Darwin thought long and hard before coming to the conclusion that he might never figure it out.

The holographic screen flickered, casting cool light throughout his living room. Really, this was no different than the hundreds, maybe thousands of times they'd done it before. After a long day of doing nothing in particular, Fletcher had fallen asleep against Darwin, his head on his chest.

They'd been dating for a while but had only become "official" a few weeks ago, and Darwin still couldn't quite put his finger on what was different. Fletcher was an easy weight against his side just as he always was. The flat top of his head reflected the screen in flashes. Darwin palmed the dark blue metal, spreading out his fingers. When Fletcher didn't stir, he started sweeping his fingertips back and forth softly, slowly. He might have done this before, but something now felt fuller inside of him. Something was just different.

Going from best friends to boyfriends didn't do much when they had always been rather intimate. Ever since they were little kids, they were more than comfortable with physical contact, both being cuddlers by nature, and had even been each other's first kiss. There had been nothing romantic about that though ‒ it was just to get rid of the pressure of having the perfect first kiss. They could trust each other with that and anything else.

Then, when they were out of school and had started working together at the ARL, there had been a time when Darwin's feelings leaned toward the romantic. Back then, he'd imagined something like this. The closeness and comfort that they'd always shared, but with a slightly different spin. Not that it would've worked. Fletcher never had much of a connection between physical and emotional closeness, and had no desire for romantic relationships at the time. Besides, when Darwin really thought about it, his feelings then may have had more to do with too strong of a connection between physical and emotional relationships. If they had gotten together, there was no telling how it would have turned out, but Darwin couldn't picture it ending well. They both needed time to grow. Maybe they'd been growing into each other this whole time. He'd had many long term relationships over the years, and there was no doubt in his mind that he needed to have them to change into the person he was today, but... did that mean he'd been waiting for Fletcher this whole time?

The program on the screen had gone to commercial break, leading to particularly loud ad that made Darwin jump. Fletcher flinched as well, his eyeforms flickering open.

"Oh, hey, you alright?"

The Energy Vampire only mumbled, curling up a little and drifting right back into sleep mode. Darwin smiled and nuzzled his chin down against the top of Fletcher's head. Fletcher had changed just as much as he had. Maybe that was all there was to it. Everything in their lives, everything they'd endured and survived had lead up to two people who could make each other happy. Darwin had never felt as close to anyone as he'd been with Fletcher, and a lifetime of shared vulnerabilities had already made them committed to one another. Now, though, it was exclusive.

Could that have been it? It seemed like such a simple detail, and almost selfish, but it sure gave Darwin a rush. Thinking that he was the only one right now who could... he blushed, hesitated, and tilted his head down to kindle a soft spark against Fletcher's forehead. Something like a smile flickered across the dozing hybrid's lips, though his optics didn't open. Everything in Darwin seemed to melt when Fletcher sighed a half-conscious, "Mmmn... Win."

Darwin might have floated away, so he tucked his arm around Fletcher's waist and murmured, "I love you."

A flash of purple lit the Energy Vampire's visor as he snapped to attention, eyeforms wide. "What?"

They stared at each other for a while before Darwin laughed. "I love you."

"Thank god," Fletcher buried his face in the android's chest, "I didn't want to be the first one to say it since I sprung this on you in the first place. I love you, too."

"Fletch, we've said it a million times before!"

"Yeah, but not since we've been boyfriends."

"I mean... I hope you don't think this is weird, but I've loved you the whole time anyway."

"Sure, but you don't think it's different now?"

Darwin slouched, grinning. It was good to know they were on the same page. "Of course it is, but there's just the one word for it, so."

"I guess," Fletcher stifled a yawn, "We should come up with a new one."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," his eyeforms were already falling again, "'I love you' is so normal. We need something... special. I'm devotulated to you."

Darwin laughed again. "Devotulated? You're obviously not all here, I know you could think of something better than that."

Fletcher grumbled. "I'm tired, what do you want? I have another idea though. Maybe we could say 'I love you,' but it's like a... a secret code. We'll know what it really means even if it sounds normal."

"So instead of 'I love you,' we say 'I love you?'"

"Just like that," Fletcher's words began to trail off. He was hardly hanging on.

"Sounds good, Fletch. You're a real innovator."

Fletcher slipped back offline with a smile on his face. Darwin would carry him to bed later, but for now he'd let him rest, his mind filled with happy nothings to keep him company.