Chapter 7
by: Obsolete Love
CLICK!
Hilde's eyes opened wide at the sound…
DHSSHHHHHH…
Her hands grew cold as she slowly grabbed hold of the antique alarm clock on the other lamp desk, thankful for both the darkness of the room and that she's sleeping on the other side of the bed, away from the window…
Her hand gripped the only weapon she could use as she slowly turned her head to the window, intent to find out if the assailant has any weapon in hand…
The shadow moved with effortless grace as it brought one of its legs in, then his waist…
'If he thinks I'm going down without a fight…' her thoughts of survival and the mixed feelings of anger and panic disappeared as the shadow's full length bent inside and she saw a long… familiar… dangling braid…
'Duo…' her mind whispered… pleasant surprise, happiness, and love started to flow through her numbed mind once again. 'Why did you come back?' Hilde asked silently as she watched his head tilt almost as if thinking… remembering… She could already imagine his face in contemplation…
'Heh… can't believe I'm back here… thought I'd never set foot in this house again…' He thought sadly as he tried to see through the darkness. 'Now where the heck did I leave that…? I can't believe I forgot them…' Duo regarded his old room, squinted through the darkness while he moved stealthily towards his bedside lamp table.
Hilde could almost hear the 'Aha!' in his mind as she watched his hand go around the silver crucifix necklace, then he faced her. She forced her breathing not to show under the covers, once again thankful for the near blinding darkness…
'What else have you forgotten that you'd risk coming back?' Hilde asked to herself as she watched him bend over the other side of the bed, his hand patting the bed, and then it went under the pillow…
'Where the heck is it? It couldn't have grown legs and run…' Duo thought in frustration as he jerked the pillow away. He needs to get away from this house… reminds him too much of Hilde. 'Damn, Duo… If you don't want to remember her, why are you trying to look for her photograph?' he asked, contradicting himself.
Hilde couldn't believe her eyes… There was only one thing under that pillow… and she's holding on to it… Could it be that…?
There was only one way to find out…
"What are you looking for?" Hilde asked softly as she slowly sat up on the bed.
"A damn photo-" Duo stopped in mid-sentence when he realized that the voice who asked that question was real… As casually as he could, he let his gaze travel across his bed, half praying that Hilde wasn't there, that it was his imagination, then he let it rest on the almost hidden form within the shadows…
"I thought… you left…" Hilde whispered, not knowing what to do or what to say.
Duo couldn't move, the knowledge that she's right in front of him had shocked him. "I… forgot something."
"You didn't have to come through the window." Hilde felt her voice grow stronger. Duo hasn't left yet…
'I didn't have to… but I didn't feel welcomed in here anymore…' Duo thought but instead, he straightened his back, gripped his crucifix, and asked for strength. "My keys are in an envelope by the telephone table."
Hilde bit her lower lip. "Oh…"
Silence encompassed them… It didn't seem right… It was the first time they had felt this kind of uncomfortable silence… Both were struggling…
Duo was trying to get free… He must let go… The knowledge that Hilde's sleeping in his bed didn't even penetrate through his pain numbed brain… Maybe it's better that he wouldn't get her picture to bring it with him… but still-
"I didn't know that you were back in town." Casual… he needs to stay casual… 'Keep your cool, Maxwell…'
"Yeah… I just came back…"
"Had a great time?" Duo asked. He easily volleyed the polite conversation between them. 'Hell, Duo! Why don't you just leave… NOW!'
Hilde thought back to the satisfying sounds of cracking plaster, coupled with that pained howl, and she had to smile. "Yes… actually I did…"
Duo closed his eyes at her response, and felt the start of tears form at the back of his eyes… 'Shit!' He has to get out… fast…
"Well… good… uhm… just have fun with him… I mean… soul mates and all… uhm… when you have your wedding…" Duo felt a catch in his voice. 'God! I'm blabbering…'
Hilde could feel him slowly give his good-bye… slowly shut her out of his life…
"When you have your wedding… just good luck and all…" Duo didn't lose any time as he walked to the window to exit the cursed hell of happy memories that he could never be a part of…
Hilde's eyes widened. She quickly scrambled out of the bed, ran to him, and placed a stopping hand on his, as he was halfway out of the window. How do you tell someone so many things that are clamoring to be said? I love you… stay with me… I punched Jean in his nose… I don't want you to go… I want to marry you…
Duo looked down at her hand on his, confusion warring in him. Why did she stop him?
