Crazy for this Girl

by Icicle Raindream

One night is all Hilde needs to realize Duo's crazy about her.

Songfic

"Crazy for this Girl" music and lyrics by Evan and Jaren

fanfiction written by: Icicle Raindream

Disclaimer: Nothing of Gundam Wing (or its characters) belongs to me in any official way. I'm just messing with them for a little bit.

Notes: AAAGH! The emotional release! First of all, this fic has been such a plague for me! I've had this idea for months!! Writing it out proved to be tough, because I'm not good with writing the happy stuff (and this took me months to finally finish). But in contrast, it was so much fun because writing too much drama takes its toll on me! Talk about being twisted all around! ^_^ Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this. I apologize in advance if it's not funny. I tried to capture the characters' personalities, I really did, so please be gentle! Oh, yes, by the way…if anyone has ever seen the flick Aspen Extreme, a scene in this fic might sound familiar--just remember Dex and Ping-Pong, okay? ^_^ And Duo with the whole flipping-the-bill-of-the-hat-and-hunching-down-in-his-seat-while-driving thing is something my dad used to do when I was little. He looked so hilarious. ^_^ Don't forget to drop me a line!! (Oh, yes…anyone want to take a stab at interpreting Duo's dream?) ^_~

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The cars sped by us on either side, filling the highway with busy traffic, the sound of tires smoothly rolling over paved gravel at fast paces. The day was sunny and bright, a golden glow reaching outward over the town, and music from passing drivers' radios blasted from their windows, the tunes carried about as if the wind was singing. Birds were tweeting contentedly in the sky above, flying high and flocked together, and honeysuckle was drifting in the air, teasing the noses of weary passengers.

Well, except for me. I wasn't weary. And never before had I encountered such a beautiful day on L2. I welcomed the sounds and sights of the colony…not only that, but I was traveling with my favorite passenger in the whole world.

She rolls the window down

and she talks over the sound

of the cars that pass us by

and I don't know why,

but she's changed my mind

"Duo, you think this guy is trying to pull the wool over our eyes?" Hilde ran a hand through her hair, which blew back from her face in the wind that breezed through her open window. I steered the car and glanced over at her as she placed her beret in her lap for safekeeping.

"Why?" I asked, confused.

Hilde shrugged. "I don't know…it's just that nobody just gives away suit parts. And nobody lets you just pick through their junk heap, either. Not on this colony."

I focused my vision on the road before me. I hadn't found anything creepy about Hilde's description of the guy after she had talked to him. He seemed like a regular scavenger, the same as Hilde and me. But then again, this was L2 and Hilde did have a point. Even we two were stingy about letting people claw through our mobile suit stuff. Some of the leftover parts were incredibly expensive or especially rare.

"Well, I guess we'll find out then," I told her.

Hilde's hair shone in the sunlight as I looked over at her again. For some reason, I stared harder at her than I meant to, watching the dark locks lightly caress her cheeks as the wind joyously disheveled them, seeing the smile curl on her face in content. Hilde always had a jovial disposition, but today it was especially strong. I think the weather had a lot to with it. Not only that, but we two were about to make what sounded like a fantastic deal. That always brought a smile to the face.

Hilde looked over her shoulder at me then, her small grin stretching wider across her features as she caught me staring. I blinked innocently at her and then looked back to the street, my face red. I could help but chuckle anyway.

Would you look at her as she looks at me

She's got me thinking about her constantly

But she don't know how I feel

Hilde giggled then, facing towards her open window, lifting her chin to the sky, silken sunlight upon her face. I could smell the fragrance of her sweet shampoo as the wind tossed it my way, sweeping through her hair. I inhaled deeply and smiled to myself.

She carries on without a doubt

I wonder if she's figured out

I'm crazy for this girl

Yeah, I'm crazy for this girl

*

"Hi, Hilde Schbeiker." Hilde thrust her hand out, thoroughly capturing the one that belonged to the guy who stood before us, just outside of the door we had knocked on not three minutes ago. She pumped his hand vigorously, grinning from ear to ear at him. He looked a little frightened, his wide eyes darting from her face to the ground, the other hand still tucked behind his back. Hilde didn't seem to notice.

And I hate to say it, but as cute as she looked with her hair tucked neatly behind her ears and that friendly smile on her face, Hilde was downright intimidating the poor guy. He swallowed hard and watched wearily as she squeezed his hand in acquaintance, sky blue bangs falling into his eyes. I quickly stepped up next to her and shook hands with him as well, once she had finally let go.

"Duo Maxwell," I introduced myself, following Hilde's lead. "Thanks for lettin' us come by and check out your stuff."

The guy named Shizuo Ibuda shook my hand back, but his grip wasn't very firm and the tiny grin he had dared to give Hilde wilted down to nothingness as he looked at me. Internally, I couldn't help but smirk at his expression, which was one of utter bewilderment, like he'd never seen another human being before. Or a male at that. He seemed like a little weasel of a guy, a pushover. Hard to believe he was in the scavenger business. You had to be on your toes sometimes, making split second deals and pushing your luck with even the most bullheaded of people, just to get the deal that you want. He didn't seem the type to step up and push his standards for bartering on other traders.

Oh, well. I guess Hilde didn't have to worry after all--it made sense now that the guy was just giving his parts away. He was probably too terrified to make any deals.

As I stepped back from him, the door to the house in front of us opened. Shizuo looked nervously over his shoulder and peered at the figure coming out of the doorway as Hilde and I did the same. A tall, lanky body stepped out onto the porch, dressed in a crisp blue work shirt and a pair of jeans that were absolutely sparkling clean. I practically went blind because of the reflection of the sun off the material.

"Ah, you must be Hilde!" the person's voice boomed. I guessed he was about my age or perhaps a little older, but he had me by a few inches in height. His spiky hair jumped from his forehead in bright lavender locks, stray strands falling across the bridge of his nose, shining yellow eyes piercing in the daylight. Somewhere in the back of my mind I wondered how he knew Hilde's name. And, of course, how he could stand looking like such a pretty boy.

The guy stepped up next to Shizuo. "Go on inside now, brother," he said, tapping on his shoulder. Shizuo obeyed, nodding, and turned from us. I watched as he walked into the house and closed the door softly behind him.

"I'm sorry about that," the guy barreled on, before we could ask any questions. "I had an important phone call and I asked Yakoto to answer the door. I'm Shizuo, you must be Hilde."

I looked over my shoulder as Hilde repeated her performance, reaching eagerly for his hand and nodding, sending him a genuine smile, apparently unfazed by the brothers' swapping places. I watched as a smile slithered across the real Shizuo's face, flashing pearly white teeth, and I couldn't help but feel a little weirded out by it. Hilde was too friendly and honest for her own damn good and he seemed to be enjoying that aspect of her personality immensely. I hadn't missed the fact that he'd focused his attention entirely on her, either, even though I was sure she'd mentioned I was coming along.

