Let it Snow, a gundam wing/ac fanfic

Let it Snow

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters, and I don't claim to. All I own is this story. (Although I wish I owned Duo. ^_^)

"Where is my other glove!?" an agitated voice called to no one in particular. A scarf, a pair of earmuffs, and a shoe flew out of the closet, landing in a pile on the floor behind him. All that was visible of the speaker from outside the closet was a long brown braid, until he stood up from his kneeling position. He wore black snowpants, large black combat boots, and a long black trenchcoat. A clerical collar was faintly visible underneath his warm clothes. He dug in the pocket of his coat, pulled out a letter, and read it aloud to himself.

"Dear Duo,

Relena Peacecraft Darlian invites you to her lakeside cabin at 2:00 this Saturday for a 'First Snowfall' party. Don't forget your long underwear!"

He then looked at his watch, which read 1:49. "Damn! I'm gonna be late!!" He shoved the letter back in his pocket. When he pulled his hand back out, a black glove came out with it, falling to the floor. He stared at it incredulously for a moment, and cringed. "GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! IT WAS IN MY POCKET THE WHOLE TIME!!!" He groaned to himself, then proceeded to pick up all of the stuff he had pulled out of the closet and onto the floor in search of the missing glove. As he cleaned up, he looked around his little apartment with pride. *I like this place, even though it's not nearly as cozy as our little house back home...* He had come to Earth only four months earlier, to work in the Sanq Kingdom as a Preventer. He had been living on an L2 colony with Hilde, ever since the end of the Barton Revolution three years before, but his new job had forced him to move to Earth. He would have brought Hilde along, but she had broken her ankle while working at their scrap and salvage company, and she hadn't yet been cleared for space travel. The look on her face as he left had killed him, but he had to leave. He missed her, but he didn't know when she would be able to come to Earth, or if she ever would. Maybe she had gotten sick of him and just wanted to stay on her colony. Either way, it had been a lonely, miserable past four months for him. He shook his head, clearing it of his reminiscing, and finished up his chore. Once his living room looked a little less like a dump, he sprinted out the door and jumped onto his motorcycle. It was a good thing Relena's cabin wasn't too far from his apartment building, or he'd really be in hot water.

He arrived exactly at 2:00. When he walked in the cozy log cabin, he found Relena, Heero, Trowa, Quatre, WuFei, Dorothy, and Catherine in the kitchen, eating chocolate chip cookies. "Mmm, cookies!" he cried, and grabbed five from off the plate. Relena giggled. "Duo, you pig! I'm glad you could make it, even though you'll probably eat us out of house and home while you're here". He grinned sheepishly, cramming cookie #3 into his mouth. "Don't forget to save some for Hilde, you know" said Heero, his "omae o korosu" face firmly locked in place. Duo nearly choked on his mouthful of cookie. "Hhidy's cumn? A didn no dat!" he slurred, little mushed-up bits of cookie flying. When he noticed the disgusted or, in Heero's case, amused looks on everyone's face, he repented and swallowed. "I thought she... but what about... how come she..." Relena held up a hand to cut him off. "She called here a few days ago to say that the had doctor OK'd her ankle, so she'd be coming down. She's staying in a hotel in the city." Duo was ecstatic to hear she was on Earth, but he frowned, a little hurt. "Why didn't she call me?" Relena smiled warmly at him. "It's not that she didn't want to. She just wanted to keep it a surprise for you." Duo looked down at his feet and grumbled, "I don't like surprises". "Well then, next time I won't" a familiar voice chuckled from the doorway. Duo whipped around.

