Heart's Note: I started watching Code Lyoko in Spanish about...2 years ago. Cartoon Network down here in Mexico never made it past the 1st season, but I saw the rest on YouTube. After a year of not watching the show, I went back to the series about a week ago. And, once again, I fell head over heels for the characters. Of course, having matured a bit, I was able to see the finer nuances to the characters. That, and I'm a dedicated Yaoi fan.

Disclaimer: Code Lyoko belongs to Moonscoop, not to me. Also, many thanks to Yumi's Jade Katana for her story Frozen Tears. I've yet to make it back up to Cold War, and needed the lines. I stumbled onto her story, and got them. Thanks!

Looking back, Ulrich didn't know what he was thinking. He'd heard the tree crack and splinter as he and his friends began to head for the manhole entrance to the Factory, and had seen it begin to come down exactly where Odd was standing. The skinny boy was much too thin for him to survive the impact, while Ulrich's chances were higher. It was a split-second choice, maybe even quicker than some of Jeremy's calculations on the Super Computer. He'd just run for Odd, calling out a warning as he gave his friend a shove on the back, knocking him to safety even as the massive frozen tree came down on top of his back. It knocked the wind out of him, sending him sprawling forward to land face first in the snow. The same snow that saved his life. Had Xana not attacked the way he did, the most likely thing to have broken Ulrich's fall to the ground would have been just that, solid ground. He would have broken his back, maybe even his neck, had it not snowed. Wait...was that Odd calling out to him?

"Ulrich?! Ulrich, answer me!" Yeah, that was Odd. Ulrich tried to force his eyes open, even though he didn't remember closing them at all. After a moments efforts, he managed to unhinge his eyelids to look up at Odd and Yumi's worried faces. He gave a half wave, wincing as it hurt. Odd and Yumi exchanged a look, before nodding to one another. They made a useless effort to try and heave the massive tree off of their friend, before Ulrich laughed a little.

"Just forget it, guys. You'll never get this thing off." Odd bit his lip, looking at the Japanese girl in front of him. She looked back with equal worry in her eyes, before trying to call Jeremy. She cursed as the signal didn't make it through, the mobile device no longer working in the cold. She pocketed it, turning to Odd.

"We have to get to Lyoko, try and fix this before it's too late." Odd nodded, giving Yumi a shove on the arm.

"Yeah. You go." Yumi stared, then shook her head to protest. Odd cut her off.

"Yumi, we can't both stay here. You're the better fighter, go." Yumi bit her lip, lacing her fingers as she thought it over for a long moment before she nodded slowly. After patting Ulrich on the arm and telling him to hold on, she ran off across the seemingly endless field of white. Ulrich watched her go, before being snapped back to reality as Odd's face entered his line of vision.

"I'm gonna check out the tool shed, see if I can find something to get you out from under this thing. Stay awake, ok?" Ulrich nodded, then watched his best friend run out of his sights. If he got out of the mess, Ulrich would tell him how he felt about the blond. He closed his eyes for one second, then was jolted awake as Odd shoved him in the shoulder. It took a moment for his brain to connect. Why wasn't Odd letting him sleep?

"Lemme sleep, Odd...it's not even morning yet..." Odd shoved him again, harder this time.

"No! You can sleep tonight! Wake up!" It was the panic in Odd's voice that woke him up, and the normally purple clad boy sighed in relief. The pulleys slung over his slim shoulders jangled like little church bells as he swung the large, heavy chain he'd brought up and around the downed tree, hooking it to the still standing tree next to him. Taking a deep breath and cracking his knuckles, Odd grabbed at the chain and pulled. Hard as he could, putting all his weight into it, trying hard to free his best freind from under the massive wieght of the frozen wood. But it was no good. In a matter of minutes, the chain had iced over. It snapped somewhere along the way, sending Odd face first into the snow with a cry of alarm. Ulrich gave a little wince for his friend, mentally slapping himself everytime his vision began to blur. He vaguely remembered Mrs. Hertz saying that falling asleep while freezing to death could mean you'd never wake up again. Was that what was happening to him? He was so tired. But Odd was trying so hard to save him. He had to stay awake, if only for his friend. Speaking of Odd, the blond boy was collapsing into the snow again, this time by Ulrich's side. A warm hand found it's place on Ulrich's side as Odd sprawled over him, trying to keep them both warm as the temperature continued to fall. Odd laughed wryly.

"Man, you'd think I love snow, having grown up in the mountains and all. But right now, I hate it more than I hate Xana." Ulrich shrugged slowly, falling asleep. His hometown in Germany hadn't gotten too much snow in the winter time, but the weather was decent the rest of the year. Then again, Xana hadn't been screwing with the climate back when he was a kid. Back then, Xana hadn't made it snow so hard that a tree was pinning him to the ground, trying to kill him at every turn. Now or never.

"Odd?"

"Hmm? What's wrong? Well, besides the obvious."

"There's a letter...under my matress. Read it." Odd laughed a little here.

