Well, chapter six is here. This will be the last full chapter to this story, but there will be an epilogue! To all of my readers, I am sorry that it took this long to work out the chapters, but so much has changed since I started this, it feels like a completely different story. I still love the show, but but I doubt i'll be writing anything else for it.
Hope you like the chapter!
It was too easy.
The second Ulrich had realized Odd had run away, a list of possible places launched in his head, then were ticked off at lightning speed until only two remained.
Honestly, Ulrich just knew Odd so well, had been with him on so many nighttime escapades around the city; there was a map to both places in his head. Now as he ran down the street and rounded the corner, he tried to decide where to check first.
The first option: a small room at the top of the factory that had large windows as well as several comfortable pieces of furniture; likely a break room at one point in its history. But the more Ulrich thought about it, the more he was certain that Odd wouldn't be there. They had spent a lot of time there, talking about the drama and adventure that plagued their everyday lives, both from school and lyoko.
"Too easy," Ulrich said aloud; he stopped and carefully took bearing of his surroundings, then realigned himself to the new path and began running again.
Meanwhile, Odd had just reached The Factory. His tears had dried up long ago, replaced by something thin and bitter; He didn't like it, but would gladly endure it. As he ran into the factory, his thoughts turned to the comfort and quiet of his room... but it wasn't his room, was it? Odd's head throbbed when he realized that all of the happiness he had experienced in that room was thanks to his friend, his... Whatever he was; Odd hadn't quite figured it out yet. All that he could think of, all that he wanted was Ulrich. He was acting like a pathetic child, a silly one with a crush that could not be eradicated no matter how much he wanted it to shatter. And yet his dramatic side flared, and bristling, told him that he had earned himself the right to cry tonight, that everything he had done was perfectly justified. But in the end, he still turned away and let his aching legs carry him somewhere else.
Ulrich finally had to slow down, owing to the stitch in his side. But after taking ten seconds to catch his breath, he carefully stepped around the tree, looking around for Odd all the while, and began walking towards the bright lights of the street. Had he continued in a straight line, he would have walked onto a moderately busy street near the skatepark, but he veered left at the last second. When the trees did break, he was on a dirt road, unlit but with an air of once being cared for. Walking up the steep incline, he hoped that by whatever miracle, he was right and Odd was there.
Three years before Ulrich had come to Kadic Academy, the Mercer Gardening Center had shut their doors. Selling away all of their inventory, they left behind nothing but some stacks of wood, plastic sheeting, and four large (miraculously free of vandalism) greenhouses. It was towards the first Greenhouse, the largest, that Ulrich was now headed. He walked inside, and immediately turned to face the door. Right next to the opening were two lanterns, and two books of matches brought there by Odd nearly a year ago.
Lantern now in hand, Ulrich crossed the main area, breathing slowly and keeping quiet. As he walked, he could smell the soil, just like last time he was here. Odd had only taken him here once before, but even then the soil stirred up memories of his real mother; Ulrich helping her in the garden, bringing her tools or water as needed. Of course the second his father found out he was dabbling in such a "weak" activity, he was immediately squirreled away to work on his passing.
Ulrich reached the greenhouse and, shaking away the fuzziness, opened the door. He walked inside, moving to where several pieces of plastic had been laid down on the floor and secured to "walls" made of old shelving. One thing was missing however.
"Odd?" Ulrich said aloud; expecting, and receiving, nothing but silence.
