Yay! I am not dead! I am sorry to those who reviewed and were waiting for a second chapter. I've had some family drama, work, moving into a new apartment, and a whole bunch of other things in real life that have been getting in the way. Also, my editor is no longer able to help me due to her being so busy as well, so the magic that she usually brings to the story will no longer be there... SIGH.

This chapter is shorter than the first one, but the story will pick up in plot and everything in the next chapters.

Chapter 2

For two years Feli and I had lived with our adopted families. During that time, we've been able to establish a routine in order to spend as much time together as possible. As soon as we woke up, both of us would take a shower before Feliciano, with his backpack in tow, walked across the hall to Antonio's condo. I would place a baguette into the oven and pour olive oil and balsamic vinegar onto a plate for us to share. Once the baguette was done I would cut slices into it so that we could dip it into the oil and vinegar mixture. There wasn't a lot of conversation during breakfast, my little brother was still too tired to be very interactive. It didn't bother me, for I enjoyed his presence alone. Sometimes he would talk about trying to convince his father to get him a puppy, but I knew that Mr. Edelstein would never allow that. Feli's puppy eyes were hard to resist, but Mr. Edelstein knew that my little brother did not have the responsibility to take care of an animal.

Once we were both full or it was 8:10am, I would put the dishes away and get my backpack. Antonio, in his embarrassing black pajamas with tomatoes embroidered in them (he never had to wake up early for his job), would wake up and walk us from the condo to the limousine. I never understood why he felt the need to do so, but I guess it was just the over protectiveness of a father of young children.

The chaffeur, an elder gentleman whose family had served Mr. Edelstein's family for several generations, would drive us to school, which started promptly at 8:45am.

Our school was Morwood, a private school that led to almost 95 percent of their students going to a four year college. The building was a large, older looking building to give it the atmosphere of an older and more traditional school, but it was only fourty years old. It stood out in the modern buildings of New York city, not only because of its architecture, but because of its large amount of land behind the building that seperated from the others. The large space in the back was to allow younger students to play outside and also for any class activities that needed to be outside, usually middle school or high school science classes.

The school had grades from kindergarten to senior year of high school, but no matter what age, everyone had the same uniform. Boys had white button-up shirts with trim at the ends that were different colors, depending what grade the person was in. Since I was in third grade, I had red stitching, while Feli was in first grade with gray stitching. The only other part of the uniform required were simple black trousers or knee-length shorts during the warmer months. Girls wore white button-up shirts with different colored trims according to grade as well, except these shirts were tailored toward a woman's figure by making a seam to curve slightly in at the waist. They could wear bottoms similar to the men options or wear a black knee-length skirt.

Nobody seemed to care about their looks in Morwood though. The school was designed so that students had their learning accelerated in comparison to normal public schools, to the point that many students were too busy with studying to care about their appearance. I remember I was too busy with studying to care anyways.

My first class was science with Mr. Yao Wang, a nice man truthfully. The subject of his class was so easy for me to grasp that I never listened to his lectures, even though I did like speaking to him. I read ahead and was always at least two chapters past his lesson plans. My knowledge of his subject is probably the reason why the Chinese man favored me among all the students, even if I fell asleep once or twice a week in class. During lunch time, I would even take turns sitting with him and my math teacher or my friends. We would talk about newest scientific theories, point out their flaws and the true plausibility of them. I remember where we talked about a ridiculous theory he heard about...

"I read in a newspaper recently that they believe with mathematics to provide evidence, that blackholes lead to parallel universes." I snorted at the thought, answering Mr. Wang's newest information with a murmured "Sounds like something my idiot brother Feli would say, and he knows squat when it comes to science." My teacher would laugh at me, patting me on the shoulder with pride.

"Why is that Lovino, aru?"