He turned to me then and gave me a blatant once-over, as if he were trying to decide whether or not I was worthy of his attention. I must have passed the test because he spoke not a minute after. "You must be Hilde's assistant," he stated, unimpressed. He shifted his weight, eyes catching onto my braid. My stomach protested with a wave of annoyance, branching throughout my body.

I looked him in the eye. "Partner," I corrected, aiming to be firm and polite at the same time. I tossed my braid carelessly over my shoulder, wondering why his persona didn't match Hilde's description. What, did he have sporadic alternating personalities? Sweet on the phone but jerk in person? Maybe it wasn't that, but…so what if Hilde hadn't mentioned her partner was a guy? No need for him to hold a grudge against me because I was male. You'd think that would help our situation!

Perhaps not. There were a lot of scumbags in the scavenger business, people who would rip you off if they decided you were easy enough--if you were naïve and female enough. Maybe he'd planned to take advantage of Hilde once he'd decided he could get away with it. I could tell that he had the Scumbag Potential right off the bat, with those swindling yellow eyes he sported.

"Thanks for lettin' us check out your stuff." I kicked that in with a friendly tone because I didn't want to let on that I had been sizing him up. Keeping my voice pleasant seemed to be the rational choice.

He turned from me then and motioned for us to follow him around the side of the house. "It's no big deal," he replied, as if it pained him to speak to me. The sloppy flap of his hand brushing the matter off was unsettling and his tone of voice didn't improve his first impression on me. "I really have no use for these parts anymore."

Hilde looked over her shoulder at me excitedly and grinned. Since Shizuo had no use for these parts, they were most likely going to end up being ours. Hilde and I could make do with anything we found and this guy could have some really valuable stuff, despite the virtual stick that seemed to be lodged up his ass. It was like we were beneath him, in a lower class on the social scale, a scale determined by Shizuo himself. Hilde didn't seem to notice, though, so I felt like it was all directed at me. Like I was the slimeball here.

I told myself to chill out as we turned the corner, walking around the side of the house. It wasn't worth dwelling on. Hilde and I were going to pick his pile apart, take home everything we could get our hands on, and that would be the end of it. No more feeling like a scuzzbucket by Lavender Locks here.

Just then Hilde and I found a huge heap of rejected mobile suit parts staring us in the face. It was like we had found a gold mine--this guy had everything we had ever wanted or could ever imagine we wanted. I could tell just by scanning his junk heap. It was enormous--a scavenger's dream. A racy fantasy brought to life, gleaming metal in the sun, waiting to be tantalized by experienced fingers.

Hilde squealed and clapped her hands as Shizuo gestured with his arm, holding it out as if silently introducing the junk pile to her. I watched as she scrambled forward, eagerly waiting to get her little hands on some rare suit parts. I smiled, unaware of my own actions, as she climbed aboard and began riffling through the discarded metal, hunched over and gazing with intensity, grinning like mad.

"Hmm…."

The intending noise from Shizuo made me turn from her and look at him, to where he stood a few steps ahead on my right. I watched as he raised a hand and rubbed his chin, his eyes narrowed and fixed on the sight of Hilde before us. I could see the smile curl the corners of his mouth, white teeth poking through red lips.

I tightened one fist at my side as I observed him. Could he be any more obvious? I could practically hear the wheels in his head turning, making me want to punch the dirty thoughts from his mind. Hilde didn't deserve to be looked at like that, and what was worse, she didn't even know that he was looking at her like that. And who the hell did he think he was anyway, eyeing Hilde right in front of me?

"Come on, Duo, what are ya waiting for?" she shouted then, waving frantically from where she had journeyed to the summit of the heap. "You gotta check out this X-2-3 stabilizer, it's absolutely in perfect condition!"

I jerked my face away from Shizuo and forced a huge smile, reassuring myself that in all actuality, he could look at her like that until he was blue in the face. Hilde wasn't mine, but that didn't mean I wasn't going to protect her from horndogs like him. And as of right now, Shizuo didn't have a snowball's chance in hell. Not with Duo Maxwell around, kicking ass and taking names.

"I'm comin'!" I yelled back, then stepped forward to join her. And yes, I openly admit it. I did it on purpose. But really, can you blame me?

"Sorry, man," I said casually, barely glancing back. I saw Shizuo step aside and rub his shoulder, frowning unappreciatively at me as I stalked away. My own shoulder still stung a bit, the pressure of having been knocked carelessly into his lingering through my clothes. I smirked as my braid swung behind me, then joined Hilde at the top of the junk pile.

"Look at this!" she exclaimed, thrusting metal into my hands. "And this, and this! Look at all these!" With each new discovery, she shoved another piece of jagged metal into my hands, rambling about one piece to the next. I merely crouched and held my arms open, grinning as she leapt around the pile, unearthing anything she could get her hands on. "Isn't this fantastic, Duo? I'm so glad he's letting us check out his stuff!"

I smiled harder at Hilde's repeating my own words, but something in the back of my mind twisted them around and caused a sour taste in my mouth. Sure, she was right. Not only we were checking Shizuo's stuff out, but he was also checking out ours. She stood on the top of the pile with sun reflecting in her hair and a smile lighting her face. I could feel his dirty stare on her again even from where I crouched with my back to him.

Lighten up, Maxwell, I scolded silently. Mentally, I tossed myself a life raft, to save me from drowning in the sea of too much testosterone. I had just met the guy, and even though I wasn't very impressed with his social skills, I didn't want to live on it. This was going to be a snap. Hilde and I would grab n' go. And besides, just a few minutes ago I had been the one who had defended him! And Hilde wasn't paying any attention to Shizuo. She was smiling at me instead.

I looked down at my armfuls of metal parts and tried to shift, maneuvering so that the circulation would come back in my arms and I could make sure my fingers were still attached. Unfortunately, it didn't help, so I called to Hilde, who was on the other side of the heap, that I was going to set these aside and then come back to join her. I wanted to do some extensive digging myself--suck this guy as dry as possible, as payment for his attitude. I had an eye for those types of things anyway--I could size up a piece of scrap metal a mile away.

I made my way carefully back down the side of the metal mountain to where Shizuo was still standing, one hand shielding his eyes from the light. He glanced at me as I strode by, looking slightly appalled. I felt compelled to apologize even though he emitted bad vibes. Hilde had done a pretty good job of picking out some awesome parts for us. Maybe he really didn't want to let them go--he looked like he was about to keel over or faint or do something dramatic like pretty boys always do.

Sure enough, I was right. Showoff.

"You're just going to leave her there?" he exclaimed suddenly, looking over his shoulder at me.

I frowned at the collection of metal on the ground before me, then straightened and faced him. "What are you talking about?" I asked, abruptly out of patience.

"That metal pile is very unstable," Shizuo informed, as if he were speaking to a three-year-old. "She shouldn't be up there alone."

