A/N: Yeah, I know I take forever to update. I try hard not to, but I'm just a bad person. Fuck excuses. I don't write on my fanfics 24/7 (OBVIOUSLY), and I seriously have too much shit to do to constantly update all the time. It's just not ever going to be a regular thing. It'll be random. Sporadic, even. But if you truly love this story the way this story truly loves you, then you will continue reading. If not, sorry you bothered to make it this far. Moving on.

Chapter Eight: She Knows!

Odd POV

I woke up with my head placed on an amazingly comfortable pillow. Today was Saturday, the day after the dance that I had skipped for once. Ulrich and I had stayed in last night, talking and playing videogames. The best thing about your best friend being your boyfriend? You can still do boring stuff like just sitting and talking or playing videogames and it's no big deal. Also, it keeps people from suspecting you're a gay couple. It was just so convenient. I snuggled closer into the firm pillow and was shocked when it moved under me. I let out a yelp and rolled off of the bed, landing with a thud on the floor. The pillow – which I now understood to be Ulrich – sat bolt upright and looked down at me.

"Are you okay?" he asked, sleepiness mixing with concern in his voice. I nodded and stood up, then lied back down in his bed on my back. No more of this chest-pillow nonsense if falling out of bed is what would come of it. Ulrich smiled tiredly and lied down again, too. Semi on top of me with his head on my chest. I blushed and scooted my lower body away from his a little bit.

"Ulrich, it's morning," I said, looking down at him.

"Yeah, so?" he asked a cute little grin on his face.

"So... Um… there are things that happen in the morning… when we wake up…" I said, hoping he would catch my drift as my cheeks heated even more.

"You're cute when you blush," he said, then dropped a small, gentle kiss onto my chest. My problem got slightly worse, and I looked away, feeling the blush extending into my ears.

"Ulrich, cut it out," I whined half-heartedly. I really liked the feeling, it was just sort of… uncomfortable right now. "You're making things wor–" His mouth covered mine at that point, passionately and almost… hungrily. I gasped against his mouth and his tongue took advantage of the slight parting of my lips. He rubbed over my chest and stomach with one hand, the other cupping my flushed cheek. My tongue ran against his, twirling around it excitedly despite myself. He shifted his body for a better angle, and I noticed that I wasn't the only one with a 'problem' as his pressed against my hip. I moaned almost inaudibly into his lips as his hip met mine. He broke the kiss and looked down at me, a blush on his face now.

"Did you just –?" he asked, looking down at me. I smiled sheepishly and nodded, wondering why he was embarrassed by me moaning. "I'm sorry. I, uh, well, we…" he said, blushing more as he pulled away from me.

I frowned, confused. "What's wrong, good buddy?" I asked. He sighed, looking determinedly at my nose instead of my eyes, refusing to make eye contact.

"I just sort of feel… not ready to… you know… do stuff," he said, his ears turning scarlet now as he faced the floor.

"I'm not either," I said, sitting up, which was difficult since he knelt over my lap. "I'm sorry if moaning scared you… You're just a really good kisser," I smiled, finding his hand and holding it. I brought his palm up to my face and kissed it, an intimate gesture that made him give me a small smile.

"Am I?" he asked, grinning, then shook his head. "You're not ready either?" he added, looking away again.

"No," I said, running my fingers lightly over his. "I mean, we just got together and even though I've loved you for forever, I kind of want to get there a little more slowly, ya know?" He nodded, looking at the blanket. He could never meet my eyes when he talked about his feelings. It bothered me sometimes, but I understood why he was like this.

"Yeah, I do know. Mostly it's just that… Well, I've never been with… I've never been in a relationship with a man before, and, well… I've heard it hurts," he blushed, looking away even more. I could still catch a glimmer of something unpleasant in his eyes. It almost looked like legitimate fear. That bothered me, on a level I didn't know existed. "And I'm almost… I don't want to… It's just sort of… unnerving." He finished kind of lamely.

"Ulrich. Ulrich, look at me," I said sternly. He glanced up at my chin for a moment, then quickly away. I touched his cheek lightly and turned his face toward me. His eyes met mine, and I knew for a fact fear stared back at me. "Ulrich, I won't hurt you," I said, letting go of his face as his eyes watered. "Ever." He turned away sharply, a small drop of water splashing down onto my hand.

"I know… I just… I've had a bad experience with this," he said softly, followed by a sniffle. This was news to me, but news I could handle.

"Okay. Want to talk about it?" I asked, still holding his hand. He looked at me then, the first time ever without being forced, and the pain in his eyes was more than pain – it was agony. The tears slid slowly over his cheeks, and he shook his head.

"I can't tell you," he said, the words burning my ears. "I want to, but I can't."

"Of course you can," I said, a bit taken aback. "You can tell me anything."

"Not… not this," he said, tears escaping the corners of his eyes. He didn't even attempt to wipe them away. "I can't tell anyone. And you… You wouldn't love me anymore." He added the last part in a near-whisper.

"What are you talking about? Of course I'd still love you!" I said, hurt by his lack of faith in my love for him. He shook his head.

"I don't want to talk about it," he whispered. He buried his face in my shoulder before I could respond and I felt his arms around my waist. I held him, not sure exactly why he couldn't tell me, but not wanting to press the issue. It was never a good idea to do that to him. He'd just shut you out. I decided that I'd be there if he told me now, but I'd also be there if he needed to take twenty years to tell me. So I just held him, rubbing his back and whispering nonsensical syllables to him in soothing tones. His tears subsided after a bit. He sat up and looked away somewhat abruptly, and wiped his face muttering, "Sorry."

