Author's Note: Okay, this is an idea that's been bouncing around in my head for quite some time, but here it is, in the full. This is a Wufei X Hilde fic, so yes, it's a HET. And for those GW fans out there who're going "'he-t'? What is this 'he-t' you speak of?", it means that there is NO guy on guy action. Sorry. Other warnings: kind of strange and I skip three years in a matter of paragraphs, and I bastardized Duo. Not a lot! But he ran out on Hilde and he's . . . *sees a huge crowd of irate Duo fangirls running towards her* Ohhh shiiit. Enjoy! *flees like a bat out of hell*
Hilde hummed to herself as she hurried down the street back towards the scrap yard. The bag of parts in her hand jangled as she hurried along, her mind on the huge order her client had just placed. This should hold her and the scrap yard over for quite a while. She gave a fleeting thought to how quickly the money would have been gone if Duo had still been there, but she placed that thought far away from her mind. She didn't want to be reminded of what he had done.
Three years ago, Duo had run out on her. He said he was going for more parts and never came back. Two weeks later, Hilde had gotten a letter from him, some incoherent crap about commitment. Hilde had scanned it through, ripped it up, tossed it in the incinerator and went on with her life. She was doing quite well, actually. Without Duo eating up their profits (literally), and using every spare cent to buy more manga, the scrap yard was pulling down some good profits. Hilde had saved enough to afford the occasional vacation and hire temp assistants when she got overloaded.
Her mind on other things, she accidentally bumped into a man in front of her on the street.
"Oh, sorry," she apologized, moving to step around him.
The man laughed roughly. "No prob, sweet cheeks,"
"Um, right." Hilde moved past him, but his friend stepped in front of her.
"Where you going, sugar? Don't want to stay and chat?"
Dammit, she swore to herself. She pushed past him and rounded the corner and stopped dead as two men stepped into the street in front of her.
Sloppy, Hilde, she thought as another man stepped from a doorway behind her and the original two turned the corner after her. Very sloppy. As the guys started circling her, she fell into a defensive position and took a firmer grip on her bag. Here we go.
******
Wufei wrapped his trenchcoat closer around himself and glanced at the 'sky'. After going through so many missions on Earth, he was developing a slow dislike for the colonies. Especially this pit of a place known as the slums of L2. And he wasn't here by choice. Lady Une had sent all free Preventers on recon missions to possible "trouble spots". If this dirty, dangerous place wasn't a trouble spot, he was Mariemeia's uncle.
Movement ahead caught his eye. A woman disappeared around a corner and three unsavoury-looking thugs followed her. Damn this do-gooding instinct, Wufei sighed to himself as he sped up. As he reached the corner, he heard an inarticulate groan of pain He ran the last few steps and burst around the corner—and narrowly missed being hit by a thug who was stumbling backwards clutching at his face. Wufei ducked sideways to avoid him and looked ahead. The woman was swinging the large shopping bag she was carrying at one thug's head, but another knocked it out of her hand and two more grabbed her by the wrists while she struggled.
Wufei leapt into action.
Five minutes later, a collection of severely bruised and semi-conscious ruffians stumbled back under the damp rock they came from and Wufei was left facing the woman who had dispatched one of her assailants before Wufei had stepped in and one after. There was something familiar about her. The short, feathered dark hair, the eyes. A name . . . . a name associated with a certain braided baka . . .
"Hilde?"
"Wufei!" Hilde replied, equally surprised. "Thank you!" she blushed. "Yes, thanks. That could have ended badly."
"It did," Wufei replied dryly. "For them. And it was my pleasure."
Hilde laughed and surprised them both with another blush. "True. It was my pleasure, as well; it' not every day a girl gets rescued by a Gundam pilot."
"Ex-Gundam pilot," Wufei corrected. "Now just a lowly Preventer."
"Oh, of course," Hilde replied, rolling her eyes. She glanced around and bit her lip. "I seemed to have dropped a few things . . ." she said dryly.
From where the bag had dropped, cogs and gears had rolled everywhere. The two of them quickly gathered them up, Hilde running a critical eye over them to check their quality, and then followed a long awkward silence. Finally Hilde smiled. "Listen, Wufei, would you—I mean, would you like to have a cup of coffee or tea or something back at my place? As a thank-you," she added quickly.
Wufei surprised himself by inclining his head politely and saying, "Technically, Preventers aren't supposed to accept reimbursement for services—" his mouth quirked in a smile "—but in this instance I'll risk Lady Une's displeasure."
"Great!" She smiled at him. "The yard's not far. I live right on the premises." She started walking in the direction of the scrap yard and Wufei fell into step beside her.
"How is the yard doing?" Wufei asked, remembering Duo's proud boasts about his 'booming business'.
"Quite well, actually," Hilde replied. "I've been handling a lot of mobile suit scrap. Most suppliers don't want to touch it, but the stuff's amazingly resistant. I rework it a bit and resell it for scads of money. How are you doing? I hear you're a bigwig in the Preventers now."