"Blackholes have a gravity so powerful that it will literally strip the individual atoms apart from any unlucky thing that happened to get too close. Light, the fastest moving thing in the world cannot escape the gravitational pull of a blackhole unless this blackhole was less than a meter in diameter. If this theory was correct and it did lead one to another universe, one would have to show where they would come out because blackholes aren't known to spew out atoms. With all this assumed, whatever came into the blackhole and out through this new structure, I'm pretty sure that it would be different from the way it came in thanks to the blackhole," I explained. My science teacher would hug me, gushing in Chinese probably of how impressed he was of me. The vain part of my personality would make me smirk...

"Oi! Lovino, are you paying attention?" his voice snapped. I returned from my memory and looked up at him.

"Do you know the answer to the question?" I glanced at the board and said "The mass would be 16.81 kilograms Mr. Wang."

He smiled and returned his attention to the class to explain how I got that answer.

My second class with my math teacher was almost the same kind of relationship. She was a petite Filipino woman named Imelda Mauricio. She was handing out our last tests. My test was a perfect score, which was why I was rewarded with a small bag of candy. Ms. Mauricio gave me an extra pat on the shoulder and continued to hand out tests.

I heard the boy in front of me, Alfred, sigh. He was a friend of my brother's even though he was the same age as I was. I was friends with his slightly older, quieter twin Matthew, who sat on the other side of the room. I was concerned to why he seemed sad and I leaned a little to see he had gotten 83 percent. It wasn't a bad score, it was just low for Morwood's standards. He looked over his shoulder to see me looking at the paper and blushed. He was probably embarrassed.

I tried to comfort him. "Don't worry Alfred, I'm not doing so well in History." It was true, my grade was slowly getting closer to the low eighties. He perked up.

"Really? I'm doing as well in History as you are in Math. I'm surprised," I blushed but ignored the blow to my intelligence and gave the proposal "Well, than maybe during study hall time we can help each other."

"Well alright, thanks!" he said and class continued as normal.

English class, my class after math, definitely was not easy for me. It wasn't that I did terribly, it was that I didn't like my teacher. My teacher was Arthur Kirkland who did not appreciate my unattentiveness and would not let me go unpunished unlike my first two teachers. My stupidity would sometimes take over me during his class and I would refer to him as "Caterpillar brows" instead of Mr. Kirkland. These comments in the beginning of my school career led to me getting lunch detentions with any teacher available. When Mr. Wang seemed to be free every single time the English man probably thought it was better to scold me in class than reward me with time with my favorite teacher.

I behaved today, which led to quiet class time. It was because I learned Mr. Kirkland would argue with my art teacher Francis Bonnefoy, which was fine, until they started to act civil for those few minutes after they fight. In those minutes, they would somehow stray from the weather to my disrespect for Mr. Kirkland's authority in class. Since Francis Bonnefoy was friends with my father, my father would find out eventually and scold me. I would find an opportunity to insult the English teacher some other time, maybe when Antonio was on a business trip.

Lunch was right after Mr. Kirkland's class, but instead of eating lunch with our diverse group of friends, Feli asked to have lunch alone with me outside. I agreed because I knew somethings must be troubling Feli for him to want to be away from friends. We quickly grabbed our lunches from the nice kitchen staff and snuck out the back door. We walked to the top of the hill that was behind Morwood's greenhouse for Plant Science, and placed our lunches down.

Feli unwrapped foil around his sandwich and took a small bite. I grabbed my fork and picked at my chicken salad. Feliciano understood that I knew that he wasn't feeling well and stopped eating. There was a silence between us. Not like the early morning, but a dense, awkward silence.

"My mom and dad are having problems," he blurted out.

"Like what?" I asked. I took his left hand in my right, rubbing the palm gently with my thumb.

"Mom is sad because dad can't get it up." I was confused.

"What does she mean? A shelf or something?" Feli shook his head. He didn't know what they were talking about either.

"I'm worried Lovi. Is there something wrong with me?" I shook my head this time. "Why would you think that?"

"Because our old mom and dad didn't like each other once they had me. Now the Edelsteins are not getting along..." a small tear fell onto his pants. I let go of our hands so that I could wrap my arm around his waist. He shortly stopped, sniffling a little. I took my napkin and offered it to him as a tissue. Our fingertips brushed together as he retrieved it from me and blew his nose into the fabric. Once he was done the napkin and put it on an empty spot on his tray.

