Ulrich always thought this would be how he and Yumi would end up. Comforting each other after particularly bad missions, terrified to leave one another's embrace. If they did, they'd have to face the real world.

Odd never cried, neither did Ulrich. They were both quiet, eyes closed and breathing labored. It felt like a betrayal, thinking of Yumi with Odd lying so vulnerable in his arms. Yet, he kept thinking of how Yumi never stayed long after towers were deactivated. She was always glued to William's hip, and with a thud, Ulrich's heart fell to his gut. She'd never stayed long after. She'd never sought him out like Ulrich did Odd, like Odd did Ulrich. She didn't need to feel his skin against her own, didn't need to hear his voice. She never needed any sort of reassurance that he was still alive.

Ulrich felt as if he would die without making sure Odd was really standing in front of him. His hands burned until they intertwined with the blonde's, his head swimming frantically as he ran his hands over each and every part of Odd's body. He needed to know he wasn't hurt, he wasn't going to leave him. That everything was fine now. Odd always waited patiently for him to finish, never saying a word until it was finally his turn to reassure himself.

Odd always thought of Ulrich before himself. It was rare that Odd would break down, would show any sort of weakness in front of Ulrich. It was always Odd comforting him; talking him through nightmares, anxiety, bad home situations, a missed goal in soccer. Ulrich felt like laughing, all Yumi ever did was tell him to suck it up and get over it. That his problems were better fixed by ignoring them all together. Or at least, ignoring them long enough she didn't have to hear about them.

Ulrich let himself sigh, realization crashing into him like a tidal wave. Had Yumi always been so dismissive of him? Ulrich swallowed the lump in his throat as Odd wrapped his arms around him tighter, small fingers tracing delicate patterns up his exposed left arm. Just like Ulrich was thinking. Odd cared for Ulrich so much he'd comfort him when Ulrich was supposed to be comforting Odd. After all, Ulrich hadn't been the one with a gun held to his head.

"I'm okay." Odd whispered suddenly. Ulrich looked down at him, Odd's thin body looking so much smaller after what he'd just witnessed. Ulrich lifted the younger until he was laid atop Ulrich's chest, strong arms wrapping Odd in the only safety he knew how to offer.

"I know." Ulrich whispered back, resting his forehead on top of Odd's head.

"Okay." Odd said. Shifting his weight so he could properly look up into Ulrich's eyes. The two of them were quiet, brown eyes locked on green with their foreheads pressed together. "What's wrong?" Ulrich chuckled, shaking his head. Odd was really something.

"I'm okay, too." Ulrich responded. Odd rolled his eyes, momentarily disconnecting their foreheads before leaning back in again. This time, they were so close their noses touched. Ulrich was shocked to realize this wasn't even an uncommon occurrence. Each time another tally went down on that paper, this is where they ended up.

"Why do you still lie to me?" Odd asked sadly, thumb rubbing gently up and down the back of Ulrich's hand. "I thought you trusted me." Low blow, but it was honest.

"I do trust you. I trust you more than anyone, you know that." Ulrich argued, pulling back again to look into Odd's eyes properly.

"Then why do you still lie? You know I can tell when you're not okay. You're not okay." Odd said, Ulrich sighing again in response. Maybe he wasn't entirely okay, but Ulrich couldn't tell if the conclusions he was coming to were necessarily bad. Maybe he wasn't okay before, but now he was finally getting there. "Ulrich, please talk to me." Odd begged, and Ulrich realized he had been staring at the wall, completely avoiding his friend's worried gaze.

"I think I love you." Ulrich blurted out, Odd's eyes widening at the admission. Ulrich stared back at him, knowing it was too late to take it back. Still, It was true. Any other sentence he could've uttered wouldn't have been truthful, and Odd would've seen right through him. There was no point in going into some long winded explanation, either. Odd had the attention span of a squirrel, and he would've eventually told him to stop beating around the bush.

Better to go all in.

"You, what?" Odd asked, lifting himself into a sitting position Ulrich didn't have to assist him up in. Ulrich bit his lip, nerves flaring through his chest.

