As always, I must say that...Alas, I do NOT own Gundam Wing. *sniff sniff* ^ So nyah! No suing me! ^_~ The wonderful show belongs to *duh* it's respected creators!! *bows down* Thank you, you wonderful and overly gifted people. ^^
It took a while, but I got it done didn't I? Finally... The third chapter of 'The Need to Reminisce' is here for your reading pleasure! The next one? Ha! You know me! It'll probly be forever before I get it out. ;O) No, really, I'll get it out soon. Hopefully it'll be in the next two weeks. But I DO have other things to write on so it might be a little later. Plus school factors in..*sigh* ick...
So, anyway, enjoy what's here for now!
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The Need to Reminisce: prt 3
"Duo..." Hilde lay her head on the arm of the couch and closed her eyes. Oh how badly she wanted to talk to Duo, to see him... but he obviously wasn't home at the moment.
It had been so long since she'd last seen him. Geez, when WAS the last time she'd seen him? Or talked to him? She was always so wrapped up in work that she just didn't have time to worry about anything. As hard as it was to believe it herself, she hadn't worried about not seeing Duo at all...
Hilde's eyes opened and then went wide as they fell upon the digital clock sitting on the coffee table in front of her. It dimly blinked a dreary 2:00 am.
"Sheez, I'd really better get some sleep now if I wanna get up by 9:00am."
A soft and tired sigh escaped her lips as she brought her knees up to her chest, curling up into a comfortable position. There was no way she would sleep in her own bed tonight...No way in Hell...and who could blame her?
"Damn it..." Hilde choked back threatening tears as she squeezed her eyes shut tightly. "How could...How could that happen...Damn you Todd..."
For a few minutes, she let her mind wander aimlessly as she struggled to keep her tears back. Things about Duo, work, and the sickening incident that had just taken place all flashed across her mind. After a while she decided she'd at least try to ease her mind to sleep with a comforting thought.
She would call Duo tomorrow.
Yes... Surely, he'd be there by then.
Hey, better yet, she'd pay him a little visit.
Wow, a visit. Hilde couldn't believe the thought had popped up and had stuck. She'd thought of it before, but never actually considered it seriously. This time it was different, though. This time, Duo was in for a really big surprise...
The thought should've kept her up longer. It had definitely brightened her mood, but sleep had to come at some point. Although she now almost felt like bouncing off the walls, her eyes were sleepily drooping with protest against her heart's own wishes. So she followed the 'sensible' route, and took her brain's advice...
Sleep finally embraced Hilde as she clutched tightly onto a comforting couch pillow.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Damn you, Maxwell!!" Cathy threw the huge pile of cards she'd been holding at Duo.
"Hey, hey, I can't help it if I'm better at 'Go Fish' than you are!" A wide smile played upon Duo's lips as he crawled from his position on the floor and inched over to Cathy. "Hey, don't hate me cuz I'm good, Beautiful."
He always did that after she lost a game, gave her that face to sweeten her up a little. Gave her that damned cute smirk and then called her 'Beautiful'. It was all an act though, just to get her to play another game so he could beat her ass yet again.
Cathy smiled right back and rolled her eyes. "I'll hate you as much as I want, you little shit! Your little act is NOT working this time..." She pushed him over when she saw that his smile hadn't faded..
"Aww, come on!! Lemme beat you at ONE more game, please?" Duo held himself up on his elbows and looked up at Cathy coyly, batting his eyelashes.
"Hey, listen. I didn't let you come over here THIS late at night just to beat my ass a million times at card games. I let you come over here because you couldn't sleep..." Cathy pushed him out of her way as she crawled over to the scattered cards.
"I'm sorry.." Duo stood up only to flop down onto an armchair behind him. "Cathy, I really am grateful. Thanks a lot for letting me come over... I just couldn't get to sleep at all. I keep thinking about her. Damn, why wasn't it like this a few weeks ago?!" He leaned forward and put his face in his hands. "Damn it..."
"Hey, Duo, I didn't mean it THAT way. About you coming over here so late? Pah! You're not bothering me in the least...and, about Hilde..." Cathy turned and faced him after she'd gathered all the cards together. She cleared her throat and knelt next to his chair. "...Duo, it's just that you had bottled up those feelings... Afterwards, they just happened to be good at keeping themselves hidden. Even from you, Duo. Shit, you did it for so long when you lived with her. Why wouldn't they just stay bottled up until someone actually reintroduced them to you again?"
Duo finally lifted his head from his hands and grabbed Cathy's.
Cathy smiled as he engulfed her hands with his own.
"Thank you." He brought her hands closer to his lips and kissed them gently. "For everything."
"You're welcome..." Cathy rose to her feet and turned to leave the room. She smirked and muttered loudly, "..little bastard..."
