Author's Note: Another songfic coming up, but this one isn't shounen ai, so people who don't like that sort of thing can breathe easier. I actually like this one better than "Tragic Hero." But that's just my humble opinion. I really don't hate Hilde. I just want Duo-kun to be happy. ^_^
Kismet: My second song ficcy in two days! *smiles*
Duo: I better not die this time, that's all I have to say.
Kismet: Oh, get a grip. I'm thinking you might actually like this.
Duo: *winks* I think I'd like it more if you made me some popcorn to go with it.
Kismet: All right, I feel guilty about killing you off last time, so I will. But just this once. *leaves*
Duo: Mmmm...*waits five minutes*
Kismet: *is back with a huge tub of popcorn* Okay, here's some butter-drenched popcorn, guaranteed to clog your arteries. Enjoy, Duo-chan.
Duo: *grins the Maxwell grin* Thank you, Ki-chan!
Wufei: *mutters* Suck up...
Kismet: Wuffie, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you're jealous.
Wufei: I am NOT jealous, onna!
Kismet: *shrugs* Okay, well...on with the fic!
by Kismet
kismetchan@hotmail.com
**********
// I wanna live life, never be cruel, /
/ I wanna live life, be good to you... //
Duo Maxwell had foreseen that he would have trouble adjusting to a normal life, but the transition was more difficult than he expected. Everything he saw here in his home colony seemed to remind him of the past and the pain that came with it. He knew he had made mistakes, but he never thought that they would come back to haunt him.
It made him nervous, walking around the city like this. He was nervous because he still felt like he had something to hide, like he was still seen as a criminal. He stared at the ground as he walked the streets, contemplating the gray pavement as if it held answers to all his questions, not even noticing where he was going. He had slipped silently out of the house he shared with Hilde, hoping not to wake her. He needed to get out. He needed to think.
He was on the road to nowhere. Duo didn't even know where he was off to, but the regular pattern of his feet on the ground seemed to calm him somewhat. Here he was, living the life he always wanted to live. He had high hopes for the future. He believed in Peace. He believed that dreams could come true...
But he still didn't really know what he wanted from life...or what life really wanted from him. He got a call today from Noin, requesting that he come back to Earth to lend a hand in a Preventers' operation. Duo sighed at the thought. He didn't mind going, he really didn't. He just didn't like the fact that different things kept destroying the Peace had built for himself on L2. Now that he had his own Peace of mind...he was reluctant to let go of it. But the world wouldn't let go of him.
Duo admitted to himself that he was sort of afraid to go. He feared that he would never come back. He feared what that would do to the people he loved most -- namely the person who loved him most.
/ And live my life, /
/ And have friends around. //
The past kept coming back. The more he tried to forget it, the more it returned to haunt him and the faster he tried to run from it. It was a foolish thing to do, he knew, but he couldn't help it. Running was something he had done his entire life. It was the only way he knew to escape. Staying in one spot was a new concept for him. Especially staying in the same spot with the same someone.
Sighing, he turned his thoughts toward the world around him. The colony was beautiful at night. Warm bright lights of every color imaginable flickered throughout the city, drastically contrasting with the simulated night and the frosty air. The ground was cold and getting colder; Duo could feel it permeating his boots as he walked. He was used to the cold, though, it was always cold in space.
Eventually he found himself walking toward a familiar place; a park where he and Hilde often took walks. It was a peaceful place, ideal for wanderers and stargazers alike. Duo liked the solace he found there.
/ I wanna live life, always be true, /
/ I wanna live life, and be good to you. //
He breathed in that outdoors-y smell, wishing he could savor it forever. Times when he actually slowed down long enough to really concentrate on what was going on around him were few and far between, and he was determined to make this one last as long as possible.
Duo glanced over at a bench under a nearby tree, the place that he had dubbed his "thinking spot." It was on a small hill before a large lake lined with rocks and leafy trees. Over the trees he could still see the lights of the city rooftops twinkling like stars and reflecting off the glassy lake's surface. Beautiful.
He walked along the lake's edge, mesmerized, one of the rare moments he actually bothered to become lost in thought. He could stay and watch this night forever, but sooner or later he was going to get too cold even to think.
