Sorry for taking so long with getting up the next chapter. Sailor Miniji and I have been really busy with school.

Duo walked to the kitchen wiping away any signs of his tears. He opened his refrigerator and took out a six-pack of beer. Then he sat on the living room couch and started drinking away the pain and humiliation from earlier that night.

~*~

Hiiro sat at his petite kitchen table with his head in his hands. As he stared at the glass of water in front of him through the mist of his thoughts, his mind wandered back to Duo. "Duo…Shinigami?" Hiiro asked himself out loud. He got up and set the glass in the sink. Walking into his bedroom, he discarded his tank top and shorts and pulled back the covers on his bed. He lay down on his back and stared at the ceiling, thinking about whom Duo had said he was, and wondering why he had left so quickly. It took only minutes until he fell into a restless sleep.

~*~ Next Day~*~

Duo woke up groggily around midday on the couch with a major hangover from the night before, and walked over to the bathroom to take a cold shower to attempt to wake himself up. Something had always been stimulating about cold water…it was as if it could wake a person from even the shadows of death.

~*~

Hiiro had been trying to sum up the courage to call Duo all morning so that he could tell him of the horrors that Relena had dragged them into, but he hadn't been able to muster up the will power to pick up his currently new phone. The previous one had, after all, ended with a terrible death the night before, so he had bought another early in the day. Finally, finding his nerve, he picked up the phone and dialed the number. 'Ring…Ring…Ring…' The sound mocked Hiiro, throbbing and echoing through his mind, and he hung up the phone when the answering machine sounded off. He didn't feel like talking to a machine, even though he was almost afraid to talk to Duo himself. He decided to go over to his house. Hiiro grabbed his keys off of the kitchen counter and walked out the door, locking up behind himself. Then he strode to his car, hoping that Duo would be at home.

~*~

Duo vaguely heard a knock at his door. "Just a minute!" He yelled as he hastily turned off the water. He wrung out his long hair, currently out of its usual braid, and picked up a towel. He wrapped it around his waist as he walked out of the bathroom to the front door. He sighed deeply as his hand settled on the doorknob, somewhat hesitant to answer.

~*~

Hiiro pulled into the parking lot at Duo's apartment building a few minutes after he left. Turning off the engine and quickly struggling out of the car, he walked into the building. He sped up the three flights of stairs in the building and walked hurriedly over to Duo's apartment. He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths to calm his nerves. Then he looked up and knocked on the door. A few seconds later he heard Duo yell faintly, "Just a minute!" as well as the soft sound of someone walking. Duo opened the door, his eyes widening slightly at the sight of Hiiro. Hiiro looked curiously at Duo, who was presently wearing only a towel, enabling him to show off his well-fit body.

"Can I come in?" Hiiro questioned, probing Duo's violet eyes.

"…Sure." Duo shrugged, opening the door wider so that Hiiro could come in and forcing himself out of his dazed state. Hiiro walked in and stood looking at Duo, neither boy saying anything. "Um, Hiiro…why did you come here?" Duo broke the ice, and his voice held a slightly confused and hurt air.

"About last night." Hiiro started.

"Oh," was all Duo could say. He'd known that he would have to face Hiiro eventually, though a part of him hadn't expected his friend to arrive so soon.

"I have a couple of things to say. Though I don't know how to begin." Hiiro stated, looking at the ground, "I guess I should tell you what we've got to do first, or we might be late." Hiiro said, sighing.

"What?" Duo asked looking up, confused, at Hiiro. Hiiro sighed again.

"We've been invited to go over to Relena's house to have tea, and also to meet Relena's sister." Duo chuckled slightly.

"How'd we get wrapped up into that mess?"

"Relena called last night before you left. I got tired of her babbling, so I smashed the phone. So, she invited herself over. And now we both have to go over there." Duo looked up at him, looking thoughtful.

"Relena has a sister? Since when does she have a sister?" Hiiro shrugged and put his hands up in the air.

"I don't know." He found himself staring at Duo's still half-naked body. He blushed slightly at this revelation, cheeks gaining a soft pink undertone, and gazed at the floor. Suddenly the white tile walkway had become quite interesting. "Why don't you go and get dressed, and then we'll go over to Relena's for tea." He shuffled his feet slightly and hesitated before continuing on. "Then we'll talk about last night when we get back. Is that all right with you?"

"I guess so." Duo said, then walked into his room to put some clothes on.