I blew a thick bang out of my face with a curt huff. "You shouldn't underestimate Hilde," I told him, ignoring the condescending tone. "She knows what she's doing up there. Besides, she'd been alone a good five minutes up there before and she knows just how to--"

Hilde's scream shocked the rest of my words away and I jumped six miles into the air. The sound of sliding metal was unmistakable as I wrenched around in the direction of the heap. Reflexively, I shouted for her and began to run, but a large hand slammed against my chest and threw me off balance, my feet slipping against the dry soil of the yard. I watched as Shizuo took off, his hand retracting from my front as he sped towards the other side of the junk pile, where Hilde's scream had radiated. I landed thunk on my ass on the hard dirt as he disappeared from my sight. I hung my head, one hand slapping against my temple. Hilde knew just how to hurt herself. And how to make a liar out of me.

I heard talking coming from around the heap, a deep voice mixing with a shaky one, gaining volume as two figures emerged around the pile. I stood and brushed my sore rear end off as they approached me. I didn't like Shizuo's arm around her shoulder or her hand clutching his shirt. Worse, I didn't like her face crumpled in pain or the fact that I hadn't been the one to help her. It would be the pretty boy who'd make everything all dramatic, shoving me away like that, but I just wanted to get out of here anyway, so I didn't say anything to Shizuo. I focused on Hilde instead.

"Are you okay?" I asked, reaching for her.

"I told you so," Shizuo snapped at me before she could answer. He glared at my outstretched hand, but I held it out firmly, fingers spread towards her.

Hilde didn't seem to notice his crisp tone. She glanced up at him with wide eyes and smiled a bit. "I'm fine," she assured, then looked at me. "I was just taken by surprise, that's all." She stepped away and took my hand as I pulled her a good distance away from Shizuo, looking her over.

"Let's go now, okay, Duo?" she said then, looking up at me with that same wide-eyed expression.

I nodded and smoothed her hair. "Sure, no problem."

Hilde turned to Shizuo. "Can we come back tomorrow?" she asked him. "I want Duo to get a chance to look."

I shuffled my feet, sliding my hand into my pocket while trying not to cringe. It was too sweet of her to be thinking of me when she had almost gotten seriously hurt, but if only she knew how much I didn't ever want to see this guy again. Our personalities clashed big-time.

"O-of course," Shizuo managed to get out, his voice sounding strangled. "Contact me tomorrow then and we'll set up another time."

"You got it." Hilde faced me again. "Let's go."

"Ah…" I ran a hand through my hair and nodded. "Okay." I knew Shizuo wasn't happy, (heaven forbid I threaten his junk pile again with my scummy, lower-classed male hands), but he had given in to Hilde anyway, probably because of that baby face she had. It bent even the strongest of people--I could attest to that. That girl had me wrapped around her pinky finger and I couldn't deny it. But that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. It was Hilde--I couldn't help myself.

I gathered our new parts back into my arms and Hilde and I walked back around the house to our car to load it up and take off. I didn't miss the limp she had suddenly acquired, but when I asked her about it, she waved it off like no big deal. Then I was caught up in her happy chatter about our new mobile suit parts, and her possible injury evaded my mind. I was too content to listen and drive again to the sound of her voice as the sunny-sweet breeze filled the car.

* * *

I've had this dream before.

I'm walking down a dark corridor, the heavy thumping of my boots against a thin carpet lining the floor. I can hear the sound of chains clanking behind me and can feel the impenetrable bands of handcuffs around my wrists. Something thick and slimy is oozing from my head into my eyes, and as I walk, tiny circular-shaped lights attached to the ceiling overhead randomly flick on, casting dim light down on the walls. Now I can see somewhat, the shapes on the walls beginning to focus.

They're soldiers. Strapped to the metal walls, hung on them, tied to them, nailed to them like on a cross, through the hands and feet. Their uniforms are torn and bloody and more than half of the bodies don't even move. Not so much as a blink of an eye or twitch of a muscle…just hanging limply in the clutches of death, the blood crusted over their skin, pooled by their feet. They surround me on both sides as I continue to walk, as I blink at their stilled forms, befuddled. I know that until I reach the end of the hall I won't be afraid. They're dead. Until the hall stops.

And then, it's the end. I've run out of dimly lit corridor to traverse. I stop and glance down at the floor, where I know he will be waiting. A small boy with large blue eyes, a smile pasted to his face despite the crimson fluid that's flowing from his body. He reaches up to me, his tiny fingers shaking in anxiety, and the question slides from his mouth.

"Why?"

It is then that I start to shiver, immense cold radiating from the inside of my body, spreading outward. The lights begin to die away, one by one, until there is only enough illumination for me to recognize the sharp object in my hand. A gleaming metal scythe, dripping with the little boy's life fluid, lifts itself in front of my face, as if the weapon were gloating. It hurts even more when I see my hand fisted tightly around the handle.

And my mind says no. The word rolls from my tongue in a mantra, but all the while I can hear myself laughing. A sinister cackling that bounces off the metal walls and fills the hallway. The ground begins to tremble underneath my feet and it's precisely then that I sit up in bed with a blood-curdling screech.

I suppose I should feel ashamed, having that kind of high-pitched noise tear from my throat, but it's instinctual. I can't shake off the chills, the spiders crawling up my back, until she is here with me.

"Duo?"

Hilde's voice came from the doorway. I removed my hands from my face, where they had been clawing at my hair, and blinked at her, unable to speak for the moment. I just watched as she limped slightly to the edge of my bed and crawled onto the mattress next to me. In her arms I felt better, as she held me tightly to her and whispered reassurances that it was just a dream. I wrapped my arms around her in return, to stop my shivering.

She was the one to hold me,

the night the sky fell down

and what was I thinking of when

The world didn't end?

Why didn't I know what I know now?

After a few minutes, I was completely okay. The faded image of the dream was slowly dying away in my mind and I had located my voice again. Hilde's hand stroked my braid, her breathing steady and calm in the darkness of my bedroom. She was used to this.

Call it the aftermath of the war. I was still haunted by it, even though this dream, my nightmare, didn't make too much logical sense. I didn't understand the meaning of the soldiers who were strung to the walls or the little boy at the end of the hall. I didn't know why I was handcuffed or holding onto a weapon like that. All I knew was that this had almost become routine. Every few weeks or so and Hilde was back with me, telling me that everything was over and I was okay. Sounds babyish, I know…but I went through a lot during the war. All of us Gundam pilots did. There were just some aspects of the war we hadn't been ready to face. Duty demanded that we did and allowed no time for protests.

I lifted my head from Hilde's shoulder and sniffed loudly. The tears were a side effect. I wasn't crying in my dream, but it seemed to be my body's natural reaction to my realizing it was a dream, and I couldn't stop them. But Hilde didn't care. She'd done her share of crying on my shoulder as well.

"Better now?" Hilde whispered then.

I turned and looked at her, nodding. I must have still looked like a wreck, but she smiled back anyway, pushing bangs out of my eyes. Her grin was small and understanding and I felt momentarily trapped within it.

Would you look at her as she looks at me

She's got me thinking about her constantly

but she don't know how I feel

I began to move away from her, to settle back into bed, when I retracted my hand from her hip and noticed that it was wet. Stained. Red.

My nightmare was instantly forgotten.

"Duo, what are you doing?" Hilde asked frantically.