"Well good buddy, I'm glad you trust me enough to read your sweet nothings to Yumi, but I'd..."

"'S'not for Yumi. For you." Ulrich can hear his voice slurring in the cold, and knows his time is running out. But he can feel Odd cradle his head to his chest, and he can hear his heartbeat even through the thick coat the thinner boy is wearing. He starts to fall asleep again, before Odd squeezes him tightly.

"Stay with me, Ulrich. I--I'm sure that Yumi's already on Lyoko." Even with Odd trying to reassure him, Ulrich can feel himself slipping to the black. Odd's voice is the last thing he hears. Odd knows this, but keeps trying.

"Come on man, please don't leave us. We need you to fight Xana. Yumi and I can't do it alone..." Odd sniffled. Ulrich wasn't waking up. He'd never know how Odd felt about him. Odd felt the tears leak from his eyes, freezing on his cheeks.

"I need you here.." And just like that, the sun is warming Odd again, letting the snow melt and the frozen tears slip down his cheeks. The blond shakes his head, trying to wake Ulrich. He doesn't wake up, and Odd buries his hand into his pocket. It's second nature to call Jeremy's phone, but Odd's own won't turn on. Too frozen to even work.

Just like Ulrich.

"No!" Odd cradles his friend close as the grief flows through him. The tears pour from his eyes, so much so that Odd doesn't notice the white light approaching faster than a speeding bullet. And all of a sudden, Odd finds himself back in the room he and Ulrich share, Kiwi nestled to his side. He vaguely feels sorry that he woke his sleeping dog, but making sure that Ulrich is alive and well matters more. Odd rolls over, panicking. He doesn't even look up as he tosses the sheets aside, and so he doesn't notice that Ulrich is already standing between their beds, catching him as they both stumble from Odd's tackle hug. It's a long moment before Odd tries to speak, voice choked with emotion as he buries his head into Ulrich's shoulder.

"I thought...your heart had...you were gone!" Ulrich shakes his head.

"I know. But I'm still here, right?" Ulrich grabs his friends hand, laying it flat so that Odd's palm lays flat against his own. It's solid, not a ghosts. Odd gives a teary little smile, which Ulrich returns. The brunette boy stands up, disentangling himself from Odd to look for something under his matress. He comes up with a small envelope, and he hands it to Odd as they sit side by side on the blonds bed. Ulrich's fingers play with Kiwi's fur as Odd examines the letter. It's a cheap envelope, from the little store downtown. Ulrich's steady handwriting has made his name in black ink on the cover, and Odd slips the letter out. It's written on lined paper, school standard in black pen ink. Again, it's in the steady print that Odd has come to recognize as that of his best friends.

Odd.

At first, I thought you were nuts. The way you dressed, Kiwi, art and video games...it was all a mess in my eyes. A disaster. But then Xana and Lyoko, getting Aelita out of Lyoko, making friends out of the soccer team, actually getting to know you. It put things into perspective. At first, I thought my feelings for Yumi were more than a childish crush. Turns out they aren't more than that. I spent many a sleepless night debating that with myself. (Kiwi's actually a very good listener about romantic problems, certainly better than Jim, anyway.) As the days passed, mixed with classes and Xana attacks, I found myself growing closer to you. More than a friend, anyway. I first dismissed it as just brotherly affection, but after a while I just couldn't keep lying to myself. It turns out, I fell in love with you. I don't know when or how, let alone why, but I just know I did. I know, you've got feelings for Sam or Sissi, but I just had to tell you. To be honest, I was scared of your reaction if I told you to your face. I was afraid of losing what we have. I could say that I'd be content with you loving someone else, but I'd be outright lying. You know I have trouble doing that, my face gives me away. If you're reading this and I'm gone, for whatever reason, know that I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. But if I'm not gone, you're probably gonna see me blush red enough to make Rosa's tomato sandwiches jealous. I guess I'll end this here. And Odd? Thanks, for being my friend.

Ulrich.

Odd blinked, before returning the letter to it's envelope and placing it under his pillow with reverence. He took a breath, before slinging an arm around Ulrich's shoulders. This motion startled the other boy from where he was giving Kiwi a firm rubdown, making both dog and boy jump a foot in the air. Odd licked his lips, nibbling on them with his teeth.

"Why didn't you say something before?" Ulrich sighed through his teeth, cheeks already beginning to tint red.

"Didn't wanna scare you off. Besides, you've got a thing for Sam, don't you?" Odd shook his head, leaning back with a smile.

"Maybe." Ulrich flashed his friend a blank look, a little peeved. Odd waved off Ulrich's look, shaking his head.

"I really don't know, Ulrich. I just know I'm willing to try. For your sake." And just like that, Ulrich blushed red enough to make Rosa's tomato sandwiches jealous.

Heart's Note: (smiles) What is it with these two and making me smile? Hmm...Maybe it's Odd's line and gesture in Mr. Puck.

"It must have something to do with sex appeal" (pats Ulrich on the shoulder)" (laughs) It's one of those things that you only get when you're older.