She looked as good now as she had when he left for Earth, except now she was missing the cast that had been on her foot when he last saw her. She was wearing a puffy purple coat and a pair of black windpants. Her hair, which she had grown out to her shoulders since her days in OZ, was pulled into a low ponytail that rested on her neck. She still had her bangs, though, which hung down to her eyebrows, framing her face nicely. A purple headband protected her ears from the cold. She grinned at his close inspection, and ran to him, wrapping him in a huge bear hug. "I missed you, Duo." The annoyance he had felt at her before quickly melted away, and he returned the hug. He had missed her too, much as he hated to admit it. She was probably his best friend, even before the other Gundam pilots. He kicked himself mentally for getting so attached to one person, but he couldn't help it. Just a bad habit of his, he supposed, thinking back to Solo and Sister Helen. Relena smiled at the hugging pair, wishing that she were half as close to Heero as they were to each other. She shrugged, and called out, "Now that everyone's here, let's go out back". Everyone in the room except WuFei perked up. "Ooh, I wanna make a snowman!" cried Catherine. "I think it would be fun to go sledding down that hill off to the side" Quatre said shyly. "I'd love to go skating on the lake, now that I can finally walk again" smiled Hilde. But Heero, Duo, Trowa, and Dorothy hollered "SNOWBALL FIGHT!!!" Relena burst into giggles and said, "One thing at a time! But I think we'll be able to do all that this afternoon, if you want to." WuFei stood up, his arms crossed. "I thought we were going to stay inside. All this cold weather doesn't suit me much." Duo grinned at him. "Aw, don't be a party pooper, Wu-man! It'll be fun!" WuFei scowled. "I don't like being cold, that's all. And PLEASE don't call me Wu-man. It's embarrassing". Relena threw a dirty look at Duo, then smiled diplomatically at WuFei. "Please, you two. You can stay inside if you want to, WuFei. But if you feel like joining us later, just come out back". She turned to the other members of the group, who were grinning excitedly. "Come on, let's go!", and they charged out the kitchen door and into the backyard.

Duo and Hilde immediately sprawled out on the ground, making a pair of snow angels. They helped to pull each other up, and smiled down at their prints. Duo's was just a little taller than Hilde's. Duo then walked around the back and drew a halo in the snow above Hilde's angel. "Why didn't you give yourself a halo?" asked Hilde. Duo looked up at her, a sinister grin on his face. "Because I'm Shinigami. The God of Death wears no halo." Hilde laughed and threw a snowball at him. "Hey, are you guys gonna stand there and flirt all day, or are you coming with us?" Heero called back at them. The others were already halfway to the lake. Duo rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed. Heero didn't say much, but what he did say was usually right on the mark. He looked over at Hilde, who was blushing furiously. He chuckled and walked over to her. "Don't mind him, he's a baka. Let's go!" He grabbed her hand and ran down to meet Heero.

None of them had any ice skates, but that didn't stop them. After making sure the ice would support them, they skidded out to the middle of the lake. Catherine slipped, landing on her bottom hard. She laughed and called out, "Trowa! Come help your sister!" Trowa sighed and coasted over to where she sat. He grabbed her hand and yanked her back onto her feet. "Arigato! And now, here's your reward!" and she pushed him, causing him to slip and fall himself. She laughed wildly and quickly shuffled away from him. Trowa yelled after her "You'll pay for that!" and struggled to get back up. By this time, Duo and Hilde had reached the group. Quatre skidded over to where they were standing. "Wasn't this a great idea?" he asked. Duo smiled. "I wish we could have had snow like this when we were kids." "That's why I like the Earth" replied Quatre. "Sure, you have to worry about floods and tornadoes and things like that, but snow is so great. If I went back to the colonies, I'd really miss it." Duo nodded. "Yeah. The Earth is actually a pretty cool place." He looked over at Hilde, and grinned. "I've got an idea. Let's make a train!" Hilde laughed. "Sounds fun! Let's try it!" She grabbed onto Duo's waist, and Quatre grabbed onto hers. "Ready? Let's go!" he hollered, and all three of them began to slide along the ice. Pretty soon the rest of the group had latched on behind them, and they looked like a gigantic centipede crawling around the lake.