I didn't answer as I gently pushed her back against my pillows, my right hand reaching for the waistband of her pajama pants. Even in the dark, I could see the blood that had seeped through her clothes, a round scarlet stain. I pushed the left side of her shirt up while simultaneously yanking the left side of her pants down, just enough to reveal her wound.

"Duo…?"

Hilde sounded scared. I hadn't meant to frighten her with my spontaneous actions, but her blood on my hand had made my heart leap into my nose. I examined her wound, trying to be gentle as I smeared the trickling blood away. I needed to see how large the cut was.

"Why didn't you tell me?" I demanded softly, looking up from her injury into her face. The slice just above her hipbone wasn't very deep, but it was too wide to heal naturally. "You need stitches."

Hilde fumbled for words, her arms held out to the sides, her head lifted from the pillows, her eyes wide with shock as she looked at me. "I-I didn't want you to worry…it was fine earlier…just a scratch…"

"Earlier?" I repeated. "How long has this been bleeding?" I spread my hands out over her hip, keeping the cloth of her pajamas away from her cut. Her skin was incredibly warm.

"I don't know…off and on since I fell on the junk heap…"

"Oh, God, Hilde," I breathed, looking back down to her skin. "That was hours ago! Not only that, but who knows what kind of germs were on those metal parts?"

"I-I'm sorry, Duo…"

Hilde sounded near tears and I realized then that I was being kind of harsh. I hadn't meant to blurt the first things that came to mind, but now I was semi-freaked. If she caught anything from that dirty junk heap, Shizuo Ibuda would find himself on a date with the reincarnated God of Death, pronto. There would be no stopping me from reorganizing his face. Hell, he'd be lucky if that was all I did.

"Come on, we've got to clean you up." I gathered the end of Hilde's shirt in my hands, twisted it tightly, and tied it in a knot. Then I instructed her to keep the waistband of her pants away from her wound. Carefully, I picked her up into my arms and carried her into the bathroom, trying not to get any blood from my hands on her clothes.

From there I washed and bandaged her cut as gently as I possibly could, then carried her back to her bedroom and sat her on the bed. I handed her a clean pair of pajama bottoms and told her not to sleep on her left side, obviously because not only would it hurt, but would also run the risk of opening the wound further. I left her so she could change, but not after promising her that we were going to see the doctor first thing in the morning.

Well, that explained her limp, but I wasn't happy with it.

* * *

"Do you want me to wait outside for you?" I asked, sliding a hand into my pocket.

Hilde stood in front of me, her eyebrows furrowed in what looked like fright to me. She wound one arm through mine and shook her head, tugging me towards the door. The doctor was waiting inside his office and she had just been called in. I followed her, liking her arm where it was.

The doctor made her lay down on the examination bed so he could take a look at her wound. He did so thoroughly, then turned his face up to me, spectacles resting on the bridge of his nose.

"You did this, young man?" he asked, gesturing to the bandage that was half peeled off Hilde's skin.

I was reluctant to answer, but I didn't have to worry. The doctor barged on with, "It's excellent. With a few stitches this will heal beautifully. Hardly a scar."

Hilde glanced up at me, grimacing at the doctor's words. Nobody liked getting stitches strung through their body, especially on such a sensitive part like the hip. But it needed to be done, and I'd be damned if Hilde didn't get the best treatment. Duo Maxwell, kicking ass and taking names, remember? My silent oath to take care of her.

"All righty, let's get this over with, shall we? You two should be out in this glorious weather we're having," the doctor said then.

I slipped my hand into Hilde's and held tight as the doctor began his work. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I made a mental note to thank Heero someday. That guy could patch injuries up like nobody's business. I wouldn't have been able to help Hilde if I hadn't watched him so many times, mostly performing his act on me. His strange talent was catching.

Afterward, the doctor warned Hilde much in the same fashion I had done last night, then he left us with a tube of ointment and more gauze just in case anything happened. I helped Hilde sit up on the bed and brushed a few fallen tears away from her cheeks. She blinked and forced a small smile onto her face.

"You know, Hilde," I began, pulling her gently down to her feet, "I've been wanting to know something."

"What's that?" she asked, smoothing her shirt down and tucking a strand of dark hair behind her ear. She looked up at me with interest.

I continued quickly, wanting to cheer her up as soon as possible. I put on my most confused face, wrinkling my eyebrows. "When cheese gets its picture taken, what does it say?"

Hilde stopped moving and stared at me, her eyebrows crinkled in thought. Then she erupted into giggles, one hand covering her mouth, the other slapping playfully at my arm as she realized it was a rhetorical question. We walked out of the doctor's office together and pushed through the front doors of the hospital building. I slung my arm around her shoulder as we stepped into the sunlight outside, Hilde still laughing. Indeed, laughter was the best medicine.

"Seriously!" I rattled on. "And if someone says, 'A penny for your thoughts', and you put your two cents in, what happens to the other penny?"

"Duo!" Hilde exclaimed, exasperated.

"What?" I asked innocently.

"Shut up, will you? You're such a goon!"

For Hilde, that was a term of endearment. Besides, it was true. I was a goofball and damn proud of it. As long as she was happy, then I had no qualms about playing court jester. It was another thing I couldn't help. Life hands me lemons, I make lemonade. It was just my personality. I couldn't be all dark and brooding like a certain colleague of mine. I'd end up driving myself up the wall. Or worse, committing suicide.

Okay, that was mean. I apologize. It's just that Heero could stand to lighten up a bit. But at least he didn't have a pole up his ass. I could actually talk to him without feeling like an unworthy slop of sludge. That was probably due to the fact that we were both pilots. Shizuo Ibuda, scavenger or no scavenger, would probably wet his pants if he ever got into a cockpit. Heh. I'd really like to see that. Too bad my good ol' buddy Shinigami was mechanical fodder by now. I could have made it a triple-dog-dare.

Hilde and I walked back to the car giggling at each other, the literal stitches in her side forgotten for the time being. That's one thing I also liked about Hilde. Besides her sunny personality, she was resilient. And if she wasn't thinking about something, then it didn't bother her. She didn't tear her hair out over trivial things like string in her skin and gauze taped to her body. It was an added plus to her greatness.

She carries on without a doubt

I wonder if she'll figure it out

I'm crazy for this girl

Yeah, I'm crazy for this girl

But then, she said it. She just had to say those words.

"I'm going to give Shizuo a call when we get home."

I grimaced as I climbed into the car and sat next to her, but not so much that Hilde would notice. I started the car and we pulled out of the hospital parking lot as Hilde began to tell me what she had discovered yesterday and what she wanted today. She said I was just the perfect person to find what we needed and I appreciated that, but I really, really didn't want to be in contact with that guy again. There was something too off about him for me.

"Duo."

Hilde's voice was sharp and I looked over at her questioningly. "Huh?" I replied intelligently.

One side of Hilde's mouth lifted into a grin, as if she were reading me like a book. "Why are you driving so slowly?" she inquired cleverly. She was implying that I was purposely going slow as to avoid getting home so she could call Shizuo.