"It's not hard to be a bigwig in a small organisation," Wufei shrugged. "I'm keeping busy. The pay isn't phenomenal, but I lifted quite a bit from OZ during the war and saved most of that. I don't really need much."
"Ah," Hilde replied, and they continued walking in companionable silence for a while.
A 'condemned' sign caught Wufei's eye and he gestured to the neighbourhood around them. "No offense meant, but how can you stand living in a place like this?"
Hilde glanced around and her expression sobered. "It's a sin, isn't it? I don't live here, exactly. My yard's a few blocks out of the slums. The slums are actually a fairly small proportion of L2, but they're so bad they seem to absorb the whole station. I guess the Preventers are trying to do something about that."
Wufei nodded. "Yes. Lady Une is hoping to establish a permanent base here, but I don't know how we're going to find the manpower. Maybe in a few years, but now . . . ."
Hilde nodded. "I see. It must be an amazingly difficult job for her. She's basically in charge of the security of the entire Earth Sphere."
"She's an amazing woman, Lady Une." Wufei said simply. "I have a lot of respect for her. Always have, really. Since the beginning of the war."
"I met her once," Hilde said. "She came to speak to the new recruits at the base I was at."
"Oh? You were an OZzie?"
Hilde grinned self-consciously. "Yes. Until D—someone made me see the error of my ways and got me to join the Light Side."
"I don't blame you. OZ was very good at making itself seem like the Light Side. If I hadn't piloted a Gundam and known the truth, I probably would have joined up as well."
"Really?" Hilde glanced up at him. "Somehow I don't picture you in the rank and file."
"Of course not," Wufei replied indignantly. "I'm officer material."
Hilde laughed and laid her hand on his arm. The conversation moved into a discussion of OZ propaganda and philosophy, and the walk back to the scrap yard was soon over. A high brick wall had a large sliding cargo door and a smaller front door and two homey windows at the far ends. Wufei held the bag as Hilde unlocked the door and led the way in. The front of the house was set up like an office, but a door in the back opened into a roomy kitchen/living room. Stairs led up to the loft bedroom. The house wasn't huge, but it wasn't small. It was just the right size for two people to live comfortably. Hilde motioned for Wufei to dump the bag on the kitchen counter while she set the kettle on and rummaged in the cupboards. Wufei took a seat at the kitchen table while Hilde laid a plate of ginger cookies down and got out the tea things.
"Milk or sugar?" she asked.
"Just a little bit of milk," Wufei said, adding: "Thank you." There was silence until Hilde set down the two cups and they sipped in silence for a while, not an uncomfortable silence, but a companionable silence.
"Where's Duo at?" Wufei asked eventually.
Hilde looked down at her mug. ". . . I don't know," she said. "We ran out on me about two years ago."
"I'm sorry," Wufei said softly.
"It's not your fault," Hilde said, looking up and smiling. "Somehow, I never really thought he was the type to just settle down. He's probably off somewhere raising hell, as usual."
"He always was doing that," Wufei said ruefully. "Were you two close?"
"I liked to think we were," Hilde replied sadly. "We were . . . intimate, but he always was closed off about things—about the war. He never let his mask down for me. Even in bed, he kept it on. Like he really believed it could fool me."
"I know how you must feel, being left like that," Wufei said softly. "Someone left me, once, too."
"Oh." Hilde said, and they lapsed into silence once again. Finally she smiled and said, "Well, this conversation has taken quite a downturn."
Wufei smiled slightly. "Sorry. I'm not the best conversationalist."
"I gathered that," Hilde said sarcastically. "What's it like working for the Preventers? I was considering joining up, but decided against it."
"Hard. Bureaucratic." Wufei made a face. "I miss the days when O would tell me to blow something up and I would. I didn't have to fill out six different forms to do it."
Hilde laughed. "I agree. The loss of simplcity must be painful."
Wufei shrugged. "It's not that bad. Fills the time. The more time I'm doing paperwork, the less time I'm risking my neck."
"I thought you Gundam pilots went in for that," Hilde said jokingly. "Danger was your middle name."
"You probably couldn't pronounce my middle name," Wufei countered.
"Wouldn't even try," Hilde returned.
They both laughed and the conversation moved easily along. It was getting late, and Wufei had a report to write, including some information Hilde had given him, before his flight back to Earth late that night. It was with a little bit of sadness that he left Hilde's door, her business card in hand, and trudged towards his hotel. He thought nothing of the encounter until, a few days later, he found himself calling the L2 number with news of his day. Hilde was delighted to talk to him, and again they parted amicably. Later, looking back, it was with a sense of surprise that Wufei realized how little either he or Hilde thought of their growing relationship. It seemed so natural and right at the time. Wufei returned to L2 to do more specific scouting, and spent more time with Hilde. She visited Earth on her rare vacation and stayed with Wufei for a few days. It was with the same sense of rightness that they made love for the first time, some months later, and just as natural that he should move in with her when the L2 office of the Preventers was opened and he was made commanding officer, two years after their first meeting. Later, he would marvel at the easy way that they fit into each other's lives, melding routines and habits to fit around each other. Five months after the branch office opened, they were married in a civil ceremony and spent two weeks hopping around Europe, Hilde dragging Wufei along as she barged from landmark to landmark.