After a few minutes, Duo moved to the back of the line, allowing Hilde to lead the train for awhile. He grabbed onto Relena and continued to skid along. She turned to him and smiled. "Having fun, Duo?" Duo winked back. "You bet!" She let go of Heero in front of her, and the train moved on down the lake. "Hey! Whatcha doin'? We're falling back!" cried Duo, and he began to chase after them, but Relena stopped him. "I've gotta talk to you for a second, Duo." He turned, puzzled. "Okay, what's up?" She looked at him for a moment, then sighed. "You really like Hilde, don't you?" Duo started, a little confused by her question. "Well, sure, Hilde's great". He frowned. "Why do you ask?" Relena looked as though she were deciding on something, then shrugged and said, "Because she really doesn't know, and she didn't know how to find out. She asked me if I could find out for her". Duo turned and looked at the train, now being led by Quatre. Hilde had moved to the back, clutching onto Heero. She looked so happy... and yet she wasn't. He noticed how every once in awhile she would look back down at him and Relena, a worried look on her face. He turned back to Relena. "I didn't realize... I though she knew..." Relena smiled sadly at him. "Maybe you should tell her yourself. It wouldn't be right coming from me". He thought for a moment, then nodded. "I'll do it." Relena grinned. "Thank you, Duo. That was the real reason she didn't call you first. She didn't want to bother you if you didn't feel the same way." Everything clicked in Duo's mind, and he began to feel bad. She had thought he didn't like her. He sighed and grinned back at Relena. "I should be thanking you." They looked to see the train had disbanded, and everyone was sliding back to solid ground. "Let's see what they're up to now" Duo said, and they followed.

Apparently Catherine had won out, and they were beginning to build snowpeople when Duo and Relena caught up. Hilde called him over to her. "Hey Duo! Come help me out, this snowball is too big for me to lift myself!" He scrambled over to where she was building her snowperson, and helped her to lift his midsection onto his bottom section. They made a head and stuck that on, too. Hilde ran into the forest and came back with two sticks for arms and some pebbles for his face. When they were finished giving him a lopsided smile, they looked him over critically. "He needs some clothes, or he's gonna freeze" giggled Hilde. So Duo contributed his gloves, and Hilde gave it her headband. "There! Perfect!" Duo looked it over and nodded. "Not bad". He looked around at the other snowpeople. Trowa and Catherine's had some pine branches for hair, Quatre and Dorothy had built two and had given them both sticks, so they looked as though they were fencing. Heero and Relena were arguing over whether their snowperson should be smiling or scowling. Duo laughed out loud, and said, "Okay, enough of this stuff. Let's go sledding!" Relena agreed and ran to the house with Dorothy to grab two toboggans and a huge inner tube that the whole group could probably fit on and still be comfortable. Everyone migrated over to the steep incline off to the left of the house. Duo managed to grab one of the toboggans, and he and Hilde went sailing down the hill. "BONZAIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!" whooped Duo, Hilde laughing hysterically and clutching tightly to his waist. They reached the bottom of the hill and fell off of the sled, sprawling out in the snow and giggling uncontrollably. Hilde remained on her back, looking up at the sky. Duo propped himself up on his elbow, looking at her. They sat that way for a while, until Hilde looked over and caught Duo's gaze. He quickly looked away, whistling a tune. She chuckled and crawled over to where he lay. "Duo..." He sat up, and their eyes met. They began to slowly lean into each other, but Quatre and Dorothy picked that exact inopportune moment to come barreling down the hill on the inner tube, spraying them both with snow as they passed by. They sputtered, and Hilde let out a gasp. "A big chuck of snow went down the back of my coat..." Duo burst out laughing, and helped her to her feet. "Hey you guys!" called out Trowa from the top of the slope. "We're gonna have a snowball fight! Come up here so we can pick teams!" They looked at each other, and Hilde shivered. Duo put his arm around her shoulders as they walked back to the top of the hill, dragging the toboggan behind them. "I don't think I'm going to join you", Hilde said. "Now the inside of my coat is all wet, and I'm freezing". Relena overhear her and said, "That's all right, I'm getting cold too. You guys can have your fight. I'll take Hilde inside so she can warm up. Anyway, I bet WuFei's getting bored". Heero smirked at her. "Are you going inside because you're cold, or because you're a pacifist, and you don't want to be in a fight, even if it's just a snowball fight?" Relena gasped and scowled at him. "What a mean thing to say!" Heero laughed, which made Duo's blood run cold. Even though Heero had changed a lot since they had first met, it was still a strange thing to hear him laugh. "I was just kidding, Relena, gomen. Go on inside". Relena smiled at him, a smile that Duo didn't think he had ever seen before. *Anything for the one you love...* Relena walked back towards the house with Hilde.