Odd was totally lost. He surveyed his surroundings with an expression that was half annoyance, half humor; while very dramatic, running through the forest in random directions really doesn't help you to figure out where you're going to go. Well he had been running, then walking for a few hours, and now his only thoughts were of finding someplace to rest. He moved a few feet to the right, and was surprised to see a small glimmer between the trees. Moving towards it, he jumped over bushes and dodged evergreens until he stumbled out onto a well lit road, one that was instantly familiar to him. Smiling for the first time in hours, he turned left and ran up the dirt road hidden from the street. So relieved was he to find a place where he could be at peace, his mind didn't register that there was only one lantern, or that the door of the fourth greenhouse was open. But when he saw Ulrich, illuminated by the light of the other lantern and snoring loudly, that registered rather quickly. Shock that Ulrich even remembered this place quickly turned into anger that he of all people would defile Odd's personal escape with his presence. But it all was overshadowed by something much larger, a fear that Ulrich would wake up and hurt him again. This above all could not happen twice in one night, so Odd attempted to sneak out of the building with Ulrich none the wiser. Unfortunately, just as he put one foot out the door, Ulrich turned over and grunted, startling the blonde and causing him to leap out the door and fall into a set of old sale racks. If that wasn't enough to wake Ulrich, a large metal watering can that Odd remembered putting on the shelves when he was "cleaning" the place wobbled and fell, the spout turning and crashing into the shelves and hitting the stones at the bottom (again put there by Odd) with an audible CLANG! Ulrich jolted and stood up, trying to gain his balance while adopting a defensive stance. This resulted some kind of pose that looked to be half karate and half interpretive dance.
Both boys stared at each other, not moving and not speaking.
Odd was the first to break the trance, by turning around and calmly walking out of the greenhouse.
Ulrich stared after him for a few moments longer before running out the door and moving towards Odd. The Blond teen had walked over to the center of the Cul-de-sac where the greenhouses sat.
"I'm surprised that you even remembered this place."
When Odd spoke, there was sadness in his voice that even Ulrich could detect. Ulrich maneuvered closer to Odd and said "Well, yeah you-" But was cut off by Odd.
"I know you want me to come back, and I will," Odd said without looking at Ulrich. "I admit, I was thinking about running away at first, but then I realized how unfair that would be to Kiwi and the gang.
Ulrich tried to speak, managing "Well i'm glad that-" before Odd spoke again.
"You don't have to worry about a thing. I'll handle all of the paperwork to transfer rooms; meanwhile i'll stay with Jeremie. I don't think he'll mind."
Ulrich tried again. "Well I'm-"
"If I forgot anything you can tell me when I've come back, but for now I just want to be alone with my thoughts."
"But Odd I-" Ulrich started, only to be shut down by Odd again.
"Look," Odd said angrily, still not facing the brunette. Whatever it is, it can wait. I just really need to sort out my thoughts, and you just don't understand..."
It was then that Ulrich decided to impart some of the wisdom given to him by Aelita what was now last night.
"Shut up Odd." Ulrich said the words without yelling, but all the same there was some force behind it that let Odd know that Ulrich needed to speak.
Odd whipped around with anger in his heart, only to see Ulrich looking down at the ground, looking ashamed of himself.
"He has a lot of nerve." grumbled Odd to himself, but all the same, any thoughts of attacking Ulrich with words or fists had evaporated the moment Odd saw his face.
And after a few seconds of silence, Ulrich looked up towards his friend, took a deep breath, and began to speak.
"I'm no good with words, especially not when they're personal like these ones," He said, shuffling his feet and alternating between looking at Odd and his shoes. "But all the same, I have to say it you know, no matter how uncomfortable they make me, I have to say what I feel, or else i'll stop feeling and I don't want that. That's how people like my dad are made." At this point, Ulrich took a few steps towards Odd and looked him full in the face. His voice became determined as he said: "I don't want that. I want to say what I have to say, and last night I thought I had to say something, and I was right. But I didn't. I said something I thought I had to say, which was wrong. I am Ulrich. I have a brain, and I have my own thoughts, and I refuse to allow someone else to force their opinions on me. What I did to you, what I said to you, it was all wrong. Can you ever forgive me?"
Odd immediately replied "Yes, of course I can."
"Okay," Ulrich said, once again looking really nervous. "Now here's what I should have said: For a little while, I've been feeling something different between us, something that's a bit closer than friends, but not like brotherly; I should have never said that that night. I think I have... feelings for you, you know, the romantic kind." At this point his face was bright red. "So if you want, we can... see where it goes?
