By Slashman
Duo stared at the calender in disbelief. Like so many
other males around this time of year, February 14th had snuck up on him
like a thief in the night, determined to wrest his girlfriend's affections
away from him. It was only two days to Valentine's Day, and the young pilot
of the Deathscythe had yet to even start looking for a present for Hilde.
He slipped on his leather jacket and skidded out the door, in the hopes
that Hilde wouldn't see him in such a hurry.
Before he even left the house, Duo's mind focused on
the perfect gift for Hilde. Most guys he knew were content to buy flowers,
chocolates and a sappy greeting card. Duo Maxwell, however, was not most
men. His girlfriend's gifts for every occassion had to be epic, indicative
of his tremendous love for Hilde yet not appearing too showy.
At times, Duo felt the gift giving process was more difficult
than piloting a Gundam. In a Gundam, he reasoned, the enemies were obvious
and you were allowed to use lethal force. Last Christmas, Duo could only
watch helplessly as a skinny weasel of a man ran off with the watch he
had eyed for Hilde for weeks. If it had been war, Duo would have tackled
him to the ground, snapped his neck and made off with the loot.
Damned peacetime.
This year, jewelry was right out. It had been a present
at both Christmas and Hilde's birthday, so he had to try something different.
Clothes? No, he doubted Hilde would appreciate the kind of clothes he would
want to buy. He could get an expensive box of chocolates, but he knew full
well he would end up stealing most of them.
Duo's mind continued to race as he entered Wolfwood's,
the local novelty shop. The tiny shop spawned many of Duo's more infamous
gifts for friends. He thought back fondly on the headless rubber ducky
he bought for Heero, and the violin keychain for Quatre, which Wu Fei dubbed
the "demon instrument". Visions of the Chinese warrior hurling the keychain
across the room and stomping on it entered his head.
"Thing kept playing," he recalled, and chuckled to himself.
As he looked through the store, Duo decided he was both
blessed and cursed that he and Hilde shared so much in common. It made
it easy to shop for her but, at teh same time, he often found himself wanting
to keep or steal the gifts he bought for her. He passed by a display of
minature mobile suits, pausing long enough to snatch a Deathscythe keychain.
He wasn't sure if he would get it for Hilde or himself.
Next were a row of novelty t-shirts. Duo evaulated each
in turn. Hilde would kill him for the "Yes, They're Real" shirt, even though
she made a similar joke a few days earlier. Ditto for the "Brains, Beauty
and Sometimes Bitch" shirt. Another shirt boasted, "I survived teh War
of AC 195". Too close to home, Duo decided. Another claimed, "I Am the
Love Child of Treize Kushrenada". Still another stated in fancy script,
"Gundam Pilot". A few others briefly flirted with Duo's attention, but
to no avail. He turned to look fruther into the store when a voice called
out to him.
"Duo Maxwell! Look sweetie, it's Duo Maxwell!"
Behind him stood the slender form of Dorothy Catalonia.
Instead of her usual more formal wear, she instead had on a pair of jeans
and a tank top. Slowly, Duo's eyes moved to her sheepish companion. He
could hardly tell under the baggy jeans, football jersey and baseball cap,
but the weary young man was, in fact, Quatre Raberba Winner.
"Dorothy! Quatre!" he exclaimed. "What the heck are the
two of you doing here?"
"Quatre told me the violin story, and I just had to come
here. Isn't that right, dear?" Quatre nodded slightly in agreement.
"Dear?", Duo thought to himself. "Dear GOD!"
"Well, my darling Quatre, I must run to the toy store
and get something... you can stay here and talk to Duo!" Without waiting
for an answer, the strangely hyper young woman kissed him on the cheek
and dashed out of the store, leaving an embarrassed Quatre and bewildered
God of Death in her wake.
"Big Q, what in the name of Rod Serling is going on here?
The last I heard about yours and Dorothy's names in the same sentence,
she had just run a sword through ya..."
"Well, a lot has happened since then--"
"I figured as much."
"She visited me in the hospital after things settled
down. Despite my... initial panic, she managed to cheer me up. I admit,
Dorothy is quite different from my sisters and the other girls I've known,
but I've come to see that, in many ways, it is a good thing."
"So the two of ya got friendly, eh?" Duo asked, and playfully
elbowed Quatre in the side.