"Now," Trowa said, and they turned to him. "Let's pick teams!" Duo, Quatre, and Catherine were one team, and Heero, Trowa, and Dorothy were on the other. They had ten minutes to build their forts, and five minutes to prepare their ammo. After that, anyone was fair game. They worked on their forts for the allotted time, then scurried behind them to begin making their ammunition. "I found a puddle of slush!" called Catherine from somewhere in the woods. "We can make our snowballs with a center of slush!" Quatre laughed. "I'm glad I'm on our side! I wouldn't wanna be on the receiving end of one of these!", as they began making their "special" snowballs. After the five minutes were up, everything in the woods was silent, until a cry came up from the opposing fort. "FIRE!!!!" the unmistakable voice of Dorothy yelled, and both sides began pelting the other with snowballs. Duo was satisfied to hear a few shrieks from the other fort, proof that their "special" ammo had been a good idea. They went back and forth, everyone getting totally covered with snow, laughing the entire time. They battled on, until Duo saw a familiar figure walking towards the battlefield. It was Hilde, calling for everyone to come inside for hot chocolate. Duo looked to the other side and noticed Heero's team was plotting something, talking in excited whispers. He didn't like the looks on their faces. When Hilde had reached the battlefield, Trowa flipped out from behind his fort in his spectacular, somersaulting way from years of practice in the circus. Before Duo could realize what he was up to, he had grabbed Hilde and hauled her back behind their fort. "Duo!" cried Heero. "We have a hostage! Come out with your hands up, or she gets it!" Duo looked to see Trowa holding Hilde down, Dorothy poised and ready to pelt her with a huge armload of snowballs. "Duo! Don't do it! Let me go!" Hilde cried, trying to hold back her laughter. Duo growled in his throat. *What a dirty, rotten trick! Of course I wouldn't let them do that to her!* He came out of the fort, along with Quatre and Catherine, their hands up in the air. Heero pelted all three of them in the face with a perfectly aimed snowball. Duo cringed, but he held his ground. "Okay, that's enough" called Heero. "But... Hilde still gets the snow!!" Trowa and Dorothy grinned as they prepared to barrage her. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" Duo screamed, and he launched for Trowa. Heero began to hurl snowballs at him, but he kept going until he reached her captors. A snowball in each of their faces caused them to let down their guard, and Duo scooped Hilde up in his arms and ran down the hill to the lake. "Bakaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" he heard Heero bellow as they made their way to safety.

He finally quit running, out of breath, and he laid the laughing Hilde down in the snow, plopping down next to her on his side. She looked him over and laughed some more. "That was pretty daring, Duo. But... now you're soaked..." He grinned at her. "Hey, I wasn't going to let them do that to you! Not after you just got all warm and dried off inside!" She smiled at him, and put her gloved hand to his cheek. "Arigato, Duo, for saving me". He noticed she was shivering from the cold again, and moved a little closer to her, wrapping his arms around her. "No problem at all for Shinigami". She looked into his handsome indigo eyes, and sighed quietly. "I wish you wouldn't call yourself that anymore. If I have my way, you'll never have to be in a battle any more fierce than a snowball fight ever again". He leaned in to her. "I hope so, too". He bridged the gap between them, and their lips met in a sweet, soft kiss. He pulled her close, and she wrapped her arms around his neck. The kiss deepened, and they both found themselves having more fun in this one moment than the whole entire day put together. They pulled apart gently for air, and they smiled at each other. "I was hoping you felt the same way..." whispered Hilde. "I know. Relena told me" replied Duo. "She told me about everything". Hilde closed her eyes and sighed. "I just... I didn't know". He looked at her intently, and hugged her to him gently and tightly. "It's all right. It doesn't matter now. And, you know..." he began as he pulled back to look into her eyes. "You're always welcome to live with me, no matter where I go. I would never desert you. And you can always ask me anything. Don't be afraid to talk to me. I'll listen". She smiled sadly. "You're so good to me, Duo. I wish I could return the favor..." He smiled warmly. "You already have. Just being with you is all the thanks I need". Tears sprang to her eyes, and she leaned forward, placing her head on his shoulder. "Arigato, Duo". His hands worked their way behind her back, and he pulled her up to his face for another heart-wrenching kiss. Unfortunately for both of them, Relena called from the house, "Duo? Hilde? Where are you guys!?" They pulled apart and giggled to themselves. "I guess they're missing us back at the cabin..." said Hilde, and they got up out of the snow, brushing each other off. Hand in hand, they walked back to the cabin together.