Odd was speechless, but all the same his legs carried him to Ulrich, and his arms wrapped around the still blushing teen.
Ulrich said, putting his head onto Odd's shoulder, mumbling "But I still want to joke around and be best friends, even if we are... you know...
"Dating?" Odd asked, unable to keep the grin off his face; Ulrich just nodded into his shoulder and wrapped his arms around Odd's back.
"Well," Odd said, finally breaking the hug, "even if you're going to turn into a tomato whenever we talk about our relationship, it's a start." He smiled at Ulrich, who returned it with more blushing.
Without either of them saying a word, they both turned and headed down the dirt path to the main road. When they reached the street the garden center was connected to, they received another surprise. Without either of them noticing, it had gone from late night to early morning; there was the faintest blue tint to the East, and they knew that morning would be coming before long. They walked back to Kadic in silence, each simply enjoying the company of the other.
By the time they had reached Kadic, The sun had fully risen. Curfew had already been lifted, so they didn't have to worry about sneaking back into the school. Once inside the grounds, Ulrich turned to head towards the dorms, but Odd stopped him by putting a hand on his shoulder. In the most serious voice Ulrich had ever heard Odd use, The blonde said "You're going the wrong way."
"I don't understand," Ulrich said, turning to face Odd. "The dorms are that way."
Odd replied, still mortally serious: "But breakfast is this way."
Odd turned and ran towards the dining room without another word.
Ulrich stared after him for only a moment before bursting out laughing. He was silenced however by a loud growl from his stomach, and so decided to run after Odd.
After he had gotten his food, Ulrich walked towards his usual table, but stopped when he saw who was sitting there. Yumi and Odd were sitting across from each other, with a very awkward vibe between them. Yumi was attempting to engage Odd in conversation, but all attempts were shut down in a single sentence. Ulrich had planned to... wait for a little while before explaining the situation to Yumi, but now, with Odd acting the way he was, he had the feeling he was going to have to cross that bridge a lot sooner than anticipated.
Odd was in a bit of a different situation. The moment he'd sat down he knew that Yumi was acting very determined. In fact, the moment he sat down she began asking questions.
"So where was Ulrich last night?" Yumi asked, poking her fork in her food but not actually eating it and looking for Ulrich constantly. "I texted him, and when he didn't respond I snuck over to the dorms." "It was important." She added a moment later.
Odd replied quickly, barely even glancing up at her as he started inhaling his food. "Oh i'm not sure. I spent the night at the factory, in that old staff room. Trying to gain some inspiration I suppose..."
Oh, that reminds me, how did you do at the art show? Did the palace place?
Odd looked up at her then. He had completely forgotten about his art what with the events last night, then food. He was tempted to reply that he was too busy stealing her boyfriend, but he stopped.
Odd thought "What am I even doing? Yumi has been a friend for a lot longer than she's been a... rival? Either way, you shouldn't let her know what happened last night. That's for Ulrich to handle."
And so Odd simply replied with "Didn't even place." and went back to his food.
"Really?" Yumi said, scanning the crowd and not even looking at Odd as she talked. "That's too bad. I really thought that- Ulrich!"
"Damn it" Ulrich thought, but forced a smile onto his face as he moved to his usual table. Yumi patted the seat right next to her, and he grimaced, but sat down where she wanted. Odd had just finished his meal, and was already looking uneasy.
As Ulrich began to eat, Yumi said "So I missed you last night. Where were you?"
Ulrich swallowed and said in a slightly nervous voice "Well, I was... at the factory."
Odd's eyes widened in warning about half a second too late, while Yumi's narrowed.
"So you were with Odd?" She said in an annoyed tone, alternating her gaze between the two of them. "Why didn't you say anything?" She asked Odd.
Ulrich, finally sensing his mistake chimed in.
"Because I asked him not to," Ulrich said, keeping his gaze on Odd. "I was figuring out some emotional stuff, and I asked him not to tell anyone where I was."