I changed the direction of our conversation quickly, not willing to get into a spat about our newfound scavenger friend. "Who, me?" I asked, slinking down in my seat. I grabbed my hat from where it was stashed between the cushions in the car and plunked it on my head. Flipping the bill up, I hunched lower in my seat and fisted the steering wheel tightly, my head bunching into my shoulders like an elderly person straining to see over the dashboard. I swerved the car back and forth, then stomped on the gas and sent Hilde into a frenzy of giggles as cars honked angrily around us on the street.

"Stop!" she cried. "You're gonna get us killed, you dope!"

I just shrugged at her, grinning like an idiot. Hearing the laughter that was Hilde's happiness was worth every precious minute.

*

"But we already have an X-2-3 stabilizer," I whined, looking up from the list in my hand. Hilde's scribbling was all over the paper, a written column of mobile suit parts she wanted me to collect this afternoon from Shizuo's junk pile. "Why do you want an L-2-3?"

Hilde walked over to me and patted my hand in false sympathy. "It fetches more money on the market, Duo, you know that," she explained. "The L-2-3 is higher technology."

"But yesterday you were perfectly happy with an X-2-3," I reminded, stuffing her list in my pocket with a slight pout.

Hilde stood in front of me, looking up at my face with those round eyes. She poked the bill of my hat with one finger and smiled. "Yes, but I have faith that you can find us an L-2-3. Then we can keep the X-2-3 to muck around with and bring in heaps of cash with the L-2-3 when we trade it off!"

I sighed, grunting under my breath. I appreciated the fact that Hilde wanted me to get a look at Shizuo's parts (heh…I'll leave that phrase to your imagination), and I was thanking my lucky stars that she was leaving the job up to me and opting to stay home, but I was still dragging my heels. Incredibly. Like I was trudging knee-deep through half-dried sidewalk cement.

But dammit…she had that face! I couldn't say no to those big eyes and that pleading expression, no matter how hard I tried. She melted me into a defenseless Duo-puddle of goo.

I sighed again and nodded to her, then turned and headed for the front door, defeated. Yeah, yeah, I know …I'm a sucker. But I couldn't help it--it was Hilde.

*

Arriving at Shizuo's house, I came to the conclusion that I'd rather take a bath in piranha-infested waters dressed as a meatloaf than talk to him again. Although, since Hilde wasn't here this time, things could be different. Maybe we could bond…you know…man to man.

There's a laugh. Besides, it wouldn't be man to man anyway. It would be efficiently hard-working scavenger (that's me, mind you) to posh pretty boy. I couldn't stomach the thought. He'd probably end up showing me how to French braid my hair. Yikes.

I strode up to his front door, determined not to be rude even though I didn't really care too much, and rapped curtly on it. Shizuo opened the door a second later and stared at me through the screen.

"I just wanted to let you know I was here," I said to him, stuffing some rubber gloves into my pocket. "Hilde told you earlier that I would be here, right?"

Sharp yellow eyes beamed down on me, lavender hair falling over his forehead as he nodded. "Where is your lady friend?" he asked then.

I almost hit the roof, taken aback by his polite tone of voice. I fought to keep my jaw in place and not wedged in the floorboards of the porch where it should have been. "She decided to take the day off," I explained. Slicing open your skin and having to get stitches could cause that kind of behavior. But I didn't say anything more about it, just waited for him to reply. I could tell he wanted to.

"Oh. You know where the parts are." The answer was short and sweet and I soon found the front door slammed abruptly in my face.

"Your social skills astound me, have I ever told you that, Shizuo?" I turned and headed towards the junk heap, snapping my gloves on. I forced myself to forget about him for the time being, instead preparing for some work. Hilde had a pretty extensive list and I wasn't about to let her down. If she had faith in me, so did I.

*

A few hours later, the door of Shizuo's house banged open and he walked towards me, holding out his portable phone. I looked at him in curiosity, stripping my hands of my used gloves.

"You have a call," Shizuo huffed, sounding annoyed.

"Who is it?" I asked, reaching for the phone. Who in the world would be calling me at this place?

"It's Hilde," Shizuo responded impatiently. "Do I look like your secretary?"

"You want me to answer that truthfully?" I muttered, taking the phone and turning away from him. The horror of it all. He'd probably look great in a skirt. "Hilde?"

"Oh, Duo, it's fantastic!" she cried on the other end. "You got us the L-2-3, right? I saw it the other day on the top of the heap."

"Yeah, I got it," I replied, glancing over my shoulder. Shizuo was standing behind me, not too subtly listening to my end of the conversation. I wondered if he could hear Hilde on the other side.

She squealed loudly. "Great! I've got a potential trader! We're gonna be rolling in the dough, especially if you've got more than half of my list!"

"Wow, that was fast," I complimented. Not only was Hilde on the ball with things like trading in our business, but she was good at coercing people to barter or buy. I think it was the way she treated them. Everyone immediately fell in love with her. Figuratively speaking, of course. Except in my case.

"Yeah, so come home now, okay? I'm incredibly bored and I just got a flyer in the mail. Your friend Trowa's circus is back in town and I thought we could catch a show tonight. How's that sound?"

I nodded into the phone. "Sounds great," I replied. "I'm coming home now, okay?"

"Okay, see you in a bit."

Hilde and I hung up and I turned back to Shizuo. Handing him back the phone, I couldn't miss the glare that was pasted to his face in undeniable proportions. He snatched the appliance away from me and asked, "Home?"

I couldn't clamp down my smile. I shrugged and flicked my braid back over my shoulder, then clasped my hands in front of me. "I'm terribly sorry," I apologized. I looked directly up into those pompous yellow eyes and smirked. "Did I forget to mention that Hilde lives with me?"

I didn't wait for a response from him, convinced that he knew to leave well enough alone. He didn't need to know that as of right now, Hilde was just my best friend. No, he needed the implication that she was already spoken for, the one I had just provided him with. I swiveled on my heel, collected my newly attained suit parts, loaded the car, and drove like a bat out of hell away from there. Even that was too slow for my comfort.

But nothing mattered now. I had milked that guy for all he was worth. What was sitting in his backyard was now literally a junk heap. There was nothing of value left, and Hilde and I were making out like bandits. I should have thanked him.

Yeah, right. Perhaps when hell froze over and I sprouted wings and flew to the moon, I'd give it a thought.

*

I banged through the front door and flung my hat to the couch, giving the top of my pleading skull a soothing scratch. Since the weather was unusually nice on L2 these past couple days, I'd been wearing my hat more often than I used to. Hilde always lectured me on the importance of being protected from "the sun's harmful rays". Her words, not mine. I thought it was just a bunch of bunk, but I covered myself up anyway. But that hat made my head itch when I got hot. I couldn't wait to get it off sometimes, like right now. I couldn't suppress the sigh of content.

"Hilde!" I called, walking through the living room. I didn't hear any answer, so I crooned, "Hilde, oh Hilde, wherefore art thou Hilde?"

I heard a laugh to my left and twisted quickly, going down the hall, towards the bathroom. I stepped in the tiny room and stopped short, my eyes nearly popping out of my head.

"Holy sh--"

"Be nice, now, Duo," Hilde warned, from where she was standing in front of the mirror over the sink. "I won't have you saying crude things in front of a lady."

I gulped and nodded. "Whoa…you really get dressed up for the circus, don't you?"

Hilde glanced down at the sink, looking guilty. Then she looked back up at me.

I almost couldn't stop staring. Hilde stood in a black, seamless dress with straps that angled out over her shoulders, the neck shaped in a V. The black stockings she was wearing had a straight line going up the back of the leg, and on her feet were small-heeled matching shoes. Around her neck was a thin golden chain, a pink rose dangling from the end. In her hair she had put one of those little butterfly clip things, the same color as the charm on her necklace. I thought I was going to pass out. Never had I seen her so radiant before.

"Listen, Duo, we need to talk," Hilde said then, in a small but firm voice.

I jerked my face away from her body and looked into her eyes, my eyebrows furrowing in confusion. I hadn't left the toilet seat up or tromped in the house with muddy boots or left the milk sitting on the counter for half a day or almost succeeded in setting the kitchen on fire, so I had no idea what I'd done. It seemed like something serious by the tone of her voice. Hilde never looked so grave--usually she was always smiling.

I looked at her round face as it stared back at me, guilt still prominent on her features. I waited for her to speak in silence, wondering how she could seem so stern yet so culpable at the same time.

Hilde smoothed one side of her hair nervously. "Um, after I got off the phone with you earlier, I received another call. It was from Shizuo."

I immediately bristled, almost unconsciously, one hand clenching at my side. Hilde didn't miss it. She just misinterpreted it.

"I know, I know, I asked if we could go to the circus tonight," she went on, looking away from me. "But he asked me out to The Grand Stand and he did it in such a way that I couldn't refuse--"

"The Grand Stand?" I blurted out.

Hilde nodded, shifting her weight uncomfortably. "I know. It's the most expensive restaurant in town. And I figured, you know, since we did suck him dry of parts, and they were really valuable parts at that, that maybe I sorta…owed it to him." Hilde turned back to the mirror, seeing the reflection of my frowning face in it. "It's only casual."

From the looks of her, the description furthest from my mind would definitely have been the word casual. But that wasn't what bothered me. It wasn't the fact that I wouldn't get to see Trowa or the circus tonight. It wasn't even the fact that Hilde had accepted the date and broke our plans before telling me. It wasn't even half the fact that Hilde was so dressed up to go out with Shizuo. It was the fact that that slimebucket chose to ignore my warning earlier, and like the conceited ass that he was, he deliberately crossed my line and made a move for Hilde. And she didn't owe him crap. He made the deal. He said free parts, meaning without return payment, and that's what we got. Only Hilde didn't see it that way because he somehow twisted his words in with that sickening pretty boy attitude he had, convincing her that this would make everything even now, as if it already wasn't. She said it herself. He did it in such a way that I couldn't refuse…

I composed myself and unclenched my hand. "Okay," I replied. Hilde didn't know how much I despised that jackass, but this was not the time to tell her. I didn't want to put a damper on her night; I had no right to. She deserved to get out of the house since she'd been there all day. But so help me, if anything happened to her…

Let me explain. This restaurant, The Grand Stand, should have been named One Night Stand. Yes, it was fancy and delightful and had great food and everyone who had money adored eating there, but it was seriously a pickup restaurant for middle-aged men who sought the youth and attention of pretty girls in not-so-nice ways, if you catch my drift. Anyway, the point is, it was not a place a classy girl like Hilde should eat, even though the restaurant was reminiscent of royalty. She was not somebody's cheap girl of the night. She had real feelings and demanded respect.

Which, right then, I tried to give her. It was her call. If she wanted to go out and eat a meal with Shizuo, technically I couldn't stop her. There was nothing I could do and she seemed pretty settled about it anyway. Besides, she promised that it was only casual, right?

"Duo?" I looked at her face as she turned to me again. "Are you mad because we're not going to the circus tonight?"

I shook my head. "Naw," I told her, waving my hand. "It'll be here for another couple of days, so we'll go tomorrow or something, okay?"

Hilde stepped up close to me and I caught a whiff of her perfume. It resembled the scent of the honeysuckle bushes in our backyard. "Are you sure?"

I grinned. "Sure I'm sure. You go. I'm gonna stay here and…catch the last tournaments of the Chinese National Ping-Pong team. They were really kicking major--"

Hilde laughed then and placed her hand over my mouth, a silent reminder for me to watch my language. It was a good-natured gesture, though, and from behind her hand, I laughed too, trying to let go of the sickening feeling in my stomach.

Then Hilde dropped her hand and stepped back to the mirror to apply what she called 'last-minute makeup'. I watched as she smeared pinkish red sparkly lipgloss over her mouth, the aroma of snazzy raspberries filling the room.

To distract myself, I turned away from the sight of her and lifted her black knitted shawl off the hook by the door. Then I walked behind her and opened it up, draping it gently around her creamy-colored shoulders. She looked up in the mirror and smiled at me, pulling the soft material closer around her. I smiled back at her reflection, glued to the spot where I was standing behind her with my hands on her shoulders. It was dead silent as we gazed at each other, both with small grins on our faces.

Right now

face-to-face

all my fears pushed aside

Right now

I'm ready to spend the rest of my life

with you

Then,

"You know," Hilde said softly, "that that actually means why?"

"What does?" I responded, just as softly.

Hilde giggled. "Wherefore," she clarified. "It really means why, not where."

Suddenly, before I could reply, a horn honked loudly from outside and it jarred us out of our small conversation. Hilde let out a cry and I stepped back so she could get out of the bathroom.

"That's Shizuo! I've gotta go. Bye, Duo! See you later tonight!"

I listened as her voice floated down the hall, calling farewell, and then the front door opened and closed. I heard the sound of the car as it pulled out of the driveway and drove away with Hilde tucked safely inside. I was left alone in the empty bathroom with the fragrance of her perfume mixing with her lipgloss, her voice ringing in my ears.

He didn't even bother coming to the door?

Coward. Yep, that's right. You shouldn't mess with the God of Death, especially after you've already pissed him off. Not that that was a viable excuse or anything. In my book, it definitely wasn't. Little pansy-ass…remind me to plan something evil to do to him.

*

Crickets were chirping outside the opened kitchen window. The breeze whistled past, ruffling the silk curtains. The lights in the house had been off since Hilde left hours ago. The TV was still blazing away, an infomercial printed across the screen, the sound muted. The clock on the wall emitted a low, melodious ticking sound, steadier than a heartbeat. I lay sprawled on the couch, one leg hanging off the cushions, my foot lightly grazing the living room carpet. On my stomach was an old magazine and in my hand was a half-filled glass of water, still temporarily clutched within my loosened fingers. My head lay half turned into a thick pillow, on which I was in danger of drooling. I was dozing comfortably, not only physically but also mentally tired from the day's events, and all was still.

Until I felt it. The cool skin of a hand that decidedly wasn't my own, brushing over my forehead, dusting bangs off my skin. I sat up with a jerk and my eyes burst open, sending my magazine fluttering to the floor and overturning my half-filled glass. I cried out in surprise as the water soaked through my shirt, and that's when I heard Hilde's amused giggle. I looked up from my wet stomach at her.

She leaned one elbow against the couch cushion and smiled up at me. "Hi," she said. "I didn't mean to scare you."

I rubbed my eyes clear of sleep and shook my head. "That's what I get for sleeping with a glass of water," I told her. "Remind me not to do it again."

"How was the Ping-Pong Championship?" Hilde's smile widened.

I grinned sheepishly. "China won by a mile."

Hilde sat up straight then, her legs curled underneath her where she sat on the floor. Her grin dropped from her face. "You mean you were actually watching a tournament?" she asked incredulously.

"Yeah," I responded, nodding. "You think I was lying?"

"I thought you were joking," Hilde answered.

I nodded my head. "Oh. I seem to do that a lot, huh?"

Hilde stood on her knees. "That's one of the things that you do best."

"Oh, I just use my gifts as best I can," I explained smugly, flipping bangs out of my eyes.

"Hmm." Hilde nodded in mock agreement. "So I see." She stood up then, allowing me another full glimpse of her stunning ensemble, from her hair to her necklace to that dress to the stockings and right down to the shoes. Despite the cold water that drenched my shirt, I still felt hot. Almost like I had a fever. It didn't help when one side of her shawl chose that moment to slide down her arm, revealing lightly bronzed skin beneath. I closed my eyes briefly, her image stamped onto my mind. Then I looked down to my shirt and sighing, stood up next to Hilde.

"I guess I better go change," I suggested out loud. I headed down the hall towards my bedroom, Hilde tagging along behind. I figured she would keep walking right on down the hall and drop off into her room. It was pretty late and she was probably tired, like me. We'd been working really hard these past couple weeks. I thought we needed a vacation, but Hilde didn't want to stop. It was a lucky streak, she insisted. Deals kept popping up and cash kept flowing in. You can't break a lucky streak, Duo.

I stepped into my room, and not bothering to close the door behind me, began undoing the buttons to my soaked shirt. I pulled the tails out of the waistband of my pants and slid the wet garment off, a faint smile tracing over my lips. Hilde was always on the mark when it came to business.

"Here, I'll put that into the dryer for you."

I nearly jumped out of my skin at her voice as she appeared by my side. I snapped my head in her direction, fisting my shirt tightly in my hands.

"Holy--"

Hilde advanced and clapped a hand over my mouth in an instant. I stared at her, feeling my heart beating wildly in my chest. She let go a second after, wide eyes staring back up at me.

"…crap, Hilde," I finished pointedly. "You scared me."

She smiled and took the shirt out of my hands. "Sorry. Didn't mean to. You're awfully jumpy tonight, Duo."

How could I not be, with her parading around in an outfit like that? It rattled my bones and made my knees weak. She honestly did not know how special she really was, and that just made it all the better. Life doesn't get any more grand when you've found someone who's really clueless about how awesome they are.

She grinned at me again and I turned to witness her exit. Graceful and elegant like she had always been. I felt like I was sweating bullets.

Or perhaps that was just the leftover water that was still sliding down my chest. I didn't know. I just mopped myself off and threw on some pajamas. I needed a healthy dose of restful sleep and my bed was practically screaming my name. I wasted no time in padding softly over to it and climbing onto the mattress, feeling the delightful mound of blankets beneath my knees. Nothin' like the comfort of your own bed when you're craving sleep!

Just then, Hilde walked back in, as I was crawling under the covers and nestling into my pillow. She had slipped out of her heels and removed her shawl, but otherwise she was still dressed. Ah, don't take that the wrong way. I had absolutely no complaints. She gleamed glory.

Hilde sat on the edge of my mattress and looked at me thoughtfully for a few minutes. I stared back at her, wondering what she could possibly be thinking about.

Would you look at her as she looks at me

she's got me thinking about her constantly

but she don't know how I feel

Finally, I had to ask. "Hilde? What're ya thinking about?"

She shook her head slightly, grinning. "Nothing in particular," she responded. I knew it was the truth. Hilde never lied, especially about her innermost thoughts. We'd agreed right away to always express to each other just what was on our minds, the day we'd settled on a house together. You couldn't live with someone you couldn't talk with. And usually our worries were just business concerns. Like I said before, Hilde didn't dwell on trivial things. She usually blew them off like I did.

I dared to climb out on a limb then, opening my mouth and asking the question I had been dreading since she arrived home. "How was your date?" It was all I could do not to clench my jaw at the thought of Lavender Locks all dolled up for a nice dinner. I still wanted to punch him, now more than ever. Unfortunately, I didn't think I'd ever get the chance.

Hilde nodded, then beamed at me. "It was good. Great, in fact."

I raised my eyebrows and nodded, feeling my heart sink. That wasn't what I wanted to hear, but I wasn't about to let Hilde know. She deserved happiness, and if her evening was great, I was not about to be the one to step all over it. I wanted the image of her date to be perfect in her mind for as long as she would remember it.

I changed the subject then--the mental pictures of Shizuo were starting to make my teeth itch and my flesh crawl. "How's your side?"

Hilde placed a hand on her hip carefully, then let loose with a laugh. "I actually forgot about it," she replied. "It stopped hurting early this morning after we left the doctor's office."

"That's good," I agreed. "It should heal quickly then."

"Yeah…" Hilde trailed off as she glanced up at the wall behind my bed. I lay still, just watching her, but then was completely taken by surprise as she leaned over the mattress and tenaciously pressed her lips to my forehead.

"Good-night, Duo," she whispered, her warm breath breezing over my face. It smelled of fancy dinner mints, spearmint and cherry and some other artificial fruit flavor. Maybe orange.

I grinned up at her. "Good-night, Hilde."

She patted my shoulder and lifted herself from my bed. I watched as she sashayed from the room, her perfume lagging behind her, and pulled the door closed. Then I flipped onto my stomach, buried my head under my pillow, and tried desperately to swallow my pounding heart. Who knows how it ended up in my throat to begin with.

One thing was for certain though: Hilde had never done that before. It was a pleasant shock I wouldn't mind receiving every now and then.

* * *

"Duo, how about lunch in the yard?"

I looked over at Hilde from where I stood at the counter pouring glasses of milk. She was sitting at the table, putting the finishing touches on her famous double-decker peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, looking up at me with a hopeful expression.

I shrugged and returned the milk to the refrigerator, then snatched our glasses up and faced her. She stood, balancing a plateful of food in each hand. "Sure," I agreed. "Sounds good to me."

"Yay!" Hilde let out a triumphant cry and I followed her out the back door to the picnic table. I must say myself, that even though I wasn't a natural-born carpenter or handyman, the table I had fashioned for our backyard looked pretty damn good. It wasn't lopsided or warped or anything, and the benches were smooth and comfortable to sit at. Which is what Hilde and I did just then, digging into our lunch together.

It was silent for a few minutes. Then Hilde spoke up.