/ And live my life, and have friends around. //
On a whim, Duo reached down and selected an oval-shaped stone from the assortment beneath his feet. He picked it up, tossed it in the air a couple times like a baseball, trying to recall a story someone had told him as a young child. Something about skipping stones across the surface of water. If you threw a smooth rock just the right way, it would skip. And if the rock skipped exactly three times, you could make a wish. Like magic.
Duo hadn't believed in the story at the time. Of course, back then he thought that there was no such thing as magic. He usually made his own. But now that the dream of Peace had come true...well, who knew what was possible?
He pulled his arm back, eyed the silver water surface, and threw it as hard as he could. The stone bounced once, twice, three times off the water, creating tiny ripples in the perfect mirror. He closed his eyes and made his wish.
/ Yes, and I sing of a single day, /
/ We never change, do we? /
/ We never learned to live. //
When he opened his eyes, he was staring hard at the spreading ripples in the lake, and felt a twinge of disappointment followed by a feeling of foolishness. He felt like someone was laughing at him, and he didn't especially like the feeling.
Wait a minute...someone was laughing. He squinted into the water and saw his own distorted reflection, oscillating gently like liquid quicksilver...and he saw the reflection of another person next to him. He glanced abruptly to his left and looked straight into the bright eyes of Hilde. The surprise was enough to nearly knock him off balance into the lake.
"Hilde!" he gasped.
She grinned. "Surprised to see me?"
/ And live my life, and have friends around. //
He paused, then smiled and put his arms around her. "Not really."
"What are you doing out here?" Hilde asked. "It's pretty cold."
"Just doing some thinking," Duo answered.
"What about?"
Duo stifled a sigh. He would have to tell her he was leaving sooner or later, but he didn't want to think about it now. He just wanted to savor the moment.
"Someone once told me -- that if you skip a rock three times, anything you wish will come true," he explained. "That's what I was doing, skipping rocks."
"Did you do it?" Hilde questioned.
"Yep. And I think my wish is going to come true."
"Oh, is it?" she whispered, nuzzling against him. "What did you wish?"
Duo laughed merrily. "I hope you've got some money on you because I was standing there wishing for a chocolate milkshake for the longest time!"
/ Making more friends would be easy, /
/ I wanna live where the sun comes out. //
"Duo!" Hilde giggled, and gave him a little shove like she really was going to push him in the lake. "Really?"
"No," he admitted, drawing her close again. "I was just kidding around."
Hilde looked amused that he felt he had to tell her that. "I guess if you tell me, it won't work, huh?"
"Actually..." Duo kissed her forehead. "I think it's coming true already."
She blushed. "Oh. I think I'm going to like this wish."
"I think so, too," Duo said, chuckling. They were silent for a moment, just enjoying each other's company.
"Duo?"
"Mmmm?"
"You got called back, didn't you." It was a statement, not a question.
Duo sighed heavily, not bothering to ask her how she knew. "Yes."
She squeezed his hands. "Will you promise me something?"
"Of course."
Hilde hesitated for a moment. "Just...come back safely to me, okay? That would be my wish."
He grinned. "I think I can make that come true," he said. He watched her frown. "What is it?"
Her eyes shone with tears. "I just wish...I know I can take care of the milkshake wish, but I still wish I could make all your wishes come true."
"Awww, Hilde..." Duo gave her a fierce hug. "All my wishes already have come true."
Hilde smiled. "Is everything okay?"
"Never been better." And Duo realized that he had known this all along. He really should be letting go of the past and facing the future head on. That was one of the things he loved about Hilde. She never looked back. She never reminded him of what was past. Things would be fine. He'd go off on his mission, stir up some trouble, and then return to find Hilde waiting for him. Her happiness was essential to his Peace of mind. He bent to kiss her gently.
And nothing much was said after that.
**********
Kismet: Well, that was pretty pointless.
Wufei: That was --
Kismet: *death glare*
Wufei: -- er...short.
Duo: *sniff*
Kismet: Why are you crying, Duo-chan?
Duo: All my popcorn's gone! *bawls*
Wufei: What an onna.
Kismet: *double death glare* Be nice, Wuffie...
Wufei: I am nice.
Kismet: Yeah, whatever. Come on, Duo-chan, I'll make you some more.
Duo: *brightens* Okay!
Kismet: While we're gone, would you be so nice as to leave me a review? Thank you so much for reading!
Wufei: Just humor her, minna-san.
Kismet: Wuffie, keep your mouth shut. Don't make me get out the duct tape.
Wufei: *grumbles* Baka onna...