When they got back, no one asked any questions, although they all looked pretty curious. Duo was grateful. He wanted to keep this to himself, for now. They all sat around the fireplace, WuFei included, with large mugs of hot chocolate and marshmallows. The sun was setting, and they stared out the floor-length window at its beauty. "There's something else the Earth has that the colonies don't. Sunsets", said Quatre quietly, as though he didn't want to spoil the view with his words. Hilde and Duo looked at each other, smiling. "I like the Earth. How about you, Hilde?" Duo asked, his arm snaking its way around her waist. "Me too" she answered. Oblivious to everyone around them, they came together in another kiss. "Aww..." whispered Dorothy, and Relena hugged Heero's teddy bear to herself and sighed. They realized where they were and stopped, while a wave of snickers came from everyone else in the room. "Umm... it's getting late" said Trowa. "I'd better get home". "Us too" said Dorothy, and Quatre nodded. They all agreed it was time to go, but Relena stopped them all before they walked out the door. "You're all invited back next Saturday, if you want to come". Everyone decided that was a good idea. Duo decided to leave his motorcycle at the cabin, opting for a ride home from Hilde in her warmer car. They called out their good-nights to each other, and drove away.

They reached Duo's apartment and sat in the car for a moment, not saying anything. "If you wa--" "I guess I--" they both started at the same time, then chuckled. "You go first" Hilde said. "No, you go first". "No, you-- oh, forget it!" she said, and they broke down into giggles. "I was just going to say that... well... you don't have to stay at the hotel again tonight. That is, if you don't want to..." Duo stammered. Hilde put a finger to his lips and smiled. "It's okay, Duo. I don't have to stay if you don't want me to..." "No, no, that's not it!" Duo cried. He took her hands in his. "What I meant was, I'd love it if you stayed with me tonight. You don't have to, but if you want to, I've got an extra room. Hotels are awful, anyway. You shouldn't have to stay there. Do you... want to stay with me? Please?" Hilde sat for a moment, looking at him, then began to shake her head slowly. "Duo... if I could, I'd never leave your side for one moment". Duo's eyes widened, his hands starting to shake as he moved them up to cradle her face. "I... I love you, Hilde". Hilde's eyes filled up with tears, with one beginning to trickle down her face. Duo reached his thumb over and brushed it away, smiling at her tenderly. "It's cold out here. Maybe we should go inside..." Hilde sniffled a little, and nodded. They got out of the car, walked inside, and made their way up the stairs to Duo's apartment on the second floor.

Once the door to the little apartment was closed, Duo turned to face Hilde, who had sat down on the couch. "I'm a little thirsty. Want something to drink?" Duo asked, trying to break the uncomfortable silence that had managed to fall. "I guess so" she answered, and he retreated to the kitchen. He returned with a bottle of champagne and two glasses. She raised her eyebrows in surprise, and he shrugged sheepishly. "I got it for $5.00 at the supermarket". She chuckled softly as he sat down next to her, poured the glasses full, and set the bottle on the coffee table. They drank in companionable silence, until Hilde looked out the window. "Hey, Duo, look! It's snowing!" He turned to see large fluffy flakes of snow slowly drifting past the window. He stood up and took her empty hand, and they both walked to the window together. As they watched the snow fall, and drank their champagne, they sensed that something very important was beginning. The beginning of their lives together, truly together. And they were both very happy that it had finally begun. It was something they had waited a very long time for. Duo quickly turned to Hilde and asked, "Are you happy here, Hilde? With me?" She looked at him, surprised by his question. "Of course I'm happy. Why would I have agreed to stay with you if I wasn't?" He relaxed, and, setting their glasses on the table, pulled her into his arms. "Just checking". They stood there, staring into each other's eyes, reveling in the fact that there was someone in the world who loved them. And as they kissed, they knew that they were where they belonged: in each other's arms.

Author's Note: My second fic is hot off the press! I hope you had as much fun reading this story as I had writing it. Duo is definitely my favorite anime character ever, so it was inevitable that I write a story about him. Please review it, and some constructive criticism would be most appreciated. Also, thanks to all of you who R&R'd my last story! Bows deeply Domo arigato, minna-san! -Caro-chan