Duo quickly got up from the seat and romped after her as she ran, laughing, toward her bedroom. "Get back here, Cathy!! I swear, I'll get you for that one!" He smiled when he found that he had her cornered.
"Hey, you better leave me alone, Duo, or else no warm couch for you! You'll be sleeping on my front doorstep!!" Cathy's eyes darted around the room. She might still have to find an exit...
"That's blackmail!! No fair!" Duo slumped his shoulders in defeat.
"Ha! All is fair in love and war ...You should know that." Cathy inched cautiously over to the linen closet and quickly grabbed a few sheets.
Duo gave his goofy lop-sided smirk as she threw the pile of sheets at him. "Of course I do. I WAS a gundam pilot, was I not?" he muffled.
"Yeah, yeah Wonderboy... Now go make your bed on the COUCH. You need all the rest you can get before traveling to see your lady love. All your stuttering tomorrow is going to make you tired, believe me." Cathy waved him off as she slipped into her bedroom. "G'night, Duo."
"Night, Cathy." Duo gathered the sheets into a ball and traveled back to the living room to make his bed. "stuttering....yeah right... The god of Death does NOT stutter!"
"GO to SLEEP DUO!" Cathy yelled from her room.
"Yeah yeah..."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Oh, Geez." Hilde lightly bounced her knees and vigorously rubbed her arms for warmth as she watched her breath turn to a tiny cloud of condensation.
She could swear that it was 20 degrees colder in the city than it was in the outskirts of town, and sitting on a bench in the middle of 4th street with nothing on but a short sleeved shirt and a pair of thin blue jeans was not helping her get any warmer.
"Damn it, Duo. You told me to come visit whenever I liked... Did you give me wrong directions on purpose or what?" She pulled out a small piece of worn paper out of her pocket and sighed. These were the directions Duo had given when he'd left.. He had given them to her in hopes that she might come visit sometime, but now they were doing her no good. When she HAD tried to follow them, she'd ended up at the front doorstep of a very unpleasant and very overweight man. Hilde had thought she would faint right there when he opened the door. She'd practically fallen back when the horrid smell of must slammed into her face. She'd never seen so many fat rolls in her life! Not to mention how many food stains that donned his 'muscle shirt'.
She'd thought that muscle shirts were sexy on men, once upon a time. Now, no one could possibly convince her otherwise. Hilde shook her head as if she could shake the image from her mind physically. "Lord, I'm glad I got away from that..."
Well, she sighed, Duo had obviously written something down wrong...either that or she was weakening in her ability to read the chicken scratch that he called 'writing'. He HAD been gone for a long time and she'd not seen his writing in over a year. He'd only written her one letter after he left, and that was it. The rest were either phone calls or e-mails... and she rarely even got those.
Hilde raised her head and spotted two teen girls as they passed, giggling and pointing rather obviously at her. She forced a big smile and rose slowly to her feet. So what if she looked ridiculous wearing these 'summer' clothes... How was she supposed to know that it would be so damned cold here? Especially when it had been a perfect 80 degrees back at her place!
"Oh-freaking-well..." She stuffed the tiny piece of paper back into her pocket and made her way across the street. If she was going to figure out where Duo lived, she was at least going to be warm while she did it.
There'd be a phone in the inviting little coffee shop she'd spotted on the street corner... She'd just call him up and surprise him that way. Hell, the directions surely weren't going to get her anywhere she wanted to be. She wasn't about to guess and get another wrong apartment. Not after what had happened last time. Definitely not after that...
The jingling of the doorbell pleasantly filled Hilde's ears as she entered the shop. Aromas of spicy cinnamon, strong mocha, and hints of vanilla filled her up as the warmth in the room pleasingly embraced her. It felt even better than she thought it would. And the smells...she hadn't even imagined how great those would be. Much better than that stink infested blob of a ma--
"Hello Miss. May I help you?" A bright eyed woman politely chimed as she walked toward the counter, interrupting Hilde's thoughts.
"O-oh, yes. Thank you. Could I possibly get a hot flavored coffee?"
"Yes, of course. What kind did you have in mind?"
"Well, I suppose the..." Hilde hesitated as she glanced at the menu above the counter. "Hmm...The cinnamon-mocha would do fine I think." she happily chirped. "Oh, and I wanted to ask you if you had a phone I could possibly use.. Just for a moment."
The auburn-haired girl nodded and flashed a bright smile as she bent behind the counter. Hilde smiled back as the girl came back up with a phone and placed onto the counter. "Thanks."
"I'll be right back with your coffee. You could sit down if you like. I'm almost on break anyway, so I'll bring it to you after it's fixed. I've got to make a new batch..."
Hilde nodded as she dialed the number and mouthed another thank you.
She let it ring for what like seemed forever. No one ever picked up. "Shit...Now I remember why I never call you..."
Hilde set the phone back down and pushed it away sadly. "Simply hopeless.."
She picked up a small red coffee straw from a cup on the counter, walked over to a table next to the display window, and sat down.
Looking at all the busy people walk by hurriedly made her feel a little worthless. SHE could be at home right about now, doing work...getting caught up.
Wait, what the hell was she talking about?! She started chewing on the straw as she watched more people pass.
"What AM I talking about?!" she thought to herself...She was certainly way ahead of schedule in her duties. Finally, she decides to take a break and she is STILL thinking about nothing but work? Duo had been right. She was a workaholic..
This was supposed to be a vacation. A nice little time away from work, from home, and from all the stress. She was supposed to be spending this with Duo. The one that she couldn't get her mind off of, the one that filled her heart with unbelievable happiness every time she remembered his smile...the one who wasn't HOME at the moment...
Hilde growled as she angrily tore the straw from her mouth. She looked down at the half she'd successfully pulled from her teeth and softened her expression. Mad was not what she wanted to be right now. It was just that she'd come so far, finally. Finally gathered up enough of her strength to even seriously think about visiting him...and now he just wasn't there. She guessed she should've called first before even leaving the house. Of course, any sensible person would have. Why didn't she?
She decided not to answer her own question, already knowing the obvious answer anyway... She was a ditz when it came to making 'reunions' and that was that. Accepting it hadn't been too hard considering that she hadn't had many friends to make reunions with anyway...
Hilde hardly noticed when the girl finally came out and set the coffee onto the table. She probably wouldn't have noticed her at all if she hadn't spoken up.
"Hey, do you mind if I sit with you?" The tall girl looked down at her and smiled. "I promise, I don't bite...hard..."
"Yeah," Hilde laughed, "I don't mind. I need some company anyway." She looked up at the girl and reached over for her coffee.
Sipping it, she crossed her legs and leaned back into the chair.
"So, you look like you're new around here..." The girl slid a cigarette loosely between her lips and lit it up.
"How did you know that?" Hilde took another sip of her coffee before the girl answered.
"Well, it's kind of obvious." She said, taking another puff off the cigarette. "First of all you aren't dressed for this blustery weather at all..." The girl put her cigarette in the ashtray nearby and leaned back, blowing the smoke out the side of her lips. "So either you're new here... Or you're just plain crazy."
Hilde didn't take the comment to be an insult...in fact, it felt rather more like a compliment than anything else. She took another sip of her coffee.
"And I don't think you're crazy...So far, at least.." The girl picked up her cigarette and took another puff. "So there you have it. You're new here...not crazy.. I'm a regular Sherlock Holmes, no?" she blew the smoke out to the side.
Hilde chuckled. "Well, you're right..." She set her coffee cup down and smiled. "I got here just today. Traveled from the outskirts of town.."
"So what's your name?" The girl took the last puff of her cigarette and put it out in the ashtray.
"Hilde. And yours?"
"Wha--?" Not having the chance to blow out the excess smoke before being surprised, the girl choked on her words before she could get them all out.
Hilde quickly slid her chair from under the table and sprang over to the girl's chair. "Miss! Are you okay?!" she said, lightly patting the girl on the back.
The girl nodded, holding her chest and smiling in amusement. "Y-yeah...thanks. I'm sorry for scarin' ya, but I could've sworn I heard you say that your name was Hilde..."
Hilde looked puzzled as she locked eyes with the girl. "I did..."
The girl looked up at her wide eyed and still trying to catch her breath. "You did? Your name is Hilde?!" She finally caught her breath and politely pushed Hilde's hands away.
Hilde nodded. "Yes, it is. Are you sure you're okay?"
"Yeah, I'm better... thanks again." The girl eyed Hilde carefully as she went back to sit down. She leaned back in her chair and smiled. "But I have to make sure of something first before I'm totally okay..."
"Just make sure you don't choke on another cigarette and I'll agree..." Hilde picked up her coffee and held back an amused smile.
The girl smirked, hooking a stray piece of long auburn hair behind her ear. "Yeah, I promise. Anyway, before I'm so rude as to ask you personal questions, I should introduce myself." She said, extending her hand to shake Hilde's. "It's nice meeting you, Hilde. I'm Cathy."
"Cathy, hm?" She gave her hand a firm shake and went back to her coffee. "Well, it's nice meeting you too Cathy." Hilde took another sip of her coffee as she tried to make herself comfortable again.
"So you're name is Hilde, you came from the outskirts of town, and you have a business of your own? Actually, it's a partnership...with a guy, maybe?" Cathy looked down at the pack of cigarettes that lay on the table in front of her, debating on whether to light another one or not.
"Wait, I didn't say anything about a business...or a guy..." Hilde leaned forward and cocked an eyebrow suspiciously. "What, did I leave a business card out or something?"
"No, I don't think you did. Let's just say it was a good guess. I'm Sherlock, remember?" Cathy finally decided against the cigarette and chose a piece of gum instead. "Anyway, you're well known considering that you own a relatively large business that most of this town depends on. I just guessed that you were that specific Hilde. Plus, there aren't many other people named 'Hilde' in this town. Who else could it have been?" She looked up at Hilde, who looked moderately satisfied with the answer... "Besides, I know your friend, Duo..."
A look of worry flashed across Hilde's face as she stiffened in her chair. This girl was rather pretty...and she did have a rather great personality. She definitely reminded Hilde of someone Duo would fall for. "Y-you know him?"
Cathy popped the huge bubble she'd made with her gum and laughed. "Don't worry, Hilde. He and I aren't an item. Far from it. He's too taken with someone else."
Hilde squirmed uncomfortably in her chair and gulped down the last of her coffee. So there was someone else... "Oh... Well, actually, that's who I was calling earlier. I came to visit him for a little while."
"Well why aren't you over at his house now, hm?" Cathy got up from the table, walked behind the counter, and grabbed her coat.
"Well," Hilde stood up, "he kinda gave me faulty directions. Either that or he moved to another apartment without telling me."
"Nah, I met him when he first moved here. I know exactly where he lives, and that's where he's lived the whole time." Cathy smiled as she slipped on her coat. "If you think you could live through a windy walk to his apartment, I'll show you there."
Hilde hesitated as she picked up her empty cup to throw it away. "Well, that'd be great, but my car is parked a block away, and I don't wanna leave it there for long.." She threw the cup into the trash and turned back to Cathy. " It might get broken into or towed..."
"Oh don't worry about your car. Our crime rate is next to none." Cathy tightly wrapped her jacket around her. "Where exactly did you park it?"
"Well, I parked it in a diner's parking lot..." Hilde shuffled her feet nervously and sighed. "That's the only place I could find..."
"Aw, it should be fine then. Those things are 24 hour. They'll never notice, so don't worry about getting towed." Cathy motioned for her to follow as she opened the door. "Now lets get going. I'm sure Duo can't wait to see you..."
"What about your job? Don't you have to get back to the counter?" Hilde looked back at the counter.
There was now a short stocky blonde girl behind it, waving Cathy off. "I got it Cat. You go on and I'll see ya later, kay?"
"Thanks a lot, Jan." Cathy winked at Hilde as she exited the store. "I'll pay ya back later babe." She added before she closed the door.
"Well, Hilde, lets get goin' before you and I freeze to death. It's only supposed to be 60 out here, but the wind is making it even worse... Luckily, Duo's place isn't very far from here."
"There's something I meant to tell you before we got too far... Duo isn't home right now. I just called him and he didn't pick up." Hilde hugged herself tightly, trying desperately to shield herself from the chilly wind.
"Oh Geez, I forgot! Hilde, Duo's over at my place. He stayed the night on my couch last night." She grabbed Hilde's hand and rushed off. " We'll go there first and see if he's still there. He was still asleep when I left the house this morning."
"Oh, well, okay. B-but why are we rushing?!" Hilde struggled to keep herself from tripping as Cathy quickly pulled her along.
"Because, I also forgot that he told me he was leaving today..." Cathy didn't stop once as they traveled down the sidewalk...not even to say sorry to the punk she'd bowled over on the way to the crosswalk. "Idiot..."
Hilde looked back at the guy muttering apologies and then tried to stop Cathy with a hard tug. "Wait a second....Duo's leaving?! For where?!
Cathy ignored Hilde's tugging, but finally had to stop at the crosswalk ahead of them. After muttering a few curses at the 'don't walk' sign, she turned to Hilde, who was desperately trying to pry her hand from Cathy's. "To go see you!"
Hilde would've fallen over if not for Cathy's . Duo was going to see her? "Why?! He didn't even call first!!" she thought aloud.
Cathy smirked and looked at her slyly.
Hilde stood silent for a few seconds and then looked down at her shuffling feet. "Okay, so I didn't either..." she chuckled. "Boy, we both have such great timing..."
"Tell me about it.." Cathy plowed on when the sign turned to 'walk', dragging Hilde behind her once again.
Hilde suddenly remembered the cold and tried to warm herself with her free hand. Cathy must be cold too, she thought. That waitress outfit was definitely not made for this weather, and even though she had a coat, the cold still had to be getting to her.. "Thanks Cathy. For taking me to him.."
"Don't go thanking me yet." Cathy squeezed Hilde's hand briefly. "When we catch him before he leaves, THEN you can thank me."
Hilde smiled as she finally realized something that should've been quite obvious to any person with a brain.
All of this was freaking weird...
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Did ya like? hm hm? ^_^ Well, I hope you did. Like I said, the 4th chapter will be out sooner or later...but probly more later than sooner. ^^
It took a while, but I got it done didn't I? Finally... The third chapter of 'The Need to Reminisce' is here for your reading pleasure! The next one? Ha! You know me! It'll probly be forever before I get it out. ;O) No, really, I'll get it out soon. Hopefully it'll be in the next two weeks. But I DO have other things to write on so it might be a little later. Plus school factors in..*sigh* ick...
So, anyway, enjoy what's here for now!
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The Need to Reminisce: prt 3
"Duo..." Hilde lay her head on the arm of the couch and closed her eyes. Oh how badly she wanted to talk to Duo, to see him... but he obviously wasn't home at the moment.
It had been so long since she'd last seen him. Geez, when WAS the last time she'd seen him? Or talked to him? She was always so wrapped up in work that she just didn't have time to worry about anything. As hard as it was to believe it herself, she hadn't worried about not seeing Duo at all...
Hilde's eyes opened and then went wide as they fell upon the digital clock sitting on the coffee table in front of her. It dimly blinked a dreary 2:00 am.
"Sheez, I'd really better get some sleep now if I wanna get up by 9:00am."
A soft and tired sigh escaped her lips as she brought her knees up to her chest, curling up into a comfortable position. There was no way she would sleep in her own bed tonight...No way in Hell...and who could blame her?
"Damn it..." Hilde choked back threatening tears as she squeezed her eyes shut tightly. "How could...How could that happen...Damn you Todd..."
For a few minutes, she let her mind wander aimlessly as she struggled to keep her tears back. Things about Duo, work, and the sickening incident that had just taken place all flashed across her mind. After a while she decided she'd at least try to ease her mind to sleep with a comforting thought.
She would call Duo tomorrow.
Yes... Surely, he'd be there by then.
Hey, better yet, she'd pay him a little visit.
Wow, a visit. Hilde couldn't believe the thought had popped up and had stuck. She'd thought of it before, but never actually considered it seriously. This time it was different, though. This time, Duo was in for a really big surprise...
The thought should've kept her up longer. It had definitely brightened her mood, but sleep had to come at some point. Although she now almost felt like bouncing off the walls, her eyes were sleepily drooping with protest against her heart's own wishes. So she followed the 'sensible' route, and took her brain's advice...
Sleep finally embraced Hilde as she clutched tightly onto a comforting couch pillow.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Damn you, Maxwell!!" Cathy threw the huge pile of cards she'd been holding at Duo.
"Hey, hey, I can't help it if I'm better at 'Go Fish' than you are!" A wide smile played upon Duo's lips as he crawled from his position on the floor and inched over to Cathy. "Hey, don't hate me cuz I'm good, Beautiful."
He always did that after she lost a game, gave her that face to sweeten her up a little. Gave her that damned cute smirk and then called her 'Beautiful'. It was all an act though, just to get her to play another game so he could beat her ass yet again.
Cathy smiled right back and rolled her eyes. "I'll hate you as much as I want, you little shit! Your little act is NOT working this time..." She pushed him over when she saw that his smile hadn't faded..
"Aww, come on!! Lemme beat you at ONE more game, please?" Duo held himself up on his elbows and looked up at Cathy coyly, batting his eyelashes.
"Hey, listen. I didn't let you come over here THIS late at night just to beat my ass a million times at card games. I let you come over here because you couldn't sleep..." Cathy pushed him out of her way as she crawled over to the scattered cards.
"I'm sorry.." Duo stood up only to flop down onto an armchair behind him. "Cathy, I really am grateful. Thanks a lot for letting me come over... I just couldn't get to sleep at all. I keep thinking about her. Damn, why wasn't it like this a few weeks ago?!" He leaned forward and put his face in his hands. "Damn it..."
"Hey, Duo, I didn't mean it THAT way. About you coming over here so late? Pah! You're not bothering me in the least...and, about Hilde..." Cathy turned and faced him after she'd gathered all the cards together. She cleared her throat and knelt next to his chair. "...Duo, it's just that you had bottled up those feelings... Afterwards, they just happened to be good at keeping themselves hidden. Even from you, Duo. Shit, you did it for so long when you lived with her. Why wouldn't they just stay bottled up until someone actually reintroduced them to you again?"
Duo finally lifted his head from his hands and grabbed Cathy's.
Cathy smiled as he engulfed her hands with his own.
"Thank you." He brought her hands closer to his lips and kissed them gently. "For everything."
"You're welcome..." Cathy rose to her feet and turned to leave the room. She smirked and muttered loudly, "..little bastard..."
Duo quickly got up from the seat and romped after her as she ran, laughing, toward her bedroom. "Get back here, Cathy!! I swear, I'll get you for that one!" He smiled when he found that he had her cornered.
"Hey, you better leave me alone, Duo, or else no warm couch for you! You'll be sleeping on my front doorstep!!" Cathy's eyes darted around the room. She might still have to find an exit...
"That's blackmail!! No fair!" Duo slumped his shoulders in defeat.
"Ha! All is fair in love and war ...You should know that." Cathy inched cautiously over to the linen closet and quickly grabbed a few sheets.
Duo gave his goofy lop-sided smirk as she threw the pile of sheets at him. "Of course I do. I WAS a gundam pilot, was I not?" he muffled.
"Yeah, yeah Wonderboy... Now go make your bed on the COUCH. You need all the rest you can get before traveling to see your lady love. All your stuttering tomorrow is going to make you tired, believe me." Cathy waved him off as she slipped into her bedroom. "G'night, Duo."
"Night, Cathy." Duo gathered the sheets into a ball and traveled back to the living room to make his bed. "stuttering....yeah right... The god of Death does NOT stutter!"
"GO to SLEEP DUO!" Cathy yelled from her room.
"Yeah yeah..."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Oh, Geez." Hilde lightly bounced her knees and vigorously rubbed her arms for warmth as she watched her breath turn to a tiny cloud of condensation.
She could swear that it was 20 degrees colder in the city than it was in the outskirts of town, and sitting on a bench in the middle of 4th street with nothing on but a short sleeved shirt and a pair of thin blue jeans was not helping her get any warmer.
"Damn it, Duo. You told me to come visit whenever I liked... Did you give me wrong directions on purpose or what?" She pulled out a small piece of worn paper out of her pocket and sighed. These were the directions Duo had given when he'd left.. He had given them to her in hopes that she might come visit sometime, but now they were doing her no good. When she HAD tried to follow them, she'd ended up at the front doorstep of a very unpleasant and very overweight man. Hilde had thought she would faint right there when he opened the door. She'd practically fallen back when the horrid smell of must slammed into her face. She'd never seen so many fat rolls in her life! Not to mention how many food stains that donned his 'muscle shirt'.
She'd thought that muscle shirts were sexy on men, once upon a time. Now, no one could possibly convince her otherwise. Hilde shook her head as if she could shake the image from her mind physically. "Lord, I'm glad I got away from that..."
Well, she sighed, Duo had obviously written something down wrong...either that or she was weakening in her ability to read the chicken scratch that he called 'writing'. He HAD been gone for a long time and she'd not seen his writing in over a year. He'd only written her one letter after he left, and that was it. The rest were either phone calls or e-mails... and she rarely even got those.
Hilde raised her head and spotted two teen girls as they passed, giggling and pointing rather obviously at her. She forced a big smile and rose slowly to her feet. So what if she looked ridiculous wearing these 'summer' clothes... How was she supposed to know that it would be so damned cold here? Especially when it had been a perfect 80 degrees back at her place!
"Oh-freaking-well..." She stuffed the tiny piece of paper back into her pocket and made her way across the street. If she was going to figure out where Duo lived, she was at least going to be warm while she did it.
There'd be a phone in the inviting little coffee shop she'd spotted on the street corner... She'd just call him up and surprise him that way. Hell, the directions surely weren't going to get her anywhere she wanted to be. She wasn't about to guess and get another wrong apartment. Not after what had happened last time. Definitely not after that...
The jingling of the doorbell pleasantly filled Hilde's ears as she entered the shop. Aromas of spicy cinnamon, strong mocha, and hints of vanilla filled her up as the warmth in the room pleasingly embraced her. It felt even better than she thought it would. And the smells...she hadn't even imagined how great those would be. Much better than that stink infested blob of a ma--
"Hello Miss. May I help you?" A bright eyed woman politely chimed as she walked toward the counter, interrupting Hilde's thoughts.
"O-oh, yes. Thank you. Could I possibly get a hot flavored coffee?"
"Yes, of course. What kind did you have in mind?"
"Well, I suppose the..." Hilde hesitated as she glanced at the menu above the counter. "Hmm...The cinnamon-mocha would do fine I think." she happily chirped. "Oh, and I wanted to ask you if you had a phone I could possibly use.. Just for a moment."
The auburn-haired girl nodded and flashed a bright smile as she bent behind the counter. Hilde smiled back as the girl came back up with a phone and placed onto the counter. "Thanks."
"I'll be right back with your coffee. You could sit down if you like. I'm almost on break anyway, so I'll bring it to you after it's fixed. I've got to make a new batch..."
Hilde nodded as she dialed the number and mouthed another thank you.
She let it ring for what like seemed forever. No one ever picked up. "Shit...Now I remember why I never call you..."
Hilde set the phone back down and pushed it away sadly. "Simply hopeless.."