"Oh, I understand," She said far too quickly for Odd's liking. "In fact, I was working out some emotional stuff too, and That was why I tried to see you. I wanted to talk about it, in private. Maybe tonight?"
Ulrich looked weirdly at Yumi, then realization dawned on his face
"Oh, yeah, sure..." Ulrich replied quickly. He turned back to his breakfast, only to have Odd catch his gaze. Odd's face at that moment made him look like he was in pain, but the eyes, the questioning, unsure eyes that his... whatever he as classified as now were using nearly made his heart break in two.
Ulrich knew in that instant. All he saw in Yumi was the past, full of hurt, but still punctuated with happiness. But when he looked at Odd, he saw a very unsure, but very happy future. And Ulrich? Well, he had lived in the past for too many years already, and knew where he wanted to be.
So first, he turned to Odd and made three quick gestures, pointing at himself, then Odd, then putting his hands together. It took Odd a moment to figure it out, but when he did he immediately smiled.
Now to deal with Yumi.
Ulrich turned towards her and adopted a fake, unsure tone he knew would sound convincing.
"As a matter of fact, I thought about you last night." Ulrich said, unable to keep a small smile from coming. "I finally figured out how I feel, so I think talking tonight would be for the best."
Yumi was shocked, but quickly said "That's wonderful! Tonight at seven, on the bridge to the Factory?"
Ulrich said "Sounds good."
Yumi got up and said "Well, I'll be going now. I have to help out at home a little bit, but I'll try to be there on time."
As she walked away, Odd and Ulrich said nothing, watching her progress out the door. Even when she left, they still said nothing. They simply shared smiles and got up, then went to the dorms and straight to bed.
At 5:30, Odd and Ulrich both woke up to the alarm they had set. They looked at each other, and Odd smiled, then jumped straight from his bed to Ulrich's. Ulrich let out a muffled oomph! When Odd made contact, then stiffened up when Odd moved so their foreheads touched. For a moment, all was silent.
Odd said "Are you awake?"
Ulrich gave him a little half smile, more nervous than anything, and replied "Well...," Then proceeded to use his legs to flip Odd onto the floor. Odd landed without injury and rubbed his eyes, then looked up to see Ulrich leap off the bed and land right where he was. Of course, Ulrich landed gracefully, arranging his arms and legs just in time to support his weight and suspend him less than two inches above Odd.
It only took a second for Ulrich to turn beet red and scramble away from Odd, repeating the words sorry and inappropriate and spacing them out with little mumbles. Odd got up and crossed the room to Ulrich, then grabbed his arm and pulled him into a hug.
Odd told him "Like I said, baby steps. This is new territory for both of us."
Suddenly an evil gleam appeared in Odd's eye. He turned his head towards Ulrich's ear and whispered "Oh and don't worry. Before long, I'll have you begging to be on top of me."
Ulrich slowly slid to the floor, his face brighter than ever, and still blubbering incoherent words.
Odd, his work done for the day, grabbed his shower things and headed for the bathroom.
"Okay, you can do this. Just be honest with her. Tell her there's someone else. Oh wait, that never works in the movies. But can you really trust those movies? No, it's still the wrong thing to say. Just tell her that you don't feel the same way about her anymore. But you're still friends... so you don't feel the same way but you feel the same way. How long have I been muttering to myself?"
It was almost seven, and Ulrich was pacing the length of the bridge trying to rehearse/come up with something that would explain to Yumi that he didn't want a relationship with her. But he wanted to keep her friendship. But he didn't want to get punched.
When he asked Odd earlier, Odd just said that it would be something he would have to improvise.
"You need to talk to her like you talked to me last night; be honest and state things from the heart. I know you can do it."
Odd had hugged Ulrich then, and walked down to the edge of the woods with him. From there, Ulrich had walked/skated alone until he got to the bridge. Now it was 7:03, and Ulrich still had no idea how he was going to do this.
The sound of the metal hatch made Ulrich look behind him to see Yumi clambering out. Once the portal was secure, Yumi turned and walked towards Ulrich. She stopped right in front of him, and there was nothing but silence.
Yumi and Ulrich stood there, saying nothing and not even looking at each other until Ulrich decided to break the silence.
"Yumi, I..." He said, but stopped. He had nothing for her. She was looking at him, waiting for him to continue, and he was just leading her on. He decided that it needed to be short and to the point, and so he opened his mouth when Yumi said "Fine, I guess I'll start. She kept looking at him, and Ulrich was slightly uncomfortable.
"So after a lot of thought, I realize it was wrong of me to date William. Don't get me wrong, he's actually a nice guy, but we're... incompatible. I think that i'm ready to have a real relationship, and I want it to be with you."
Yumi looked up at him expectantly, even fluttering her eyelashes a little bit. Ulrich didn't react, but he finally knew what had to be said. It was wrong to keep her waiting any longer.
"See, that's the thing Yumi," Ulrich said, searching her face for any sign of change. So far so good. "When I was... thinking the other night, I realized something too. I realized-" Here he took a deep breath, still looking for the moment when she would catch on- "That my feelings for you have changed."
When he said that, Yumi's face went from happy to confused.
Yumi said "Okay?" and waited for him to continue.
And so Ulrich decided to be frank.
Ulrich said, unable to keep her gaze "I realized that I think of us as friends now."
It took a moment to sink in, but when it did, Yumi's face fell.
"But I don't understand," Yumi said, starting to tear up, "This isn't how it's supposed to work. We're supposed to be together, I can feel it..."
It was here that Ulrich lost his patience.
"No," He said, channeling the sadness and anger she had put him through in their time together. "You think we're supposed to be together, but in reality, we will just end up fighting over something stupid, and the whole cycle will start over again. I need someone who is always there for me, who would help me get away with murder if I asked them to! I need a friend and a relationship, and you only seem to be capable of one or the other. I'm sorry, but i've changed. I want you as my friend, and nothing more.
"Away" Ulrich heard, but it didn't register until-
"GET AWAY!" Yumi screamed, causing Ulrich to take a step back. She wasn't bawling, not yet,but tears were streaming down her face.
And Ulrich knew that it would be best if he did what she said. But before he could even take one step, Yumi spoke.
"Who is she?" Yumi asked, trying to dry her eyes.
Ulrich was silently panicking. He wasn't ready to tell Yumi about Odd, but he refused to lie to her; there was only one hing he could say.
"It's a secret, but I think i'll tell you eventually." Ulrich said, knowing that his answer wouldn't go over well.
He didn't register that Yumi had moved until he felt the sting of her palm slapping his face. Still, he didn't shout, and didn't protest.
"How dare you," She said, looking at him with anger and sorrow. "How dare you say I have no right to know!" After all we've been through-" But Ulrich cut her off, saying
"You mean all of the pain, all of the times I saw you with William? All of the annoying times I sat and had to you listen to you attempt to make me jealous? What about all of the anger, all of the fights we've had? You're right, we've been through a lot. You've put me through a lot."
Here Ulrich stopped speaking, unsure of what to say next, but it only lasted for a moment.
Yumi, you've changed too. You've become vindictive and jealous. I don't think I even want to be friends with you right now.
Ulrich walked towards the cover in the sidewalk, opened it and began the long climb down. Just before he lowered his head into the manhole, he said
"Give me a call when you're ready. You need to do some more thinking, and find the real Yumi. Until then, i'll miss you."
And with that, the manhole cover slid shut.
The first thing Odd said when Ulrich walked back into the dorm room was "So who lost their temper first?"
Ulrich scowled and said "I did."
"So she was the picture of fairness?" Odd said, coming to sit on the bed next to Ulrich.
Ulrich laid back, legs dangling off the side, and turned his head towards Odd. Ulrich said "Well, not exactly. She had every right to be angry with me. In fact, we both acted like stupid overdramatic teenagers. That's not how I wanted it to go."