Hilde swallowed. "We haven't set a date for the wedding yet…"
Duo's hand grew cold under hers at the announcement… So there will be a wedding… Is that all she's going to say?
"Well… as I said before… Good luck." Duo said, his voice hoarse as he tried to feign off his tears. 'I'd say Jean should go to hell, but I don't want to hurt you…' He tried to move away once again but Hilde wouldn't let his hand go.
"Aren't… aren't you going to go?"
Duo's eyes traveled to her face, the dim lights from the lamppost illuminated her tired looking face…
"I mean… go to the wedding?" Oh God! That sounds so wrong! 'I'm digging myself a deeper grave!' Hilde thought her panic was kicking her around.
Duo's eyes turned to slits as he jerked his hand away from her hold. "Hilde, I know that you hate me but I didn't know that you'd go that far to show me… How do you expect me to go to your wedding when…" He didn't finish. He does not want to say that damn name… He slid his leg out of the window. Get away- now!
Hilde shook her head, quickly leaned out then grabbed the back of his shirt. She was able to clutch a good quantity of the black cloth.
Duo was suddenly jerked back and slowly, he turned around to face Hilde. 'Why the hell are you doing this?!' Duo cried out, his pain showed clearly in his already sparkling violet eyes…
Hilde almost cringed at what she saw in his eyes, but she didn't let him go. Instead, she reached her other hand to hold his shirtfront.
"What do you want Hilde?" Duo asked, his voice a tone lower as he tried to keep his tears from resurfacing.
Hilde bit her lower lip nervously, not knowing how to say it… "I… I…"
'Just leave her!' Duo cried out mentally, but his feet seemed to be rooted to the ground.
Hilde drew in a stammering breath. "A wedding c-can't be a wedding without a groom… could it?" She asked as she looked up at his face and showed him what she feels for him through her eyes… to let him know. She saw him frown in confusion, saw the same depth of bewilderment in his eyes…
'What are you trying to tell me?' Duo asked himself as he saw things in her eyes he had never expected to see. He looked down, away from those eyes and saw her hands clenched hands on his shirt.
For a moment, his confusion disappeared as he saw her bandaged right hand, the white cloth with a hint of blood in it. Anger replaced his bafflement and he reached for her hand to pry it loose. Tenderly, he opened it on his palm, looked at her covered knuckles and-
"What happened?" His calm voice belied the fury he felt… Hilde wanted to jerk her hand away from his tender hold… but the mere fact that he was holding her didn't let her…
"I…" Hilde gave a nervous laugh, "I gave Jean a parting gift… Duo Maxwell style…"
Duo's head snapped up to face her… Could it be that…? It was a parting gift…
Hilde bit her lower lip once again as she still saw disbelief in his eyes. Laughter was always what Duo's known for…
She gave a faltering smile. "The groom will still not come to the wedding… if you leave…"
That phrase fastened something in Duo's mind… something he wasn't sure of before, but now… He could feel his courage rise… No fear or uncertainty suffocated him as he stared into her clear, navy blue eyes. Bubbles of happiness started to pop inside him and he could feel his face slowly smile the way he'd thought he never would again.
"Hell no! I'm the one doing the proposing in this family!" Duo cried out as he grinned up to her slightly shocked face and then dropped down to one knee, right in the flowerbeds they worked so hard on last summer.
Hilde's eyes popped wide as she stared at Duo in front of her. He still held her bandaged hand and then, he gently pulled it to his face and kissed her it, bandages and all. Who wouldn't smile at such an act? Who wouldn't smile as questions and fears were thrown in the wind while she stared into his eyes, and he stared into hers.
"Hilde Schebecker, I know I've waited a long time for this… Would you marry me?"