She picked up a small red coffee straw from a cup on the counter, walked over to a table next to the display window, and sat down.
Looking at all the busy people walk by hurriedly made her feel a little worthless. SHE could be at home right about now, doing work...getting caught up.
Wait, what the hell was she talking about?! She started chewing on the straw as she watched more people pass.
"What AM I talking about?!" she thought to herself...She was certainly way ahead of schedule in her duties. Finally, she decides to take a break and she is STILL thinking about nothing but work? Duo had been right. She was a workaholic..
This was supposed to be a vacation. A nice little time away from work, from home, and from all the stress. She was supposed to be spending this with Duo. The one that she couldn't get her mind off of, the one that filled her heart with unbelievable happiness every time she remembered his smile...the one who wasn't HOME at the moment...
Hilde growled as she angrily tore the straw from her mouth. She looked down at the half she'd successfully pulled from her teeth and softened her expression. Mad was not what she wanted to be right now. It was just that she'd come so far, finally. Finally gathered up enough of her strength to even seriously think about visiting him...and now he just wasn't there. She guessed she should've called first before even leaving the house. Of course, any sensible person would have. Why didn't she?
She decided not to answer her own question, already knowing the obvious answer anyway... She was a ditz when it came to making 'reunions' and that was that. Accepting it hadn't been too hard considering that she hadn't had many friends to make reunions with anyway...
Hilde hardly noticed when the girl finally came out and set the coffee onto the table. She probably wouldn't have noticed her at all if she hadn't spoken up.
"Hey, do you mind if I sit with you?" The tall girl looked down at her and smiled. "I promise, I don't bite...hard..."
"Yeah," Hilde laughed, "I don't mind. I need some company anyway." She looked up at the girl and reached over for her coffee.
Sipping it, she crossed her legs and leaned back into the chair.
"So, you look like you're new around here..." The girl slid a cigarette loosely between her lips and lit it up.
"How did you know that?" Hilde took another sip of her coffee before the girl answered.
"Well, it's kind of obvious." She said, taking another puff off the cigarette. "First of all you aren't dressed for this blustery weather at all..." The girl put her cigarette in the ashtray nearby and leaned back, blowing the smoke out the side of her lips. "So either you're new here... Or you're just plain crazy."
Hilde didn't take the comment to be an insult...in fact, it felt rather more like a compliment than anything else. She took another sip of her coffee.
"And I don't think you're crazy...So far, at least.." The girl picked up her cigarette and took another puff. "So there you have it. You're new here...not crazy.. I'm a regular Sherlock Holmes, no?" she blew the smoke out to the side.
Hilde chuckled. "Well, you're right..." She set her coffee cup down and smiled. "I got here just today. Traveled from the outskirts of town.."
"So what's your name?" The girl took the last puff of her cigarette and put it out in the ashtray.
"Hilde. And yours?"
"Wha--?" Not having the chance to blow out the excess smoke before being surprised, the girl choked on her words before she could get them all out.
Hilde quickly slid her chair from under the table and sprang over to the girl's chair. "Miss! Are you okay?!" she said, lightly patting the girl on the back.
The girl nodded, holding her chest and smiling in amusement. "Y-yeah...thanks. I'm sorry for scarin' ya, but I could've sworn I heard you say that your name was Hilde..."
Hilde looked puzzled as she locked eyes with the girl. "I did..."
The girl looked up at her wide eyed and still trying to catch her breath. "You did? Your name is Hilde?!" She finally caught her breath and politely pushed Hilde's hands away.
Hilde nodded. "Yes, it is. Are you sure you're okay?"
"Yeah, I'm better... thanks again." The girl eyed Hilde carefully as she went back to sit down. She leaned back in her chair and smiled. "But I have to make sure of something first before I'm totally okay..."
"Just make sure you don't choke on another cigarette and I'll agree..." Hilde picked up her coffee and held back an amused smile.
The girl smirked, hooking a stray piece of long auburn hair behind her ear. "Yeah, I promise. Anyway, before I'm so rude as to ask you personal questions, I should introduce myself." She said, extending her hand to shake Hilde's. "It's nice meeting you, Hilde. I'm Cathy."
"Cathy, hm?" She gave her hand a firm shake and went back to her coffee. "Well, it's nice meeting you too Cathy." Hilde took another sip of her coffee as she tried to make herself comfortable again.
"So you're name is Hilde, you came from the outskirts of town, and you have a business of your own? Actually, it's a partnership...with a guy, maybe?" Cathy looked down at the pack of cigarettes that lay on the table in front of her, debating on whether to light another one or not.
"Wait, I didn't say anything about a business...or a guy..." Hilde leaned forward and cocked an eyebrow suspiciously. "What, did I leave a business card out or something?"