"I know," Odd said, getting up and moving to his side of the room. The truth was, he had known that it would end up something like this; at least he knew that some anger was going to be let out. But his job now was to be there for Ulrich. Yumi would have to wait.
Odd returned to Ulrich's side, this time laying down next to him. "I know it sucks," Odd said, shifting closer to Ulrich. "But we can't all be righteous angels of justice."
"I believe that honor is reserved for me." A familiar voice said from the still open door.
Ulrich and Odd both sat up to see Aelita and Jeremie standing in the doorway.
"Since it's almost curfew, I was go back to my room, but I wanted to see you guys first." Aelita said by way of explanation.
Jeremie said "We were pretty worried about you guys, especially when you didn't come back last night Ulrich."
Aelita moved into the room, and Jeremie followed behind her, they both sat on Odd's bed, and Aelita asked "So did you work it all out?"
Odd was about to reply when Ulrich began speaking.
Ulrich said "Yeah, we kind of made up. I still have a lot of things to figure out, but at least I'll have him by my side. Oh and you guys too."
Jeremie said "Thanks I think?" And simply looked confused, while Aelita let out a small gasp and smiled at Odd, who looked just as confused at Jeremie.
Aelita smiled and said, "I hope I'm not overstepping any boundaries, but you two... you two look so cute together!"
Odd asked "How did you know?" at the same time Jeremie asked "What on earth is going on?"
Ulrich, Aelita and Odd watched in amusement as Jeremie's eyes slowly travelled down to the bed opposite him, where Odd's and Ulrich's hands had conveniently met only moments ago.
Jeremie was silent. He closed his eyes, pushed up his glasses and took a deep breath.
He then said "That explains quite a bit of the conversation last night and today, as well as your interactions over the past few days..."
Odd was confused and said "You're not surprised? Angered? Weirded out?"
"Well, i'm a bit surprised, but the only thing that i'm angry about is that I couldn't put two and two together."
Jeremie was silent for a few moments before he said. "We can't help who we love you know. Be it a girl, another guy, or even... Oh, I don't know, a virtual girl who may have never came back to the real world?"
Everyone chuckled, then Jeremie and Aelita stood up to go back to their rooms. But before they could, someone else entered the room.
Everyone was silent as Yumi looked at them. It was obvious that she had been crying for a while, but now she just looked sad and strangely, embarrassed.
Odd's and Ulrich's hands had separated the moment she had entered the room; neither of them wanted that additional strain to be put on their friendships.
But Ulrich stood up and stood in front of Yumi, mirroring her emotions.
Ulrich said "We were both kind of immature back there..." at the same time Yumi said "We were both kind of stupid back there..."
Yumi then said, still looking embarrassed "We shouldn't do that to each other. We've been... friends for a while, so we know how to really get under each other's skin.
Ulrich started to speak, but Yumi said "Please don't interrupt." and he fell silent.
She resumed speaking, saying "I'm going to be honest: whether as a friend, or a boyfriend, I want you to be in my life. You've been a really good friend to me over the years, and I don't want to lose that. Can we be friends for now?
Ulrich knew that he would have to break it to her eventually, but he didn't want to rock the boat anymore than he had already, so he just nodded.
Odd however, was not okay with that. He really didn't want to use this word, but he was feeling possessive. Besides, she was going to find out eventually, so...
Yumi was saying "And whenever you want to tell me who you're dating, I promise I won't get mad. I would like to know, though."
Odd got off the bed and came to stand beside Ulrich. Odd said "Well, it's funny you should ask that Yumi."
Ulrich realized what Odd was going to say, and tried to silence the blonde without being too conspicuous.
Odd said "You happen to know the person he's dating..." Ignoring the bruise Ulrich was giving him from squeezing his wrist.
Odd said "This person loves to have fun, and is always ready for an adventure..." Now ignoring the liberal pressure being applied to his foot by Ulrich.
"Not to mention, they're extremely attractive; not too hall, athletic body, great sense of humor..." Odd said, now getting up and looking at her, as Ulrich had body checked him moments ago.