"Feli, if it was because of you, they would be mad at you. They're mad at each other though. It is not because of you," he sighed and smiled a little. "Thank you Lovino."

My brother didn't know the problem in the Edelstein home was that Mr. Edelstein was impotent. Mrs. Edelstein was trying to get pregnant because she wanted a child of her own, but Roderich's erectile dysfuction was making that near impossible. There was the option of in vitro fertilization, but Mrs. Edelstein didn't believe in making children that way. As time grew, Elizaveta's self esteem started to deflate. She tried her hardest to appear more attractive than she already was. She went to the salon to get extensions, put on make-up, dressed in more revealing clothing, and even tried to act more feminine by denying herself of sports; it was all to make herself more desirable to her husband.

Every night seemed like a routine though. Once she tucked Feliciano into bed, she would prepare dessert for Roderich and herself. They would sit together on the couch, the Edelsteins playfully feeding each other the dessert. It would seem like good progress, for soon the dessert would be left on the table and they would passionately kiss. The one kiss, led to several more. Both warm, soft lips would continue to press against each other. Mr. Edelstein would slide his left arm around Elizaveta's waist, trying to bring her closer. She would move, pressing their warm bodies together. Her thigh would softly rub Mr. Edelstein's groin and notice that he was getting excited. Their hearts were both pounding, they were close, just as they always were. Roderich would swoop her into his arms, carrying her to their bedroom and lay her gently onto the bed.

He would get on top of her, crushing their lips together again. His hands slipping under the straps of Elizaveta's dress, and gliding them off her thin limbs. As soon as that happened though, that was the end. He broke their kiss slowly, and to their dismay, there was no need to continue. Mr. Edelstein was no longer in the mood.

Feli was not stupid. When he woke up in the morning, he noticed the sadness in his mother's eyes. Mr. Edelstein's back no longer in proper posture, even as he played songs on the piano. His father's fingertips barely touched the piano, making the music just above a whisper. The fact the music could be heard showed how dull and empty the house had gotten...

"Feli! Don't cry..." I said, bringing him back to reality.

"I'm sorry Lovi, I'm sorry," and tried to wipe his fleeting tears. I heard the bell ring.

"Shit, sorry Feliciano. Come on, why don't you go to the nurse's office? You can take a small nap before going to class." He nodded in agreement and we grabbed our trays and raced down the hill. We disposed of our food into the garbage can and put our trays away. I walked Feli to the nurse's office, making up an excuse that he had a horrible stomach ache. Once I saw that he was able to rest on a soft, dark blue cot, I ran through the halls to get to art class. It was frowned upon to run in the halls, but my Art teacher never liked me. Probably because I didn't have the talent needed to do very well in his class.

I drowned out Mr. Bonnefoy's voice as I worried over my brother. It wasn't hard to make Feli cry, but it was hard to make him cry a second time so quickly though. My worrying made time speed up and soon art class was over and I had history with Mr. Heracles Karpusi.

His class, no matter what occupied my mind seemed to run at a slow pace. His calm movements made him appear in slow motion to my eyes sometimes. It was hard to believe that he would later get fired (but never faced trial) for having a supposed sexual relationship with my friend Kiku, a quiet Japanese boy. Kiku always denied that anything between them happened sexually and that he only visited our teacher's house to play with his cats, but I couldn't help but notice how sad he looked when Mr. Karpusi was fired. He had even commented that he missed looking into the other man's "forest green eyes of wisdom and tranquility" but he still denied anything, even when he eventually started dating Heracles when he was eighteen.

When the bell rang again, I felt a hand on my shoulder. It was Alfred, his brother Matthew right behind him.

"Come on, you said we'd help each other out during study hall. Lets go to our usual table!" I nodded and all three of us walked to our study hall area.

