Chapter 6
by: Obsolete Love
"No… no… he couldn't have… that would mean that…" Hilde shook her head… 'That would mean that he's leaving me…' She couldn't believe it!. "Give me that letter!" She cried out as she grabbed the letter from Iris' shaking hands.
'I hereby declare that I, Duo Maxwell, leave my capital stocks and shares of XTECH Company to Miss Iris Blanca, current Office Manager.'
Hilde's eyes widened in disbelief while her mind screamed that it wasn't real.
Heh… never thought I'd write a serious stuff like these… Well, have fun, Iris… I know I did… and well… tell Hilde that I won't bother her anymore… tell her to… take care of herself and that I wish all the happiness in the world for her.
You are going to be solely responsible for giving Hilde my wedding present, all right? I mean, they'd eventually marry, being soul mates and all… Account number is
Thanks for being a good friend… You take care of yourself too…
By the time she finished reading, Hilde's hands were shaking so much that she was almost crumpling the paper…
Iris' hands stilled her… her touch made Hilde look down at their hands blankly then up at Iris. "Why did he leave…? He didn't have to leave… I don't want him to…" Hilde gasped as she leaned to her friend and embraced her while she cried over her shoulders.
Iris' hands went around Hilde's body and gave her a squeeze. "Shhh… Don't worry, he'll be around… he loves you, you know…" She could feel Hilde's head shake, not believing her. "Hilde what would it take to make you believe that…" Iris' voice faded as she remembered the numbers on the paper… Something seemed to click in place, and she quickly pushed Hilde away, then grabbed the letter at the same time.
Childhood tease and her mother's stories of the olden days… of so long ago echoed in her mind… A game children made up just for the fun of it… Could it be that Duo knew about those old, forgotten codes?
"I was looking at the wrong numbers…!" Iris' shocked voice whispered out.
Hilde watched as her friend scrambled to a table with sprawled papers, took a pen and paper and started writing… She didn't care… what she want was Duo's arms around her… the knowledge that he would be with her.
'He left…' Hilde whispered in her mind… The scenes from the past few days replayed itself in her mind… She never really knew why Duo punched Jean… never really knew why he came here… Could it be that he really does… "Iris! We have to pack! We have to pack now!" Hilde's voice clamored out as she stood up and started walking to the door.
"Wait! Hilde… Give me a few more minutes!"
"No! You don't understand!" Hilde cried out as she wrung her hands together. If she lets Duo disappear… she would never find him…
'We're Gundam Pilots… we're trained to disappear… Why'd you think Heero's so hard to find? Because he doesn't want anyone finding him…
"Iris!!!" Hilde yelled, panic filling her.
Suddenly, Iris gave a shout of victory, jumped out of her seat, and toppled the chair over. "You want proof, Hilde?! Here's your proof that Duo loves you!" Iris said as she walked to her friend.
"I don't care about proof!! I want-"
"Hilde! Just look at this!" Iris' voice left no room for argument as she jabbed the paper full of scratch and writing in front of Hilde's face.
1=I
4=Love
3=You
H=Hilde
M=M
1=A
23=X
22=W
5=E
12=L
12=L
Iris saw Hilde's confused frown.
"I… I don't think I understand…"
"Duo's been saving money in this account-" Iris pointed at the account number, "For the past six or seven years… He has this amount now-" she pointed at the number that made Hilde's eyes widen.
"Wha-what's he planning to do with-" It seemed as if her brain had stopped working…
"Hilde! Get it through your thick skull!!! You're usually the one who's perceptive and smart in our group. Hello!!! Look at the account name!!! This amount can last you for five years of good living not to mention the wedding of your life, honeymoon, cars and a dream house! By the time this money is depleted, it'll be refurbished!"
Iris saw understanding filter through Hilde's navy blue eyes then the painful look Hilde gave her when she looked up at her-
"Iris! Pack your bags now! We're going home!" Hilde yelled in her commanding voice as she ran out of her friend's suite.
'Oh God, Duo… I hope I'm not too late… Please God, don't make me be too late… I don't care if what Iris showed me isn't real… I just… Please God… Please…' Hilde prayed from the bottom of her heart as she stacked her clothes into her bag, unmindful that some of her dresses are going to be crumpled…
~*~
The cab slowed to a stop in front of the one story house she and Duo had been sharing… her house… their house…
Hilde opened the door and was about to step out when Iris' hand on her shoulder stilled her. She looked back and saw her friend's encouraging look.