"No, I don't think you did. Let's just say it was a good guess. I'm Sherlock, remember?" Cathy finally decided against the cigarette and chose a piece of gum instead. "Anyway, you're well known considering that you own a relatively large business that most of this town depends on. I just guessed that you were that specific Hilde. Plus, there aren't many other people named 'Hilde' in this town. Who else could it have been?" She looked up at Hilde, who looked moderately satisfied with the answer... "Besides, I know your friend, Duo..."
A look of worry flashed across Hilde's face as she stiffened in her chair. This girl was rather pretty...and she did have a rather great personality. She definitely reminded Hilde of someone Duo would fall for. "Y-you know him?"
Cathy popped the huge bubble she'd made with her gum and laughed. "Don't worry, Hilde. He and I aren't an item. Far from it. He's too taken with someone else."
Hilde squirmed uncomfortably in her chair and gulped down the last of her coffee. So there was someone else... "Oh... Well, actually, that's who I was calling earlier. I came to visit him for a little while."
"Well why aren't you over at his house now, hm?" Cathy got up from the table, walked behind the counter, and grabbed her coat.
"Well," Hilde stood up, "he kinda gave me faulty directions. Either that or he moved to another apartment without telling me."
"Nah, I met him when he first moved here. I know exactly where he lives, and that's where he's lived the whole time." Cathy smiled as she slipped on her coat. "If you think you could live through a windy walk to his apartment, I'll show you there."
Hilde hesitated as she picked up her empty cup to throw it away. "Well, that'd be great, but my car is parked a block away, and I don't wanna leave it there for long.." She threw the cup into the trash and turned back to Cathy. " It might get broken into or towed..."
"Oh don't worry about your car. Our crime rate is next to none." Cathy tightly wrapped her jacket around her. "Where exactly did you park it?"
"Well, I parked it in a diner's parking lot..." Hilde shuffled her feet nervously and sighed. "That's the only place I could find..."
"Aw, it should be fine then. Those things are 24 hour. They'll never notice, so don't worry about getting towed." Cathy motioned for her to follow as she opened the door. "Now lets get going. I'm sure Duo can't wait to see you..."
"What about your job? Don't you have to get back to the counter?" Hilde looked back at the counter.
There was now a short stocky blonde girl behind it, waving Cathy off. "I got it Cat. You go on and I'll see ya later, kay?"
"Thanks a lot, Jan." Cathy winked at Hilde as she exited the store. "I'll pay ya back later babe." She added before she closed the door.
"Well, Hilde, lets get goin' before you and I freeze to death. It's only supposed to be 60 out here, but the wind is making it even worse... Luckily, Duo's place isn't very far from here."
"There's something I meant to tell you before we got too far... Duo isn't home right now. I just called him and he didn't pick up." Hilde hugged herself tightly, trying desperately to shield herself from the chilly wind.
"Oh Geez, I forgot! Hilde, Duo's over at my place. He stayed the night on my couch last night." She grabbed Hilde's hand and rushed off. " We'll go there first and see if he's still there. He was still asleep when I left the house this morning."
"Oh, well, okay. B-but why are we rushing?!" Hilde struggled to keep herself from tripping as Cathy quickly pulled her along.
"Because, I also forgot that he told me he was leaving today..." Cathy didn't stop once as they traveled down the sidewalk...not even to say sorry to the punk she'd bowled over on the way to the crosswalk. "Idiot..."
Hilde looked back at the guy muttering apologies and then tried to stop Cathy with a hard tug. "Wait a second....Duo's leaving?! For where?!
Cathy ignored Hilde's tugging, but finally had to stop at the crosswalk ahead of them. After muttering a few curses at the 'don't walk' sign, she turned to Hilde, who was desperately trying to pry her hand from Cathy's. "To go see you!"
Hilde would've fallen over if not for Cathy's . Duo was going to see her? "Why?! He didn't even call first!!" she thought aloud.
Cathy smirked and looked at her slyly.
Hilde stood silent for a few seconds and then looked down at her shuffling feet. "Okay, so I didn't either..." she chuckled. "Boy, we both have such great timing..."
"Tell me about it.." Cathy plowed on when the sign turned to 'walk', dragging Hilde behind her once again.
Hilde suddenly remembered the cold and tried to warm herself with her free hand. Cathy must be cold too, she thought. That waitress outfit was definitely not made for this weather, and even though she had a coat, the cold still had to be getting to her.. "Thanks Cathy. For taking me to him.."
"Don't go thanking me yet." Cathy squeezed Hilde's hand briefly. "When we catch him before he leaves, THEN you can thank me."
Hilde smiled as she finally realized something that should've been quite obvious to any person with a brain.
All of this was freaking weird...
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Did ya like? hm hm? ^_^ Well, I hope you did. Like I said, the 4th chapter will be out sooner or later...but probly more later than sooner. ^^