This area was connected to the library. Unlike the classrooms on the first floor that had another floor of classrooms above it, the study hall had a high ceiling that light the room with natural light. Mostly round tables with six chairs surrounding them filled the room, with decorative floral lamps in the center in case the natural lighting was not enough. The study hall was the most silent room in the school, but it was the most busy. There were mostly older students weaving in and out from the library area and this room. Any sounds in the room were talks about big tests coming up and the scribbling of pencils or pens.

"Hey! The others are waiting for us! Come on!"

"Al, don't be so loud. We're in study hall..." but Matthew's quiet voice was ignored. It would continue to be that way until he could a spot on the varsity hockey team in ninth grade.

The others that Alfred mentioned were Feli's friends and my friends as well. There was Kiku Honda, a Japanese boy that I used to have a crush on two years ago when we were six. He would grow to have a closer friendship with my brother, but I can still remember our awkward lunch hours spent together. I would get transfixed by his eyelashes. They were dark, and fluttered gracefully like a fan when he blinked. They were so long that they seemed to touch his feminine cheekbones. His lashes were something that every girl tried to get from mascara. He would break my daze by asking me if something was wrong and I always blushed and said nothing was wrong. He would continue to eat while I stared at him sometime later in the hour.

Next to Kiku were his two younger brothers, Soo and Kaoru. Soo's personality was similar to Feli's, probably because they were the same age. He was hyper and ran around tagging or poking people at random times. He had even scared Mr. Wang by grabbing his chest and yelling that his breasts were property of Soo. It had caused the science teacher to definitely not like the six year old, even as Soo was in high school. Kaoru was a year younger than Soo, but acted in a mature manner. He was the only kindergartener of the group this year, making him the youngest, but he would join my part of the table to read quietly because that was his personality. He was a model little gentleman, and I would grow to be good friends with him later on in life.

The three brothers also had a sister named Mei, who was only a year younger than Kiku and I. It was always easy to spot her because she always had fresh pink flowers in her hair, even during the winter. She was a pleasant girl, the only time I ever fought with her was when we debated about Mr. Wang. She, Kiku, and Kaoru would always gang up on me about how he was a bad teacher, but I never let it get to me.

Next to her was Peter, Matthew and Alfred's younger brother. He was best friends with Feli and Soo, and carried a robot action figure around with him. He would sometimes playfully attack people with the action figure's "robot punch" but nobody seemed to care because he was adorable. He even got along with the boy nicknamed Ice in our group.

Ice earned his nickname because of his platinum blonde hair and for his lack of talking. Ice's real name is Fjalar Stefánsson, and he had an older brother named Norge. Norge and Ice shared many of the same features, but Norge's eyes were a striking light blue instead of a soft lavender. I was good friends with Norge, probably because the situation with our brothers was similar. We were both the older children and took care of our younger brothers as best as we could. He would sometimes visit Antonio's condo and we would talk about the books we've read recently. The most important thing about our relationship though, was silence. Silence was rare to find in our group of friends for many of them were athletic and loud in nature.

I was not Norge's best friend though, Mathias was. Mathias was a bit of a rebel, even at our age. He carried a vareity weapons in his backpack, and with the help of Alfred, Soo, and Norge, pull pranks on random people. It was hard to believe that he came from a conservative Danish family, considering his choices later in life. He was intelligent and things eventually worked out in his favor in the end, but we will not divulge into his life.

In the present, the most rebellious thing Mathias did other than bring weapons to show off to us, was wear a black hat when teachers weren't looking and combat boots to match the hat.

They were the only people waiting for us, quite surprising since there were still seven people missing including my brother. I sat down next to Norge, whispering a soft "hi" before opening my bag for my math textbook. Alfred sat next to my left and Matthew sat to his left.

"Now, we're studying the history of our great country, the U-S of A. What do you want to know from 1776 and before?"

I sighed. "Everything, I can't stay awake in Mr. Karpusi's class. I don't know anything other than the obvious. I don't need to know stuff like, the Boston Tea Party, Declaration of Independence, etc..."

Matthew poked his head from behind Alfred, saying "I never knew you had trouble in history class."

"I usually do get 95 percent, but lately, my scores have been in the eighties. It's really affecting my grade, even with my perfect homework and behavior scores."

Mathew smiled, "Well, at least now you have the history whiz to help you." His comment made Alfred smile.

"Alright, lets get to studying!" his loud outburst led to most of us shushing him, making him blush and apologize softly.

Everything was quiet again in the study hall. I was reading Alfred's little study sheet that he made for himself to look at before tests. It was very useful. As I have discussed before, my passion was science and math, not old stories. I was distracted from my studying however when I felt two hands on my shoulders.

"Hey Feli, you feel better?" I whispered.

He gasped. "How did you know it was me?"

"Feli, I know you too well. You can take the free seat next to Peter." Feli walked over to the seat I suggested and started writing something. It was a note that he then gave to Peter, who wrote him back. Feli was naturally intelligent in most subjects, except science, so he never really needed to study, and if he needed to, he did it at home with me. This study group session was really for him to spend time with all his friends.

Study hall ended quickier that day. Everyone gathered their things and rushed to their last class. My last class of the day was music. My teacher was a strange man, who wore a white mask over his face. Sadiq Adnan was a nice man even though he made Antonio and I feel unease. It was probably the mysterious mask he wore over his face when he worked, or the fact that he seemed to have an intense relationship with Mr. Karpusi. At least it didn't get in the way of his abilities as a teacher. Mr. Adnan has a vast knowledge of many instruments, which was why he was the teacher of all three music classes, orchestra, band, and choir.

I was part of the orchestra, because I liked the cello. The deep sounds of the G string were soothing to my ears.

My friend Matthew was also a cello player and shared a music stand with me. As we prepped our instruments and bows, we would talk about videogames and food. It was easier to believe he was Alfred's brother during music class. I don't know if it is because he felt comfortable in music class or he just communicated better in one on one conversations, but he seemed much more open.

He was a much better musician than I. His violet eyes barely looked at the music, he felt it with his graceful hands. Rosen that he had just put onto his bow escaped into the air when the tempo of the music sped up. Everything he did seemed effortless. The way his hands danced on the board of the cello, it seemed at if he could play forever.

When he finished practicing, I clapped softly. The wavy haired boy blushed at my reaction.

"Um... thank you Lovino."

"Don't thank me Matthew. You are amazing." He blushed a deeper red at my reply.

I noticed in life that children seem to have many crushes on their friends multiple times during their life. Matthew was one of them, but it was hard for a child like me to resist his soft blonde hair, his quiet demeanor, and soft, breathy voice. How odd that I would choose someone who was almost his opposite to spend the rest of my life with.

I wished to hear more but the final bell rang. I packed my instrument and put it in my assigned locker. Matthew grabbed my shoulder and we had matching smirks. We raced from the music room to the front door, trying to see who would win today. His ability to be unnoticed allowed him to weave between clumps of people while I struggled to go around them. I had the advantage in being able to run faster than Matthew, so we were constantly outdoing one another. People gasped, dropping their books and other items around them from the shock of our rapid movement. We didn't care, the door was our only goal. The front door visible, but a large crowd got in my way when I was only eight feet away from my goal. He narrowly won that day.

Our brothers were there, waiting for us. Alfred hugging his brother in pride for his win, and my brother hugged me just because he was happy to see me.

Our driver was there, waiting for us in the limo. I would open the door for Feliciano and follow in after him. It was just another school day in our lives.

I can't remember the date, it wasn't important to me, but I knew it was some time in February. A new family moved in, it was Feli's future husband and Mr. Edelstein's future husband Gilbert. When I was casually walking across the hall to go to the Edelsteins condo when I saw a strange man ordering two movers where to place boxes. He was strange to me because he didn't have color in his skin or his hair, but had sparkling rubies for eyes. The older man only wore a dark green T-shirt with light colored jeans with rips at the knees. It was hard to believe that someone that dressed so casually and was not a child was living in these condos. He waved to me and asked me if I wanted to meet his younger brother. Before I could respond, he turned to the doorway of the condominium.