I smiled at him comfortingly and took his hand again. "It's okay. I don't mind." He looked at me then, eyes wide and swollen, almost childlike under harder features. That's all he did; he just looked at me. I kissed his cheek and stood. "I'm sorry for moaning and scaring you. I'll try to calm down in the future," I said, winking. He cracked a small smile, accepting my attempt to soothe sad with funny. Now he looked like a child who had just had a boo-boo kissed all better. I grinned back, and then went over to my closet, pulling out my clothes for the day and beginning to change clothes. I pulled my shirt off, still facing away from Ulrich, self-conscious despite my best efforts and that I'd changed in front of him tons of times before.

I jumped when I felt arms wrap around my torso, tensing as he pressed himself against me from behind. His lips grazed the crook of my neck and then he lied his head on my shoulder. "I love you, Odd. I'm sorry I freaked out," he said softly against my hair, sending shivers down my spine and causing tingles to course across my skin. I bit my lip to keep the gasp in check. I still hadn't taken care of my problem from earlier. Ulrich's arms tightened around me, his fingers trailing over my (not-nearly-as-muscular-as-his) chest and stomach. Though it had subsided somewhat as Ulrich had cried, it now returned with a vengeance. He kissed my neck before I felt his again, pressing against me from behind. I turned my head to face him, and he caught my mouth in a kiss, deep like before. I sighed softly as he pulled away, and then I turned to face him, biting my lip against the insecurities flooding my mind as he looked at me, taking in my svelte upper body before meeting my eyes.

"I love you, too," I said quietly. My lips found his again without my consent as though our lips were magnets that almost couldn't be pulled apart. My chest pressed against his as my fingers wound their way into his short hair. His arms wrapped around me again, one hand low on my back, the other gently rubbing circles on the back of my neck. God, it felt good. He pulled back to breathe and kissed my cheek sweetly, then my jawbone, sending a smattering of tingles all throughout my body. The crook of my neck was assaulted with kisses next, and I bit my lip again hard to keep the moan contained. It didn't quite do the job, but it sort of came out as an exaggerated sigh, which was better than a moan. Ulrich's strong arms tightened around me. I accidently pulled his hair a bit as I felt his tongue against my skin, my other hand slid down to his bicep as I reveled in the firmness of the muscle there. He pulled away from my neck, causing me to emit a soft noise of vague protest before locking eyes with him. His lips met mine, tongue slipping between my teeth (which were embarrassingly willing to part for him). I leaned back against the dresser, enjoying the taste of his tongue. His hand slid over my stomach, making heat erupt all over my skin and throughout my insides as he shifted his mouth to kiss me deeper –

Knock, knock, knock.

I groaned softly, willing whoever it was to just go away and not ever come back. Ulrich pulled away from me, looking at me as though he was thinking the same thing.

Knock, knock, knock.

I sighed as Ulrich called, "Just a minute!" I threw my shirt back on quickly, and we both threw on a pair of pants quickly, effectively becoming half-dressed. Ulrich went to open the door.

Faye POV

I had gotten ready quickly that morning after getting up early so I could make my way to see Ulrich and Odd. Ulrich responded gruffly after my second set of three knocks, so I waited outside, ignoring the odd looks of other boys as they headed to class. I was allowed to be in this hall at this time of day. I knew I was. I'd checked the school handbook. Ulrich finally got around to answering the door, half dressed and hair mussed with eyes slightly red. They must have gotten up late. After seeing that it was me, he let me in immediately. I stepped through the doorway to see Odd, hair mussed, half clothed – half pajama-ed. I smiled warmly at him.

"Good morning, guys. I just wanted to ask you a few questions," I said, sounding unsure even to myself. This was crazy. Ulrich closed the door behind me.

"What about?" Odd asked, rubbing an eye tiredly.

"Well, um… they have to do with Aelita." What the he-ck was I doing? I was over-reading things, that's what I was doing. I was cra – but as Ulrich moved to stand next to Odd, I noticed that both of their lips were ever so slightly swollen and red. That was all the confirmation I needed. The small hickey barely peeping up above Odd's shirt collar made it blatantly obvious. "Since you two are the only gay couple I know of at Kadic, I figured that you two would be the ones to ask." Odd's eyes widened and his mouth dropped open, but he didn't make any sound for once as Ulrich visibly recoiled and then glared at me.

"We're not gay!" he said softly, though the door was shut and no one could hear just as Odd exclaimed, "How did you know?" They looked at each other, then they looked at me.

"Well, it's pretty clear in how you act. And look at each other. And have swollen lips. And other stuff. Honestly, it's pretty obvious." I said, fidgeting under their scrutiny. "That you're a couple, I mean. Not necessarily gay, but definitely a couple. I won't tell anyone. It's not my business, but I needed some help," added quickly, nervousness flooding my veins.

They both seemed to relax upon hearing that I wouldn't tell anyone. "Okay, we can discuss how you knew later. What do you need help with?" Ulrich asked.

I fought a blush as I looked at them. "Well, it's… it's Aelita. I… I was wondering if she has someone. Like a boyfriend or a thing with someone or anything?" I asked, blushing, but still continuing to meet their eyes. I refused to be ashamed about how I felt. I would not look down. "Or, you know, whether or not she's… into girls?" I asked a little softer than before, my throat going strangely dry. They shared a look between them and then turned back to me.

"Well…"

A/N: Yeah, I really tried too hard to make this a cliffie, but it's totally not. I think I just wanted a dramatic place to cut off so I could post this chapter before I have to go to band rehearsal. If you've got a problem, just remember, you get what you paid for, and this shit's free. XP