Xero tossed and turned in her single sized bed. She finally settled at looking up at the ceiling and then at the clock in their desk. 12:35, and she had yet to sleep a wink.

She looked across the room and saw Zero, still sound asleep. "Lucky," she whispered as she silently crept out of her bed and across the divide.

"Zero…" she whispered hearing no response, only the soft sound of his breathing. "I know you can't hear me, and that's fine, but I need to tell you this somehow."

She sat beside his bed in silence for a moment contemplating her feelings and how she would say them.

"I think… I think I love you." She waited for a moment as though he would respond to her. "I don't know when I started to feel this way for you," she continued. "It could have started this night in the chemical plant, it could have been when we watched Casablanca together in a hospital bed, it could have been when I saved you from drowning, it could have been when you saved me from becoming whatever Lacey is." She stopped for a moment as she continued to contemplate her feelings. "It could have been from the moment we met. Honestly, I really don't know when it started, and I don't really care."

She sat in silence again as their reality hit her.

"And we both know we can't be together. Not with Katz's rule in place. You were living on the streets before you joined. I can't take this away from you."

She smiled for a moment as she contemplated another option. "Is there a way we could have both?" she whispered out loud.

As she whispered those words another, a sadder possible reality crossed her mind. "Do you even have the same feelings towards me?" she asked as she wiped her eyes against her sleeve. "Is there something wrong with me? Would you ever consider an "us"? Or does non of this even matter?"

She sat in silence again, wiping her eyes until they were as clear as they could be.

She then gently pinched his nose.

He quickly squirmed back to awareness and looked at her sleepily. "Xero…?" he said his eyes barely open, his hair a shuffled mess. "It's 12:40 in the morning." His eyes suddenly widened as he looked at her. "Are you alright?"

Xero smiled softly at his remark. "Yea, I'm fine. I just couldn't sleep and I was wondering if I could… you know, hang out with you. At least until I fall asleep."

"Sure," he said somewhat reluctantly.

Without a second to lose Xero rushed back to her bed and retrieved a few pillows and a blanket and laid them beside his bed.

He looked at her confused. "You're not going to sleep on the floor?"

"Where else would you have me sleep?" she asked, curious to hear his response.

Zero looked around at his single sized bed then at Xero. He then scooted over and tapped the space beside him.

She smiled warmly at him as she jumped in beside him. She teetered on the edge for a moment until he put his arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him.

He then let out a long yawn. "I can't have my favorite partner sleeping on the floor like some sort of animal," he said, his words already starting to slurring as he fell asleep. "Were always going to be equals."

"Thanks," she whispered, fully aware that he couldn't hear her. But that didn't matter. She could already feel her energetic heartbeat sync to his calm, peaceful beat. Her eyelids started to feel heavy, and soon sleep embraced her like the arms of a friend.