"Ludwig! Ludwig!" he called out into the condominium before I could respond. A boy slightly taller than myself appeared quickly. His hair was blonde, the color of daffodils. The color of his eyes contrasted his brother's for they were an ice blue. He was the same age as I was, but he had muscles of elder boys. I was intimidated by him because he appeared a strong person and his expression didn't have as much emotion as the albino.

"Hello?" the boy said. I just snorted and opened the door to the Edelsteins and ignored them. Unfortunately I couldn't do these same actions at school.

He was second best to me in math and science, but in all of his other classes I knew he was ranked number one. Ludwig Beilschmidt was bright, quiet, and the opposite quality that he had and I didn't, was discipline. He was a teacher's dream, and I hated his guts for it.

It was more annoying having to share Feli with him. The two were polar opposites, but yet that little German perfectionist became my brother's best friend. Whenever that German bastard and I were in the same room, Feliciano would always acknowledge him first. It was one of the most frustrating things that I experienced in my short life. I was the one who took care of Feli, listened to him, helped him with any problem he faced, and I was being replaced.

There was another incident that upset me about my little brother and Ludwig.

It was Barbados, apparently Gilbert owned a resort next to the beach that was very successful there and invited us and our families. Matthew, Kiku, Alfred, Ludwig, Feliciano, and I were at the beach during summer break. The heat of the scorching sun was beating on the sand and our little bodies. At first, we didn't care as long as we played in the cooling waves. We ran around in the shallow part, slapping the water's surface and spraying it into each other's faces. Matthew and Kiku shyed away once the fight got really aggressive. I eventually pulled Feliciano to the side once he took in too much sea water and started coughing.

Ludwig and Alfred, both being competitive in nature, continued. Ludwig with his serious concentration, and Alfred, his eyes closed and his bright smile beaming.

Time past by, and soon the water that slicked and cooled our skins attracted more of the burning sensation of the sun. The water wasn't enough anymore and Matthew pointed out that there was an ice cream stand near by. Children, no matter how rich or poor they are, love ice cream, and everyone raced toward the small stand.

Ludwig ordered two scoops with his ice cream, which I found odd because he did not have an appetite as large as Alfred's and he didn't share his ice cream like I did with Feli. As I was about to order, Feliciano put a hand on my shoulder and said to only get one scoop.

"Aren't you going to have any?"

"Yeah... but I'll be sharing with Ludwig, that's why he ordered two."

I couldn't close my mouth. My jaw seemed fixed in place.

"Lovino?" He tried to hug me but I pushed him away. He fell down into the sand. He looked up at me with a confused expression on his face and I ran away to the hotel where our families were staying at. I slid my keycard into the slot and opened the door. My pillow was immediately stained with tears, and would stay that way for the rest of the afternoon.

I had already knew he was slowly replacing me, but that simple act of sharing ice cream made it final. He replaced me with a German bastard who stronger, almost as smart, and more patient than me. I tried to hold back as much of my emotions, but I couldn't hold it back. I fell asleep from exhaustion, and I didn't wake up until 7:30pm, when Antonio shook me awake so that I could eat dinner. The Spanish man knew that I was upset, but would wait to talk to me about my behavior.

It became even worse when the Edelsteins admitted to liking the blonde boy while they were eating dinner. Roderich would point out how well mannered he was while Elizabeth complimented on his "empressive strength and athleticism at such a young age." The only one who was upset with the German boy was me. I couldn't help it though, Feli was my brother and I wanted to be his protector and provider. Did Ludwig ever hug Feli while he slept? Did the other boy ever comfort my brother when the little boy was sad?

I didn't want to compete with this new person nor did I feel that I should have to.

Vacation went by quickly, for I was in my room most of the time watching television. Antonio didn't really enjoy my childish antics, but he tolerated it. There were nights that he would stay up late with me, laughing at the cartoon antics along with me.

"Lovi, I know you don't like to share, but you must learn sometime hijo."

"... I don't want to share my family."

"You share me with the Edelsteins."

"But you're not my real family." I snapped. The elder man sighed, probably hurt a little by harsh comment, but held me to comfort me.