The blonde pilot blushed slightly. "To be truthful,
Dorothy did most of the getting friendly at first. I agreed to our first
date, which went very well. Before too long, we spent most of our free
time together."
"She seems to have really changed ya. I mean, really..."
Duo said, and grabbed the sleeve of the jersey.
"This was not my idea! I lost a bet."
"What kinda bet?"
Quatre blushed a deep red. "Let's not go there."
Duo smirked, but before he could press for further details,
Dorothy bolted back into the store, clutching a small bag. She shoved the
bag into Quatre's face and smiled broadly at him.
"I can't wait, open it now!" she demanded.
Hesitant at first, Quatre took the bag as if Dorothy
had handed him a bomb. He eyed the package carefully, but less like a child
at Christmas and more like a high school student about to open his report
card. After a moment, he pried the top of the bag apart and peered inside.
The tension disappeared from his face, and he let out a slight sigh. Duo
blinked, his curiosity piqued as he saw the reaction.
"Q?"
Quatre didn't answer, but pulled from the bag a small
stuffed rabbit. The bunny wore a fancy dress, and a bow sat atop its head.
Quatre smiled, and hugged Dorothy tightly.
"I love it!"
"...a stuffed... rabbit?"
"I know it wouldn't make much sense to you, but my father
always gave me stuffed rabbits when I was young," Dorothy explained. "When
I visited Quatre at the hospital, I gave him one. Since then, it's been
something special between us."
"Oh."
"Haven't you ever given your girlfriend a gift like that?"
Quatre asked.
"Well, I usually give her obnoxious gifts..."
"How romantic." Dorothy interjected.
"It works for us!"
"Have you ever even tried romantic?"
"No."
"Maybe you should."
Duo rubbed the back of his head. Dorothy had a point.
***
"Okay, where's the punchline?"
"...huh?"
Hilde sat down her glass and looked into Duo's eyes,
a serious expression on her face. "This evening has gone very well. It's
the most romantic dinner I think we've ever had. But, I know I am eating
dinner with Duo Maxwell, and I know that, sooner or later, something that
is intended to be insanely hilarious is going to happen."
Duo swallowed the last of his drink, then looked back
at Hilde. "What makes you so sure?"
"How long have we known each other, Duo?"
"About six months now, right?"
"And how many days out of those six months have included
some elaborate prank, stupid joke or utter humiliation. Remember the karoke
bar?"
"I apologized for that! A lot!"
"Yes, but still, you will have to forgive me if I don't
see you as the most romantic guy in the world."
Duo's eyes narrowed, and he suddenly jumped to his feet.
"Fine, yer gonna make me do this. I dun wanna do this, but I'm gonna, okay?"
"Do... what?" Hilde replied, a little bewildered.
Duo reached into his pocket, and produced a small, folded
piece of paper. He opened it carefully, then glanced back down at Hilde.
He cleared his throat, and took in a deep breath.
"I don't say it often, but I love you. I love you because
you listened to my fears in the late night hours. I love you because you
gave me a chance. I love you because you put up with me. I love everything
about you. I love looking into your beautiful eyes, and I love feeling
you close to me as we cuddle up under a blanket. I even love the little
sighs you make when you're annoyed with me. Hilde Schbeiker, I love you
with all of my heart, even if I don't show it all the time."
Hilde was speechless at first. After a moment, she stood
up and walked over to Duo, and hugged him tightly. She rested her head
against his chest, and sighed happily.
"That was very sweet..." she cooed.
"Wasn't easy for me to say, ya know... but I meant it."
"I know you did..."
"I also... got something else for ya..."
"Oh?"
Duo reluctantly broke the hug, and reached under the
table, where a small box sat. He picked up the box and offered it to Hilde.
She looked at it curiously, half expecting this to be the "punchline" she
anticipated before. After a second, she popped open the box and looked
inside.
Inside the box was a small bear with big brown
eyes. Around the bear's head was a black hood, and a tiny little scythe
rested in its hands. A small tag around its neck read, "From Duo To Hilde,
Love Forever". Hilde took the bear into her arms and looked at it for a
good few minutes. It was the first purely romantic gift she could remember
Duo giving her. She hugged the bear tightly to her chest, and smiled broadly.
"Shinikuma!" she said finally.
"I'm glad you like him... had to make sure I got something
good for our first Valentine's together."
"First of many, I hope."
"You can bet on it."
End