"Good luck…"
Hilde nodded… She couldn't talk… if she does, she might break down and cry again… so all she could do was to nod her thanks…
She didn't look at her house as she grabbed her bags from the trunk… Seemed like she doesn't want to go inside her house at all for fear that… Duo might still be in there… or that he might not be there…
The cab drove off and Hilde breathed in deeply to gather up courage… She came through the fastest shuttle… as fast as she could… the first flight that had an opening… just for one thing…
'Duo… please be here…' Hilde prayed as she reached her door. Hesitant fingers slowly reached out with keys… She heard the loud click of her lock… It seemed as if each action took longer to do than usual. Muttering one last plea to whoever was looking over the universe, Hilde opened the door and walked in.
Silence encompassed her… Eerie and desolate…
The sinking feeling at the pit of her stomach became more pronounced but Hilde kept a hold onto that dwindling hope in her heart.
"Duo? Are you here?" Hilde's words faded in the stillness of the house. She knew, at the back of her mind, that if Duo were there at that moment, the house wouldn't feel quite so lonely…or so big…
She swallowed hard as her hand gripped Duo's doorknob.
"Duo? Are you in there?" Hilde asked as she twisted the knob and opened the door, and hoped against hope that she'd find Duo, on his bed with his walkman… or something…
But the sight that greeted her was an empty room… neat and orderly as if nobody had lived in it for these past few years… as if the memory she had of Duo was nothing but a dream…
She doesn't have to check his cabinet to know that his things were gone… Probably forever…
The tears that had been threatening to come out during the long flight back home… during the long drive back to her house… during the small span of time when she walked into her house, now slowly began to fall…
No one was around her now… no one would be looking at her… she's alone in her house, so why won't she cry freely?
It was silent tears… Tears that held so much wrenching pain, guilt and sadness… No howls or yells or cries… just whispered gasps for air as her chest constricted…
Her steps faltered as she walked to his bed then sat on it.
How many times did they lay on this bed only to hold each other when they woke up from nightmares…? How many times had she brushed his hair back and whispered her love, kissed him on his cute little nose while he was slept in her arms…? How many times had he made her laugh when she was cried…?
"I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…" Hilde whispered as she hugged herself.
The fading artificial lighting of the colony filtered through the small, bare window and illuminated the room with a dim, dreary light…
She turned on the bed to look at the window when something shimmered on Duo's lamp desk and caught Hilde's attention. She reached out across the bed to touch it… faintly… softly…
Duo's cross… He always wears it… Why did he leave it this time?
She didn't move the necklace… she didn't want to disturb anything but the bed she was sitting on… She wants the room that still held his presence stay the way it was…
More sobs rocketed through Hilde's small body and she grabbed a pillow to hug it against her chest, wishing it were him… Even if she tried… even if she hires the best tracker… in her heart she knew that it would all be futile if Duo doesn't want to be found…
She buried her face into the soft pillow and smelled Duo's scent… his after-shave mixed with his soap and cologne… She inhaled all of it as she turned her face to her side, touched her cheek on the pillow and opened her eyes…
A slight frown appeared on her forehead while her hand slowly moved to the thing that caught her eyes…
Where the pillow was before… her hand touched the photograph…
A worn photo of herself…
'Why did he…? How come…?' The questions came and went in Hilde's mind as she stared at her photograph while a single answer echoed for each…
If she needed proof that he even cared for her… it's in her hands right now… The day the picture was taken unfolded in Hilde's mind…
"Our first kiss…" she whispered with a soft smile… Claire had taken a picture of her while Duo scrambled out of the way… embarrassed at being caught kissing her… She was laughing at his red face and Claire pressed the flash.
How did it even happen…? Oh yeah… she was running down the stairs in Claire's house and then she slipped… She had closed her eyes, half expecting to hit the cold, hard floor but she fell in a warm, firm embrace instead… and when she opened her eyes… Soft, tender, violet eyes met her gaze… Something happened then and Duo's hold tightened around her waist while she leaned to him…
Hilde gasped in a faltering breath and hugged the pillow to her body some more… No more tears… all used, but in her heart and mind she's still crying endlessly…
"My fault… all my fault…" Hilde murmured against the pillow as she wiped her tear stained face against it.
She didn't know how long she sat on his bed, hugging his pillow, but when she looked out the window, darkness had enveloped the streets…
Tenderly, she placed the pillow back in place but held on to her picture, then she pulled out the blankets on his bed, and snuggled inside to smell his fragrance and be a part of him once again. Slowly, she drifted off to sleep… wishing that it were his arms around her instead of just his blankets…
(AN: To all those who wrote my reviews, thank you so much! *grin* I wanted to email you all but some of you are unlisted *sweatdrop* but please know that I am very thankful. I hope everyone's taking care of themselves! Next chapter will be out shortly ^_^ BTW, the little code was really inspired by childhood memories of secret alphabets and coding. I had ranges from those to something akin to that Atlantian alphabet, plus made up ones ^_~ It was really cool to do it back then. *reminisce of childhood days*)