It was only 5:00 PM, according to the bedside clock. Most people would say it was a little early for "nocturnal behavior", but Duo didn't care. He put his arm around Hilde, who was panting and nearly unconscious. Duo pulled her closer to him, so that their bare skin was touching.

"That was... great... babe," Hilde said meekly. She trace the outline of Duo's muscles on his slender physique with the tip of her finger.

"Yeah," Duo said, distracted, "Sex... Good..."

"Babe? Something wrong?" Hilde asked. She rested her head on Duo's chest, feeling it rise and fall with each breath.

"Ahh... No..." Duo lied to his lover. He's lied to her a lot lately. It just seemed like their whole relationship was one big lie. Why end it now? Hilde and Duo were both getting great sex out of it. Duo felt a pang of guilty pleasure. Eventually he'd have to tell Hilde that when they were committing the most intimate bond two people could share, he was fantasizing about some one else. Duo gently pushed Hilde off his chest and sat up. Now seemed a just as fine as any other time to tell her. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and put his feet on the scratchy carpeting. He bent down to retrieve his cotton boxer shorts and pulled them up his legs.

"Hilde, we need to talk." Duo said. His voice serious, laced with pain. Hilde grabbed a oversized t shirt from the end of the bed. She pulled it on over her head and crawled over beside Duo.

"What is it babe?" Hilde asked, putting her arm around Duo's shoulders. Duo held his stomach as guilt ate away at him.

"No Hilde... Listen to me..." Duo said as he pushed Hilde away. He could see the confusion in Hilde's teal-blue eyes. He didn't want to hurt her. But he had to tell her, otherwise it would just cause her even more pain.

"I'm listening, Duo." Hilde told him as she sat next to him on the edge of the soft bed.

"I... I don't think I love you... I mean... I love you but I'm not in love with you. When we have sex, I'm not thinking of you." Duo was honest with her. His heart pounded and his stomach hurt. But he had been honest. Hilde was crying now. She didn't look sad. She looked angry.

"So I don't please you anymore?" Hilde shouted, "So who is your fantasy woman? Some model out of the Victoria's Secret catalog?"

The other residents of the apartment building, if they were home, surely heard the couple fighting. Duo felt tears forming in he violet eyes. He thought this was going to hurt Hilde. Why was this hurting him?

"No, Hilde," Duo said, his voice remorseful, "It's not a model... Or a woman."

Hilde's rage filled eyes narrowed at Duo. Her voice was silent in anger. She merely mouthed the words to him. "You're gay?" It him as hard as it did her. The tears fell from his eyes.

"Yes?!? Is that what you want to hear, Hilde?" Duo cried to her.

"Who is it?" Hilde demanded. Her eyes were cold. Duo could tell that she was trying to restrain either tears or the urge to strike Duo.

"Zechs. It's Zechs Marquise..." Duo said, his voice no louder than a whisper. Duo cried into his hands. He could hear Hilde gathering up her clothes, then leaving Duo alone. Alone. That's how he felt. Hilde was gone now. He had no one. Duo buried his face in his pillow and cried.