-Author's Note Here- I lost my original post in this story, and had to replace it (caused by my trying to fix a format change caused by FFN), so here's a new one instead. This is my first OxU, and it's mostly an excuse to play with Kiwi. Enjoy!

Ulrich crept into his room, wincing as his foot landed on the squeaky floorboard just outside the door. He paused, listening for Odd's familiar snores. They continued with no sign of waking, and so, with a sigh; Ulrich continued into the small room. He held his breath as he pushed the door shut behind him, wincing again at the barely audible click of the lock.

But again, Odd remained undisturbed by the noise. Quietly as he could, Ulrich slipped out of his shoes, pulling his phone from his pocket and checking the time.

12:47 the little glowing numbers read, making Ulrich's eyes widen. He hadn't realized he'd spent that long in Jeremy's room, helping him with his new program thing. No wonder he felt so tired. Oh well, that didn't matter now that he was back in his room, and back with his bed. A bed that Ulrich would have already fallen into if it wasn't for one tiny problem. Kiwi had found it first.

"Why aren't you sleeping with Odd," Ulrich whispered, reaching down to move the little dog. His hand barely brushed the pup's side when Kiwi was suddenly awake. Ulrich was startled when, instead of the usual familiar greeting, Kiwi began to growl.

"What is with you?" Ulrich asked, stepping back. Once we was away from his bed the dog quieted, although he continued to watch Ulrich. The boy gave the dog a confused look, and then shrugged, stepping back up to the bed. Kiwi was quick to stop him, leaping to his feet and growling again.

"Shhh," Ulrich hushed, flashing a worried look in Odd's direction. "Shut up Kiwi, you'll wake him up." Ulrich reached towards the dog to try and quiet him; but the dog jumped away, letting out a loud bark. Ulrich leapt back from the dog, raising his hands in a calming gesture. But it wasn't needed, for as soon as Ulrich was away from the bed the dog quieted, lying back down.

"You're just not going to let me sleep there tonight, are you?" Ulrich whispered, crossing his arms and glaring at the dog. He could have sworn Kiwi grinned in response as the dog rested his head on his paws.

Ulrich gave a sigh of defeat. "Fine, I won't sleep in my bed. So where am I supposed to sleep instead?" he asked the dog. Kiwi turned to look at Odd, then back to Ulrich. Ulrich then did the same, glancing over at his sleeping friend.

"You're kidding, right?" he whispered. The dog gave a little growl in response, causing Ulrich to sigh again. "Fine, you win," he whispered angrily, walking over to the other bed. "But you never tell anyone about this. Got it dog?"

Kiwi just gave a happy wag of his tail as Ulrich climbed into the occupied bed, thanking whatever gods were out there for the fact that both he and Odd were still fully dressed, and lying down stiffly in the open space left between Odd and the wall. For awhile Ulrich tried to stay awake, clinging to the faint hope that if he stayed up all night then he could get out of the bed before Odd woke up, leaving the blonde none the wiser. But his slowly drooping eyelids betrayed him and before he knew it, he was asleep.

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

Ulrich groaned as the sound of his alarm clock filled the air, keeping his eyes shut. He would have remained like this a little longer, had it not been for the body shifting under his arm. Ulrich looked down in confusion, only to be met with a face full of blonde hair. And suddenly the memories of the night before came flooding back to him.

Great, Ulrich though, blushing slightly because even though using Odd's bed had left him feeling nicely rested, it also left him and his friend in a rather uncomfortable position. Odd seemed to be realizing this too, as a muffled "Huh?" told Ulrich his friend was beginning to wonder why he was waking up with his face against Ulrich's chest and the taller boy's arm around his waist.

For a moment neither boy did anything. And then, at the same moment, both boys scrambled away from each other. Ulrich found himself backed against the wall, while Odd ended up becoming personally acquainted with the floor. It was at this exact moment the Jeremy appeared at the boys' door, Aelita in tow.

"Morning you two. I just wanted to see if you…were, uh did something happen?" Jeremy asked, eyeing the two boys curiously.

"No Jeremy," Ulrich said, sliding off Odd's bed.

"Nope, nothing at all," Odd added, jumping to his feet. "So, uh, why don't you and Aelita head down to breakfast and we'll meet you there."

"Uh, okay," Jeremy said, stepping away from the door. "Sure you're both fine?"

"Yep, everything's perfect," Odd said, beginning to push his door shut. "Now go on, we'll meet you in the cafeteria." He then shut the door, not waiting for Jeremy's response. After he was sure Jeremy was gone he turned back to Ulrich. "Care to explain?" he asked curiously.

"Not really," Ulrich said, looking at his feet. He was surprised to notice Kiwi was sitting beside them, wagging his tail happily without the slightest hint of growl. "I hate you," Ulrich hissed at the dog.

"What was that?" Odd asked.

"Er, nothing," Ulrich said quickly, grinning. "Let's go eat, I'm hungry."

Odd attempted to say something, but Ulrich just grabbed his wrist, quickly stepping into his shoes then dragging the other boy out of the room.

Later, if anyone noticed the awkwardness between the two during breakfast, they were wise enough to keep it to themselves. And if they noticed the little blush each boy got every time they made eye contact, well, they kept that a secret to.