Disclaimer: Gundam Wing and its characters belong
to Sotsu, Sunrise, and Bandai. Of course, this fic belongs to
me.
Notes: Sequel to "The Kissing
Bough", revised. Exceedingly corny and infested with fluff.
Beware.
The Christmas Party
by
Waltz195
Christmas was definitely the busiest time of year for anyone in the Earth Sphere Unified Nation. People everywhere were traveling, coming and going, visiting friends and relatives on Earth and neighboring colonies. Thousands of transports shipped in and out of shuttleports, dedicated solely to the delivery of gifts and packages. All kinds of festive foodstuffs were cooked or catered for countless parties and functions. Yes, the whole of space was set abuzz with activity in celebration of the holiday.
And on the colony of L2, in a relatively secluded neighborhood, the Schbeiker-Maxwell household was no different. In the busy kitchen of the humble home was where the magic of this particular Christams night would begin.
"Duo! I need more garlic!" Hilde called from the stove, stirring a pot of sauce in front of her. "And don't forget to mince. Not dice. Mince."
Across the room, Duo stood before a wooden chopping board, a sharp knife poised in his hand. His face was streaked with tears. He couldn't take it anymore.
"Hilde! C'mon!" he whined, wiping his face with his shirtsleeve. "I don't wanna chop these onions anymore! Please?"
On the wooden chopping board in front of him, a pile of sliced onions lay in a careless little heap. Duo had not relished the process of preparing the offending vegetable and hoped she would release him from his punishment.
"No," she replied, turning to fix him with a stern glare. "I stayed up half the night waiting for you to come home, and you didn't even get the milk you promised. So, unless you tell me exactly what the heck you've been up to, you're going to stay in here and help me prepare the food. Now hurry up, you have to do the garlic and ginger next."
At that, Duo paled. Though he wasn't at all hesitant about putting away a good amount of food, Duo absolutely dreaded preparing a meal. It just wasn't in his genes. He ended up hurting himself with a number of cooking implements, one way or the other. The very thought of it made him cringe. She was doing it on purpose of course, having lived as his housemate and cook for the past few years, she knew all his likes and dislikes, and now it was his weakness.
"Alright, alright!" Duo backed away from the chopping board, hands held up in a gesture of defeat. "I surrender."
Sighing dramatically, Hilde turned off the burner she had been using and set the pot aside. Moving to where Duo stood, she lightly bumped him aside and set to work finishing the onions. The knife moved rapidly in her small hands.
"Now," she commented as she worked. "Tell me everything, and I mean everything."
Duo shrugged casually, finally glad to be free from the shackles of chef-work. Picking an apple off a nearby colander, he leaned against the counter and began to retell the events of last night.
"Remember when I got that surveillance parts order a few days ago? Well, turned out it was Heero. You remember him, right?" At her nod, he continued. "So, I go to drop off the parts and Heero asks me a favor. At first I wasn't too keen on the idea, because his favors kinda end up badly for me." Duo paused to rub his stomach, as if recalling a faint pain. "Anyway, here's Heero asking me to help him do surveillance for the ESUN Christmas Eve thing."
At this point, Hilde turned around, knife in hand, and silently glared at him. Duo held his hand up in a defensive movement, a sheepish smile on his face.
"Now, Hilde," Duo continued nervously. "I know I promised not to take any more missions, but this is my friend we're talking about. He needed my help. Besides, now he has to repay the favor to me." Hilde looked skeptical. "And, for your information, the Vice Foreign Minister was there."
"Miss Relena?" Hilde asked a bit surprised.
"Yeah. When I found out, I got to thinkin' too. Knowing Heero, he was definitely there because of her." He paused and moved to the refrigerator to get a drink. Opening the door, he grabbed a soda can and popped the lid. After taking a long drink, he continued with his story.
"So, he asks me to dress up as Santa Claus and mingle with the guests. Heck if I know why I even bothered, but I did find out something interesting because of it." Duo paused dramatically. "The guy was jealous."
It took Hilde a moment to shake the amusing image of Duo dressed up as Santa and take in what he said.
"Heero? Jealous?" she asked, moving on to chopping the garlic.
"Yup. Turns out there was a senator who kinda wanted to catch Relena under the mistletoe." Hilde was all ears. "But, she didn't exactly warm up to the idea. Neither did Heero." Duo smiled, recalling just how unreceptive Relena had been. He explained to her how Relena had seen through his disguise and about the visit to the orphanage they had planned for that afternoon.
"So, that's where you were! Duo, that's so sweet!" Hilde replied, leaning up to kiss his cheek.
"Yeah, well. It was for a good cause." Duo cleared his throat. "Now, I had a feeling Heero was getting annoyed by this senator, so, when he asked me to carry out his plan, it was plain as day he didn't want him sniffing around his woman."
"What kind of plan?"
"Oh, you know, the usual." He shrugged casually. "Get the guy's shuttle, hide it somewhere nearby, then go inform him it's been towed. He bought the bait of course. Pretty flashy ride, too. You know, maybe we should add some boosters to the-"
Hilde sighed, exasperated. "Duo..."
"Oh, yeah. Anyway, while I was doing that, Heero was setting up some kind of room behind the stage. All I saw was Relena going in to get away from the senator, but I'm guessing something happened between those two in there."
"Hmm…" Hilde looked thoughtful as she moved the garlic aside. "Interesting."
"Yeah, and he's coming to the party tonight, after he told me he didn't want to come earlier. Pretty obvious if you ask me."
"You know, from what you've told me about their relationship in the past, and meeting Relena myself, I'd say they definitely have feelings for each other. They just don't know how to show it."
Hilde gathered the chopped ingredients and added them to the pot by the stove. Stirring them lightly, she was struck with inspiration and came up with a brilliant idea.
"Duo, " she stated, turning to face him, ladle in hand. "We have got to set them up."
Duo gulped down the rest of his soda before speaking. "And have Heero severe my precious braid from my head in an instant?" He looked thoughtful for a moment, then let out a mischievous grin. "Sure, why not? I've faced worse."
Hilde moved back to him and pointed a finger at his chest. "Now, you go back downstairs and prepare the banquet hall. When you come back up, I'll have a plan ready that even the Perfect Soldier can't work himself out of."
"I love it when you're devious." Duo grinned, wrapping his arms lightly against her waist.
Hilde slipped her arms around his neck and smiled up at him. "You better believe it."
Duo bent his head to capture her lips in a sweet kiss. They stayed like that for a while, enjoying each other's company, before the oven timer suddenly clanged to life, indicating that the cinnamon rolls were done. Pulling away reluctantly, Duo looked down at her, his trademark grin adorning his face.
"You know, even with tomato sauce all over your apron and the smell of onions, garlic, and ginger on you, you manage to get my heart going. 'Course, that's because I'm so studdly. I just can't keep the girls away. It must be my-"
"Oh, you!" Hilde lightly whacked his shoulder with feigned outrage. "Stuff your ego and go get the table ready."
"Yes, ma'am!" Duo mocked a salute. Kissing her cheek once more, he marched out of the kitchen, whistling a lively holiday tune as he went.
"And stay out of those scones!" Hilde called after him, as she made her way back to the stove. She hummed a little victory song as she checked the rolls then resumed stirring the sauce, a triumphant smile on her face.
"Those two had better be on guard," she whispered to the pot, brandishing her ladle like a sword. "Hilde Schbeiker's on a mission and no one's going to stop me!"
"Now," Hilde looked around questioningly. "Where's that parsley?"