"True, but I love you as I would my real son. Please Lovino, you must learn to share. Not only for youself, but for Feli as well. If being around certain people makes him happy, you must to it to make him happy."

I sighed. I knew he was right, but I still didn't like the idea. The idea of making Feli happy though outweighed my dislike. The last day of our vacation as a group, I went into the breakfast area to eat with everyone instead of my room. I was glad that Feli was sitting next to me, even though he wanted to sit next to Ludwig. There would be more upsets about the two boys wanting to be with each other, but I would learn to tolerate Ludwig.

After the group vacation to the beach, my little brother's parents had tried to make a child again. The routine was tearing them apart emotionally, as well as physically. It was hard on them, yet both kept trying.

The routine for Feli's parents failure attempts to have a child was broken two weeks later. It was after we were picked up from school and I hung out for dinner with the Edelsteins that I heard Elizaveta excusing Mr. Edelstein to have fun with Mr. Zwingli. Elizaveta said that fogs didn't bring a romantic mood. Roderich and Vash took her offer and decided to go to their favorite bar that was a couple blocks from Mr. Zwingli's house. They agreed to meet each other there at 9pm. The bar was a small place called Margos, that had a sophisticated atmosphere. The dark, rich colors seemed even more alluring with only candles all around the bar lighting the place. Mr. Zwingli, sat at an empty bar stool, sipping the beer he had just purchased. He came ten minutes earlier than the agreed time, but that was just the way he was. Mr. Edelstein appeared just in time and ordered himself a drink before sitting in the stool next to Vash's. They sat at the stools together, Mr. Zwingli greeting Feliciano's father with a small smile.

"How has business been for you Roderich?"

The brunette shrugged his shoulders. "Good as always. How about for youself?"

Vash replied with a quick "Nothing out of the ordinary" and took a sip. The two men never really talked during these outtings with each other. It was not in their personality to speak very often. Many wouldn't believe that they have been friends since childhood with the fact that they didn't converse, but they didn't need to with one another. They had bonded so closely that they didn't need words. I had that same relationship with Feli, but I never knew that was possible between two people who weren't blood relatives. It is perhaps a testament to their close bond.

They both could feel that the air was thick between them. This tension was unusual for their relationship.

"I do not wish to be rude, but-"

"I know what you are going to ask and the answer is yes." Roderich said quickly. Vash winced at the harsh reaction but said nothing. When he noticed the angry grip Roderich had on his beer, he got enough courage to say something.

"I am sorry that you are having marital problems-"

"Is that what they call it?" Vash was confused by his friend's outburst. He leaned over to whisper to Roderich "You and Elizaveta have been fighting, yes? Am I not correct?"

Roderich sighed. "You do not know why we are fighting, do you?"

Vash shook his head.

"I can no longer perform my duties as a man for my wife." Mr. Edelstein plainly admitted. His blonde friend did not understand due to the wording until he thought it through several times in his head. Vash blushed instinctively, but put it aside when he saw the distress in his friend's face. He clapped Roderich on the back, but Roderich only drank more of his drink in response.

When he was done, he muttered an "I do not need pity" and took another gulp.

Mr. Zwingli tried to cheer up Mr. Edelstein by suggesting that they just drink and forget about the subject for tonight. Feliciano's father nodded and switched to drinking his favorite red wine at Margos. There were more drinks, and the topic changed to more casual things. Soon the time got away from them and it was midnight.

"Do you mind if I stay over at your place?" Roderich asked, not wanting to go home in the state he was in.

"Yes, of course Roderich." They both arrived to the bar by their drivers, and decided that a cab would work better because it was late. Once they had ridden the short ride to the Zwinglis' building, Vash quickly exited the cab. Roderich was a little slower due to having more drinks.

"Roderich, are you alright?"

"Do you think we were meant to be? Elizaveta and I?"

Vash sighed. "I don't know, that is not for me to intrude. I have not been married as long as you have, and never had to think about that for my marraige. You and Elizaveta must find that out on your own." The Swiss man opened the door to his building and pointed at the elevator waiting. Mr. Edelstein entered, still thinking to himself.

END

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