It was a few months after that that Wufei became aware of his blessing. He had lost one wife, a loud, argumentative wife that he had clashed with often but loved despite it all, and Hilde, who he loved, if not less, but differently. He was lying awake one night in the little house in front of the scrap yard, Hilde curled, fast asleep, against his side, pondering this when a tiny crash made its way to his ears. He immediately stilled, waiting for the sound to be repeated. It was, and he slipped out of bed as quietly as possible. Hilde complained in her sleep, but he whispered something soothing and she quieted. He pulled his gun out of its holster on the bedside table and, in his boxers, slipped down the stairs.
The source of the sound was discovered immediately; someone was slipping through the previously locked back window. Wufei padded against the wall towards the light switch. Waiting until the intruder was at the most awkward point of the entrance, he hit the lights and drew on the intruder. He fell through the window, rolled, and had a gun out almost immediately, and there was a moment of shocked silence as the two recognized each other.
"Maxwell?"
"Chang?" Duo said incredulously. "What are you doing here?"
"Quiet down, Maxwell, Hilde's sleeping," he said. "And the correct question is, why were you climbing in my window at two in the morning?"
"The lock on the door was changed—your window?" Duo started.
"Pipe down!" Wufei hissed, but it was too late.
"Hon, who're you talking to?" Hilde called from the top of the stairs, rubbing her eyes blearily as she descended. She stopped when she saw who it was, then cleared her throat and went to stand beside Wufei, curling her fingers around his free hand. "Duo," she said curtly, by way of greeting.
"Hildy, sweetie, what's all this about?" Duo asked, glancing between the two. "I leave for a couple of months and you're shacking up with the Ice Man here?"
"You were gone for five years, Maxwell," Wufei said icily.
"Hildy, Hildy, baby, you know I love you—" Duo started pleadingly, but Hilde cut him off.
"If you love me, why did you wallk out on me?"
He looked around nervously. "Well, ya see, I—"
"Maxwell, please leave." Wufei said, cutting off the feeble protests.
"No way!" Duo said indignantly. "I still haven't gotten an explanation! Why's Chang here so comfy in this—our house? You grabbed the first guy that came your way?"
"Duo, this house hasn't belonged to you for four years," Hilde said. "I bought your share of it, and the scrap yard, after you left. Wufei and I met again when a gang tried to mug me and he came to my rescue—"
"Finished kicking their asses," Wufei put in. Hilde glared at him.
"Whatever. We stayed in touch, and one thing led to another, and we got married when he transferred to L2."
"Married?" Duo choked. "I never realized you went in for that kind of thing—"
"Because you never bothered to find out," Hilde said sadly. "I loved you, Duo. I would have married you. But you ran out, and Wufei walked in. I love him. Now please, get out of my house. I've seen all I want to of you."
Duo stood in the middle of the house that was no longer his, staring at the girl who was no longer his, and felt his life drop away. "Oh my God . . ."
Hilde dropped Wufei's hand and gave Duo a friendly hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Goodbye, Duo. My husband will show you to the door." With that, she turned around and ascended the stairs. Both men watched her go, and Wufei turned back to Duo.
"This way," he said simply. Duo turned numbly and walked towards the front door. When Wufei had unbolted it and opened it, he stepped into the street. Before Wufei closed the door, Duo turned and said sadly, "Tell her I'm sorry," before walking slowly down the street.
Wufei slowly locked up again and went back up to bed. He found Hilde sitting on the edge of the bed, hunched over and shoulders shaking.
"Hilde?" he said softly.
She turned around and he saw tears glistening on her cheeks. "I loved him. I thought I didn't, but, when I saw him there tonight—I realized—" A fresh wave of tears rolled silently down her cheeks. "I'm sorry, 'Fei. I thought I was over him, but I guess—"
"It's okay," he said softly, sitting beside her and cradling her gently in his arms. "You can love him. He sure as hell doesn't deserve it, any more than I do, but he has it. I still love my first wife, the memory of her. We would be shallow people if we didn't still love them."
Hilde sniffed and leaned into him, resting her head on his shoulder. "You're right."
"I know," he whispered into her hair, and smiled at the sobbing half-laugh that followed. "Come to bed, love."
She snuggled into him for a moment, then got up to turn the light off. They slipped into bed again and Hilde sighed. "Thank you," she whispered, pressing a kiss to Wufei's collarbone before drifting off to sleep.
"Good night," he sighed, thankful for the fact that he knew where he belonged, here at Hilde's side, for now and forever.
FIN
Author's Note: