To whom should I disclaim? I answer to no one but my God and my country and my cat. And I don't own a cat anymore. But in case I have to answer to lawyers, Gundam Wing and its recognizable characters do not belong to me.
A.N. What can I say. One-shots are easy, concise, and complete. Chaptered stories and series require time and organized thought, stuff that gets boring quick. The first line of this fic came to me and it just went from there. Sappy? I know, I can't seem to get away from that. I'm not even a huge fan of the stuff. I prefer stuff to be "real." But if you can't have a happy ending in a written piece of fiction, where can you get it? Just who loves ya, huh?
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Just a KissIt started with a kiss.
And though, generally, Duo Maxwell was a guy who liked getting kissed by cute girls, this kiss kind of . . . well, freaked him out. This kiss was completely different from any other kind of kisses he'd received. This was a deep kiss.
Not literally. Actually, it was a short, sweet, little peck on the lips. But still. This kiss required thought and analysis. This kiss was a gateway to growth and change, which invited confusion, uncertainty, and insecurity. This was a freaky kiss. Not literally, though.
It happened on the day he'd left for yet another salvage run. There were some areas of space that still had junk floating around, so from time to time, the Sweepers would run out and collect. Duo ran a salvage yard with his assistant Hilde Schbeiker, so it was good for business. Usually, the runs were a couple of months long. Duo would leave Hilde in charge of the business (she did most of the office work, anyways) and they'd go over last minute instructions before he left.
So it happened on that day. Hilde was running behind Duo in the house, waving her little pad around, saying something about a growing demand for some type of metal. Duo half listened to her, more intent on making sure he'd packed all the necessities. He'd nodded when her tone called for an answer, then turned to her to say goodbye and end her prattle. She took the hint and quieted. They hugged for a brief moment and she instructed him to take care. Then, she lifted her face and pressed a soft kiss on him.
Before he could recover, Duo was on the porch staring at the front of the door.
What the hell was that?
Which was where he was a month later: confused, uncertain, and insecure. The run had been cut short due to a mechanical error with one of the shuttles. While the others were whooping with delight at having a respite from sifting through space junk, Duo dreaded returning to the dilemma he'd left, Hilde and her evil kiss. If anyone mentioned on the trip that Duo was preoccupied during the run, it didn't surprise him. His mind was often on Hilde's little farewell present. How was he supposed to react to that? When did they get on "kiss goodbye" terms? He didn't want to be on kiss-goodbye terms. Did he? This just changed everything. Not that change was bad, changing was healthy, but this was just . . . too fast, too . . . something. And for Hilde to just casually land that bad boy on him like that – well, she was out of line. You don't just kiss a person without discussing it and its possible repercussions first. Well, Hilde shouldn't, at least. Not to her best friend. Not to Duo.
What was he supposed to do when he got home? He hoped she didn't expect a "welcome home!" kiss, because he didn't think he was up to that. Yeah, it was a short sweep, but he was tired and trying to kiss somebody would just zap all his strength. Furthermore, they weren't on welcome-home-kissing terms, so she could just forget about it. They weren't on kiss-goodbye terms either, though, and she decided to just throw that out the window.
Duo continued to develop excuses, walking through the motions of unpacking their loot, weighing and evaluating the junk they'd collected. He selected a few pieces he wanted for his junkyard, not caring that what he took was even junkier than usual and worthless. His feet were heavier than his load as he unpacked his truck into the warehouse he shared with Hilde. He entered the house from the garage door that lead into the kitchen. He thought to avoid her in case she was waiting for him by the front door. If he was lucky, she wouldn't know he was home until days later.
Hilde looked up from the book she was reading, seated at the kitchen table. Her eyes lit up and a smile spread across her small face when she saw him. "You're home early!"
Duo didn't move. "Yeah."
"Are you okay? You're looking a little sick. Was it a bad run?" She slid out of her chair and approached him.
Not sick, just apprehensive. Duo swallowed and made a lame attempt to laugh and shrug away her comforting hand. "I'm fine. The run wasn't that great, but I got some things."
"Well, let's see!"
Why was she so bubbly? How could she be so happy? Did she not remember that a month ago when he was leaving to go, she sent him off with a hug and a kiss? She was acting as though it hadn't happened! Wait a minute, isn't that what he wanted? Changes, confusion, uncertainty. Kisses did it every time. "Actually, I'm tired, Hilde. I put the junk on one of the workstations, though, you can look through it if you like. Add it to inventory, whatever."
Well, if she wasn't worried before, she certainly was now. "You aren't hungry? I can make you some soup, if you'll like."
"No." She followed him around the living room, down the hall, into his room. She rarely invaded his private space like this. When he flopped into bed, she immediately tackled his boots, struggling to remove the heavy togs. Duo buried his face into his pillows and tried his best to convince himself that her kind acts were not related to the Goodbye Kiss. When she tugged his blanket from underneath him to cover his legs with it, he turned over, ready to confront her.
He never got the chance, Hilde sat down at his side and felt his forehead. "Are you sick?" She pulled at his skin, checked his eyes, cheeks, and mouth. "Maybe you caught something from one of those sweepers."
"I'm fine!" If he sounded a bit anxious, it wasn't completely his fault. She was being very . . . matronly? No, that was how she acted regularly. This was different. Her hands drifted from his face at his pronouncement and landed on his chest. Her eyebrows rose in silent question. "I'm just tired. I didn't sleep much on the trip. I was excited, I guess." And it wasn't exactly a lie. He had been excited. Just not as much as he was worried.
She smiled then, pacified. "Well, I'll put something on the stove for you and even if you don't eat it, I'll wrap it up and put it in the fridge for you. Okay?" He nodded his acquiescence and she nodded back. Then she leaned forward and dropped another one of her evil little kisses on his lips and flounced out the room. Yes, she flounced. He was sure she was doing this on purpose to him. It was part of her plan to turn him crazy and steal the business. Or maybe this was really all part of an elaborate plan to reestablish OZ by taking out a former gundam pilot.
Sleep came slowly and was filled of nightmares. Nightmares where Duo and Hilde made out like bunnies on their couch and everything was okey dokey, peachy keen. Duo awoke in sweat and with renewed resolve to get to the bottom of this kissing thing.
The next day was as good as any other. Hilde spent the day in the office, renewing inventory ("Junk, Duo, why did you bring this stuff home?") and then in the kitchen, cooking ("I don't even need to ask, but how does steak sound tonight?"). After she left to run some errands, Duo set up the couch for a roommates' meeting. He turned off all distractions, unplugging the TV to be sure. He didn't need any reason not to confront the matter and was sure he'd try anything. The topic was a bit . . . embarrassing.
Hilde walked in, noticed Duo in the living room, and came to join him. "Are you through for the day?"
Duo scratched his head, trying to gather his thoughts. "Yeah, mostly. Um, we need to talk."
He laughed softly, sheepishly, but she could see that he was serious. So, she took a seat near him on the couch, barely noted that he moved slightly away when she sat. "What's wrong?"
He opened his mouth to speak, but no sounds came out. He sighed and Hilde placed a hand on his to help him through it. He stared at their joined hands and found his courage. "This."
Her eyes widened in confusion and she glanced around the room, trying to see if the walls would give her a clue. "This what?"
He raised their hands. "This. What's this?"
"Those would be hands. Most healthy babies are born with two."
"Not joined to another's," he sneered, burned by her sarcasm.
"Oh." She pulled her hand away slowly. Duo faltered, wondering if he was approaching from the wrong angle.
"I mean, it was okay, I guess." She raised one brow, the expression urged him to expound. "I mean, I'm just saying . . . when did this start?"
"What?" She refrained from adding that he was making no sense. He knew that.
"You know holding hands and . . . uh, um . . . kissing," he finished in a mumble. He avoided her eyes and waited for her answer to fill the uncomfortable silence. Only when that answer wasn't forthcoming did he look up.
Hilde was smiling, but the smile wasn't entirely mocking. She shook her head and leaned forward to catch his face between her hands. Duo looked at her in shock. What was she doing? Her hands were cold.
"Was it bad?"
"Huh?"
"The kisses, were they bad?"
He pulled away, caught her hands between his own. "That's not the point, Hilde."
"There's a point?" She was joking! This was a serious thing and here she was joking. He frowned.
"You can't just go around kissing guys, Hilde."
"I didn't. I kissed you, Duo, and I've known you for quite a long time."
"So why did you do it then? I mean, why then and not later . . . or before?" He hadn't meant to add that.
She shrugged. "Why not. There've been plenty of times to kiss you, where I've wanted to, but I didn't. That was as good a time as any other. Did you not want me to kiss you?"
"I didn't have a choice!"
"Have you never thought about it?" Ha! She sounded confused, insecure, and uncertain. Good.
"Well, now I do! What, with you attacking me with kisses left and right –"
"I only kissed you twice! It's not that big a deal." She shrugged one shoulder and rolled her eyes in a dismissive attitude.
"It is so, everything has changed!"
"What has changed? I still do the bookwork and you still play with the shiny machines," she mocked. "I still fix the big meals and we still have fun times. I don't act any differently, I don't say anything different, and I don't dress any differently."
"You do too!" He leapt on her last comment, finding a possible complaint. "Especially the things you wear to sleep!"
"It's the same things I've always worn, Duo Maxwell!" She forced that out from clenched teeth. Her temper was bubbling under the surface.
"Yeah, but before they were just pajamas. Now, they're these tiny little cotton contraptions of seduction!" He indicated the size of her sleepwear with forefinger and thumb.
"Are you saying," she raised to her knees, facing him on the couch. Her chest heaved with suppressed emotion and her eyes narrowed dangerously. "Are you saying that you didn't see me as a feminine, sexual woman until I forced you to with my, my, my 'attacks of kisses'?"
"No!" He didn't know where the conversation went so wrong, but it had. "I'm saying that . . ." She waited. He sighed. "I'm saying that I could see you that way before, but it was okay, because I kept it to myself. But now you're bringing it all out in the open – and what happens to us now, Hilde?"
She smiled, settled back down to the couch, everything forgiven. Her hands grabbed his and placed them on her thighs. "The same thing that happens everyday. I do the bookwork; you play with the shiny machines. I cook and we have fun times. Some times more fun than others," she added with a wink. He could feel a smile creeping across his face in response.
"How much fun?" His hands stroked gently, chafing the outside of her thighs with sure movements. "And how soon?"
"As much as you can take."
"As much as I can take, or as much as you think I can take?" He was quick to make a distinction.
She mimicked his motions, sliding her hands up his thighs. He stiffened immediately and she laughed softly. Brushing a soft kiss against his lips, she answered, "Same thing."
Duo smiled, conceding defeat, then decided to make his own attack. Sliding his hands up to a safe area of her waist, he pulled her close for a deep kiss. Literally.