"I love you." Ulrich's voice broke as he removed the unnecessary word. Think. Poor use of words. He didn't think, he knew he loved Odd.

"I-what? You-" Odd floundered for a moment, eyes blinking rapidly as he attempted to gather himself enough to understand. "You love me? Like, as a friend or-"

"No, more than that." Ulrich interrupted. Odd's mouth fell closed at this, and for a moment Ulrich began to seriously regret every opening his mouth. "I love you, and I finally know what those words mean now. I know what they mean because of you." Odd's eyes were still wide and innocent, their hands intertwined at their sides.

"But, Yumi?" Odd asked, that little spark distinguishing itself nearly instantly from the younger's eyes. Ulrich shook his head.

"Not the same. Crush is a better word for that." Ulrich shrugged. It was true. Infatuation and love were two completely different roads, and Ulrich could finally tell the difference between the two.

"You love me?" Odd was breathless now, his hand coming to rest above Ulrich's heart. The older nodded, tracing a gentle finger over Odd's cheek.

"Yeah. I do." Those words were a promise, and both of them knew it.

"I love you, too." Odd's voice sounded choked, wet with unshed tears. Ulrich had only heard that voice once before, and that was after Aelita broke down when her dad died.

"Don't cry." Ulrich whispered, wrapping his arms tightly around the younger, pulling him to his chest. Odd sighed, shaking his head against Ulrich's collar bone.

"'M not. You don't know how long I've been waiting to hear that." Odd chuckled, and Ulrich had to laugh along. What a crazy turn of events his life had ended up.

"You're so important to me, Odd. I don't think I could live without you." Ulrich said, Odd leaning up from Ulrich's chest to look at him again.

"Remember when you hated my guts and didn't even want to share a room with me?" Odd laughed loudly as Ulrich slapped him lightly over his shoulder. Now that was a sound worth leaving the younger's mouth. That unabashedly happy sound. Odd deserved to be happy, to be so over the moon he doesn't know anything else but that laugh.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up." Ulrich joked, and though Odd's laughter quieted, he still had that bright smile on his face. Ulrich second guessed his next move for a second, not really wanting to see that smile wiped off the younger's face. Luckily though, Odd seemed to make the decision for him, lips tentatively pressed against Ulrich's own. Ulrich's eyes slipped closed, shifting their position again so Odd was left straddling Ulrich's hips. The sound of their lips sliding together was one Ulrich didn't think he'd ever want to forget. A sound he never knew he needed to hear, but one he now couldn't breathe without.

The kiss never seemed to deepen. It stayed a languid, sweet gliding of lips. The only thing that signified their growing arousal being the way Odd's hips involuntarily bucked against Ulrich's own, the older guiding Odd through the motion each time he did it. If Ulrich thought the sound of their kissing was sweet, Odd's high pitched whines were something completely out of his world. Also, the way Odd was completely unaware of how he grinded against Ulrich until he'd already done it just added to how unforgettable the whole thing was.

A loud, shrill ringing interrupted them, Odd whining as he pulled back from Ulrich's lips. Ulrich chuckled, pecking Odd's pouty lip before reaching over and grabbing his cellphone off the nightstand. It was Jeremy, what awful timing.

"The world better be ending." Ulrich said as he answered the phone, Odd chuckling quietly.

"Well, it could be. I need you and Odd at the factory ASAP." Jeremy said. Feeling cheeky, Odd grinded down into Ulrich's lap. Completely thrown off guard, Ulrich squeaked into the phone. "Uh, you okay?"

"Yeah, fine." Ulrich answered, glaring at Odd. The younger just smiled smugly back at him.

"Okay, just meet us at the factory." Jeremy hung up then, Ulrich throwing his phone down onto the bed.

"Not cool." Ulrich said, Odd chuckling brightly in response.

"I'm not all that sorry." Odd shrugged, and Ulrich smiled despite himself.

"You'll pay for that."

"I hope so."