Yumi was getting annoyed, and said "Okay, so who is it? There are only a few really athletic girls in the whole school. Really though, Odd, whoever it is you sound like you do when you talk about yourself!"
"BINGO!"
And Odd grabbed Ulrich and kissed him right in front of Yumi.
Yumi was dumbfounded for only a moment, and then started laughing. But her laughter slowly died down as she noticed that instead of screaming at Odd and calling him a weirdo, Ulrich was blushing bright red... And they were holding hands... And Odd was staring at her with a completely serious expression.
He wasn't joking.
The realization came crashing over her and she put a hand on the doorframe for support.
Then an even bigger realization came crashing over her, one that actually forced her to sit down on the floor.
She wasn't angry.
She was annoyed and heartbroken, shocked and saddened, but she wasn't angry at Odd or Ulrich.
She put her head in her hands and leaned against the doorframe.
At the same time, everyone else in the room was silent. Odd and Ulrich stared at her, Odd feeling slightly guilty about what she had done. Jeremie and Aelita were both just hoping that the group wouldn't be shattered.
The room stayed that way for several minutes, no one daring to make a sound.
Finally, Yumi looked up at them all. She carefully stood up and moved towards Ulrich.
Ulrich stiffened, not knowing what to expect, but he was still surprised when Yumi hugged him.
Yumi said "I'm sorry. It's just a lot to take in, you know?"
Ulrich rolled his eyes and said "That's an understatement."
Yumi stepped back and said "Well, that's it then.
She then looked at Odd and said "Don't get me wrong. I'm heartbroken, and i'm also kind of jealous of you Odd." Odd looked at her in bewilderment as she continued. "So before I leave, I just want to say one thing."
She looked at the both of them, and noticed how Ulrich was comforted by holding Odd's hand, and how he wasn't shirking away from the prolonged contact. He was happy, and even though she felt like she was heartbroken, she could already feel herself picking up the pieces. And so, it was in all honesty that she said "I want you to know that I support you, and that our friendship is too strong to be broken by this. Both of you mean a lot to me. I just need a little bit of time..."
Aelita said as she moved towards the door "I know it hurts now, but i'm here for you."
Jeremie said "So am I." and moved to stand beside Aelita.
Odd said "Even though i'm probably the last person you want to hear this from right now, I'm there for you too Yumi."
Yumi turned around without another word, and walked out of the room. But before she walked down the hall, she looked at Odd and muttered something.
Odd leaned towards her and asked "Could you repeat that?"
"I said, if you ever hurt him I'll destroy you."
and with that Yumi walked down the hall and through the door to the stairwell.
After a moment, Aelita and Jeremie said goodnight and departed for their rooms as well.
Odd shut the door and turned towards Ulrich with a big smile on his face.
"Well, I think that went well, don't you?"
Ulrich moved towards him, their faces only separated by an inch. He said "If you ever pull something like that again, I'll use you for sparring practice."
Odd gulped and said "Okay...", but didn't move away.
Ulrich smiled slightly and said, this is still kind of new, so bear with me okay?"
Odd began to say "What?", but was silenced when Ulrich kissed him. On the lips. With no encouragement or effort on Odd's part required.
Ulrich broke the kiss after a few seconds and said "Well?"
Odd just smiled, tears of happiness starting to fall, and said "It... No, you are perfect."
Ulrich smiled, feeling free for the first time in his life, and Odd laughed and said "Come on. I'm ready for bed."
And for a long time after the lights were out, both boys laid in their beds awake, the measure of their happiness known only to themselves and to each other.
So this is it.
At over six thousand words, this is the longest chapter that I have ever written; this story is also the longest piece of fiction that I have written and intend to finish. Thank you to all my followers for sticking with this story throughout the years, and thank you to the many people who have given me motivation on this site. I ask that whether this is your first or seventh millionth story, you take the time to leave me a review of this chapter. Look for the epilogue by the end of July. It will be short, but it will bring this entire journey to a satisfying end.
Thank you all so much for taking the time to read this.