A flurry of pink against white, she fell to the ground. She stood up again, fell back again. Wounds were blurred, shaking, she was convulsing, and he kept thinking that if he died, he'd still be okay, but if she died, she'd…well, die. The very thought made his hands tremble and his breath came short.

He dove in front of her, taking the wound for her, pulling her out of the way in the process. They rolled, and he was on top of her, to splotches against the snow. Pink and Purple were such wonderful colours together. "Are you okay, princess?" he demanded breathlessly. She nodded quickly.

"I'm okay, Odd. My head hurts," she said with a groan.

"That's probably my fault. I knocked you over," he said with a chuckle.

When had Jeremy ever done this for her?

"Um…Odd?"

When had Jeremy ever risked his life for her, taken a hit for her?

"Yeah, Aelita?"

Never.

"…You can get off now."

"Wha—oh yeah! Sorry!" he said, not even having the good grace to blush. "You know you liked it, princess," he said with a playful smirk.

"I—uh-…let's go deactivate that tower."

"Kay," he said, chuckling at her aversion, pulling her arm and running with her. A pink princess and her purple cat, playing in the snow. Someday they'd come here just to play and have fun, maybe have a snowball fight. But today they had a job to do.

They approached the building, and he grinned at her. "Hey, Yumi and Ulrich are going on a date tomorrow. Wanna go with me under the guise of it being a double date, but really just to crah their party?" he asked teasingly. Double Date. Date. Date. Date with Aelita. Date with beautiful Ael-

"That's so mean!" she exclaimed. "I think they're wonderful together." There was a sense of loss, of desire, to her voice, and she smiled dreamily as she spoke.

Jeremy had never done any of that for her.

"Odd…?"

And yet she still wanted him.

"Odd!"

She still wanted Jeremy.

"Um…sorry. I keep spacing."

But Odd didn't just want her – he needed her.

"Obviously. Let's – ah!" she yelled, falling to the ground, her shoulder shaking and dissolving, then reaffirming itself. He glared, feeling the familiar flare of rage he always felt when one of his friends were injured, but ever-so-much more when it was her that had been injured.

He killed the creature, the angry feeling dissolving with the body of the hornet.

He stood there, thinking. Contemplating her. Contemplating Jeremy. She deserved Jeremy and he deserved her, as he had given her a life and a body in the real world. Odd could never match that.

So as the kankarots ran at them, shot at them, he took hit after hit for her. And just as she entered the tower, the last and final wound…

When he fell from the cabin into the scanning room, he thought about her.

He would take hit after hit for her.

He would risk his life for her.

He would protect her from everything. Tears, heartbreak, hurt. He would be her shield.

He knew he could never equal what Jeremy had done for her, but by God, he would try.

It was the only thing he could do for her.

E/N: This ended up being more tragic than I meant it to be.

I really love these too—I really do. xD