His serious tone challenged that wide grin on his face… the way he's outside the house, kneeling on flowerbeds and she, leaning out of his window… Hilde bent forward some more, knowing that he would catch her and not fall. Her arms went around his solid neck and his came around her waist…
"Let's see anyone try and stop me." Hilde whispered against his ear before she turned her face to his and kissed him wantonly on his lips, hungry for his taste. She had thought that she'd lost him… but thank God he forgot something.
His hands tightened around her waist, hefted her out of the window and then plastered her to his frame. She said yes! He felt like rejoicing, yelling, shouting, dancing… kissing her…
"I thought I lost you…" Duo whispered as Hilde's lips pulled away from his. He trailed a set of kisses down her neck while her hands slid down his chest in the most arousing way.
"I am… never going to let you go." Hilde whispered against his chestnut brown hair, a hand went to his back to trace his braid…
'God! That sounds so good…' Duo thought as he pulled down her sleeve to reveal her white shoulder… He couldn't seem to be able to stop himself as his lips pressed a lingering kiss right there… Her hands traveling around his body felt so…
Hilde stifled a moan and felt her knees buckle at what he was doing on her skin… down her chest… Her breath came in faster and her heart started beating erratically. "Duo… when do you want our wedding?"
'Wedding…' Duo felt himself pulled out of a haze as the word repeated itself over and over in his head. He closed his eyes and gave one last kiss at the valley of her breasts then, against his will, pulled her loose shirt back in place. 'Almost… almost… but not yet…'
Hilde frowned in confusion as she looked at Duo's face that seemed to be trying very hard to regain his control. "Why did you stop? I didn't want you to stop…"
Duo groaned at her hoarse voice, and at her passion filled eyes… at her words… He could almost feel his weak control break away… He hugged her instead. Brought her as close to him as he could… "Hilde… don't say that again… I might not be able to control myself…"
Hilde shook her head against his chest. "I don't want you to."
"But I want to…" Duo whispered as he pulled away from her and tilted her chin up to make her face him. "I want to marry you first… then make love to you…"
Hilde's eyes sparkled with unshed tears of joy at what he said.
"I've waited this long, my first, my only, my last… my wife." Duo continued in his tender whisper.
A wide smile of happiness lighted Hilde's face at what he told her and her embrace tightened as she leaned up to his ears. "And my husband…"
Duo smiled as he pressed a lingering kiss on her cheek. "Man… this is going to be hard though… I don't even know how I went through all these years without breaking down!"
Hilde giggled. "Tell me about it." She whispered back mischievously as she made her hand trace his spine… She felt him shiver and she laughed some more.
"Hilde!" Duo whined as he shifted to hold on to Hilde's hands.
"Just teasing." Hilde laughingly said.
Duo grinned down at her happy face, his own mirrored on his face then he became serious… there's still one more thing he needs to tell her… "Hilde… I lo-"
Hilde leaned to press her lips against his just to stop what he was about to say. She couldn't move her hands from her side because of his iron grip but she doesn't want him to say it. It doesn't matter. He doesn't have to say it… Their friends were right… actions speaks louder than words…
They kissed each other hungrily once again and when they finally parted to gasp in some air, Duo leaned his chin on her midnight blue hair.
"What was that for?"
Hilde smiled against his shirt She could feel the erratic beating of his heart under her cheek, that matched her own. "Sometimes… Words just get in the way…"
Duo's hands let go of her arms as he hugged her, slightly confused. "But-"
Her right hand instantly went up to his lips to stall him once again. Still leaning against his chest, she let her hand fall to his shoulder… "I know Duo… me too…" Her hands went around his waist, and she lavished at the weight of his arms around her shoulders… "Just hold me…"
Duo smiled, somewhat understanding what she meant… "My pleasure…"
They stood outside their back yard, arms entwined, held each other, not wanting to let go while the lamppost lights flickered away its life… The still colony air and silent streets calm just as these two hearts' finally met, danced, clashed and melted together in peace.
(AN: A friend of mine reminded me of this quote: "Destiny has no place in true love for we make our own." It is a quote worth mentioning because I feel that it has great significance. I hope you all enjoyed this story! When I wrote this, someone *glares at someone in particular* forced me to write sequels, such as about Trowa, Quatre, Wufei and, of course, Heero. Now let's see what I've come up with, ne?)