"Beautiful weather we've been having."

I chewed my sandwich and nodded silently in agreement.

"We're gonna make a lotta money from those new parts we gained."

I tried not to choke as the image of Shizuo flooded my mind. I nodded again.

"The circus is performing tonight."

I nodded again, still chewing. Hilde took a sip of her milk, sighing through her nose. "You're mad, aren't you?"

I pushed my empty plate aside and eyed her curiously. "What makes you think that?" I responded, keeping my voice neutral. I wasn't going to get a bug up the ass about Hilde's night out yesterday right now. It wasn't any of my business anymore.

Hilde pushed her plate away as well. "Can I tell you something, Duo?"

I nodded. "You know you can."

"Okay." Hilde tucked one side of her hair behind her ear and leaned forward onto the table, placing one hand over the other. She looked at me in earnest. "Last night, I had a really good time. I think the date was great, it really was. The restaurant was beautiful and the food was delicious and Shizuo…well, that boy really knew how to charm."

I resisted the incredible urge to retch, forcing my stomach to stay in place. Poor Hilde…she was just catching onto this? Can't blame her, though. She's not male, therefore she's not tuned into these kinds of things. But I couldn't stand it…that condescending air Shizuo had about him.

"Anyway," Hilde continued, breaking through my thoughts, "halfway through the night I learned that he wasn't just charming to me. The waitress, the woman at the table next to us…he practically had the whole room in the palm of his hand. The attention we got was ravishing. It was like we were celebrities."

I slumped onto the table, one elbow resting against the wood. I held my head up with my hand, wondering where in the hell Hilde was going with this. I doubt it was just to rub it in my face. Hilde wasn't that type of girl, so I let her continue even though my stomach was doing jumping jacks. If only she knew how I felt...

"Shizuo talked and talked throughout the whole night…about business, the weather, politics, the war…anything and everything…he babbled on and on and on…and he made me realize something, Duo. Something that I think is kind of important."

I sighed lightly, trying not to sound disrespectful. "What's that?" I asked, expecting the worst. If Hilde told me she had desperately fallen in love with him last night, I was going to whip out a noose and hang myself in two seconds flat. I couldn't bear the thought of her spending the rest of her life with him.

Hilde reached across the table then and curled her hand around my bent arm, by my elbow. She smiled brightly at me. "He made me realize that I was there…in the restaurant…entirely with the wrong person." She lowered her head to the table, a smile sliding across her face.

I blinked at the portion of space in front of me, where her face had just been. What in blue blazes did she just say?

"Duo?" Hilde's voice was soft as it floated up from the wooden table.

"Oh…ahh…uh-huh, I'm listenin', Hilde."

Great answer, bonehead.

I shook my head, rubbing my face with my free hand. "Wait, you lost me," I started over. "What do you mean?" I dropped my hand and turned my face down to her, waiting for her to explain. If she didn't, I was going to explode, no doubt about that.

Hilde giggled. "I just sat and listened to him talk. He was so grave. So proper. Always with the napkin in his lap. Always with a fake smile on his face. He literally rambled for hours. And I realized that while I didn't mind listening to his relentless chatter, I was wishing that he wasn't the one with me. I was trying to turn him into you."

"Huh?" Now I was definitely confused, although it made sense. If she was just catching onto his behavior now, I could see why she'd want him to change. Even Duo Maxwell, former thief and homeless orphan, had self-respect and dignity. I knew how to treat women properly, not take advantage of them and cater to my own needs simultaneously.

Hilde laughed again, her fingers holding tighter to my elbow. "I was waiting to hear some wise-crack about the waitress's weird accent. Or see Shizuo pick up his eating utensils and bang a rhythm on the table with them. I was waiting for the waitress's befuddled look when we both rambled out horrendously mispronounced versions of the French menu to order our food. I was waiting for my napkin to disappear and then suddenly pop up onto the table in front of me in the shape of a swan." Hilde paused, her words making my face heat up. So what if I liked origami? It was even better when you had those thick cloth napkins to fool with. The creations came out more life-like with them. And I'd have to be forgiven for my terrible French. I never studied the language, so what did she expect? I always tried my best at it.

"Duo." Hilde tugged on my arm and I focused my vision sharply on her face. Her expression was one of need, like if she didn't get this off her chest she would collapse in despair. "I was waiting for you," she spoke slowly. "I wanted you to be the one there with me, not Shizuo."

Now how do I respond to that? Her meaning was crystal clear and all of a sudden I didn't know how to react to it.

A thoughtful look came over Hilde's face then. "Now that I think about it, Shizuo did sort of act like he had a pole—"

Abruptly, the answer I sought was easy. I doubled over laughing, clutching at my stomach. Hilde watched me in amazement, still caught within her musing.

That's my girl. Always on the ball. And what she had just told me? They were the sweetest words I had ever heard in all my life.

And she carries on without a doubt

I wonder if she's figured out

I'm crazy for this girl…

*

"Sooo…how does it feel?" I asked Hilde as we walked out of the hospital building together.

Hilde slid her arm around my waist as we headed towards the car, where it was parked in the lot in front of us. "I feel great," she proclaimed. "No more stitches." She looked up at me and grinned, the sunlight making her hair shine.

I smiled back, throwing my arm around her shoulders. We walked in silence for a moment, the only sound coming from the gravel that was crunching beneath our shoes. Then I perked up.

"Hey, Hilde, I've been wondering about something."

"What's that, Duo?" She was completely innocent in her reply, so I continued.

"How come the number eleven isn't pronounced 'onety-one'?"

Hilde looked up at me, trying to conceal her smile, then reached up with her free hand and slapped my chest in mock annoyance. "Baka," she said. "Don't start with those questions again."

"No, but really!" I defended myself. "If a cow laughed, would milk come out her nose?"

"Duo!" Hilde shouted, but she was beginning to laugh.

"What?" I asked, shrugging. I let out a laugh too as we reached the car. Hilde stood by the driver's side door with me, her arm still hooked around my waist. I wasn't about to give up. "If olive oil comes from olives, what does baby oil come from?"

"Duo--"

"What?" I turned my head and looked down at her, grinning devilishly. Her next words momentarily caught me offguard.

"Shut up and kiss me--we've got a circus performance to attend."

Now I told you before, I can't deny her. So I didn't. I seized Hilde and wrapped her tightly in my embrace, pulling her body up against mine. Then I promptly set about giving her the kiss of a lifetime. It was likely one she would never forget, as we stood by the driver's side door in the parking lot of the hospital, the sun shining happily down on us.

And the circus? It couldn't have been better. Halfway through the show Hilde noticed her program was missing. It returned fifteen minutes later, as a large paper swan plunked itself contentedly in her lap. The smile on her face would have lit up even the darkest recesses of cold, empty space. If there was anything that I would carry with me till the end of my days, it would most definitely be that grin.

I couldn't help it--it was Hilde. And now, she was mine.

Heh. Evil enough for ya, Shizuo? Oh, well…just Duo Maxwell, kicking ass and taking names…and finally getting the girl.

Yeah, I'm crazy for this girl…