Written By: Rage of BlackMist
Chapter One: Departure
Disclaimer: Gundam Wing does not belong to me, but is the property of the Sotsu Agency, Sunrise and Fuji TV.
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Hilde Schbeckier sat on the edge of her chair listening to the chimes of a wooden clock that hung above her partner's desk in the office they once shared. Nervous beyond hell, her back was straighter than a ruler and her eyes tensed in frustration. Today she would announce her furture plans that she'd been thinking upon ever since two nights before; this evening she will walk out of his life! Maybe even for good.
The promising moments to come will result in the epihany of her life, and she cringed at the very thought of confronting him. Glazing into those dark, mysterious eyes and seeing that precious smile which played his lips every time he pondered upon some wild idea. Ohh, how that man got under her skin. The type of man that pushed a woman's boundaries way too far and way too fast.
Unfortunately, life isn't how it seemed before. In the past, things were normal. Hilde didn't have to sigh at the thought of seeing him day in day out. Her very life just didn't revolve around him and only him. Before, she'd get up in the morning, go to work, come back to her sanctuary, eat, sleep, and then do the whole routine over again. It was an accustomed agenda, and the thought of doing the same thing every day wasn't as terrifying as one would think. With peace finally conquering Earth and the Colonies, people were just now beginning to live again. That meant more businesses were offering jobs and less luck for her at finding one.
At any rate, life was life, and unfortunately misfortune decided to stop at her front door. Hell! Not only did it stop, it opened the door, and walked in; into her life for good.
Of yet, Hilde constantly has to try and rearrange her whole routine just so she can avoid him. And just how does she do that? Immature excuses such as, 'Oops... Were you talking to me?' and 'Quick, Connie walk in front of me so he doesn't see me' is how. Yeah she admits they're some what dense but she'll do anything, within reasonable regard, to dodge that handsome devil of a partner.
And handsome devil he is.
Sighing for what seemed to be number thirty one, Hilde got up and walked over to the window overlooking endless hills of green. Earth is such a beautiful place to live. If only she could be free and live with the wind. Take each breeze one at a time, never having to worry whether or not her hair was out of order or if her make up was smudged.
She'll do anything for that type of freedom....
"Sir, Miss. Schbeckier is waiting in your office." A distant voice announced. Hilde's breath caught and waited until she heard any response, then exhailed.
"For what reason? I thought she went to---" a deep voice asked, slightly annoyed. Hilde listened to his footsteps as they became louder, Duo coming closer and closer.
Quickly she returned her attention back to the window for a few more seconds of solitude, her eyes closed. 'Must've gotten distracted on his way here. If not, then I'd be facing him right now.' A faint gust of cool air swept past her face, and she took the pleasure at inhaling every last bit of it.
As she abused the quiet time of solitude, she didn't hear the door creek open or noticed the front office lights fill the room. All she felt was the breeze that wrapped around her like a blanket, protecting her from her fears. Moments passed which seem to be years as she hugged her arms to herself, embracing all that was dear to her.
Then a mild noise brought her back. 'Someone's watching me....'
"How long have you been there?" Chilled words uttered from her cool lips. There was no response, she tensed. Turning around, she opened her eyes and stared straight into dark pools of wanting blue. "Well?..."
Duo hesitated, then carefully thought of what to say. "Long enough to notice you're upset." His voice broke, she blinked. "Why aren't you in Airicon?" The words were bleak and dry, coarse almost.. But why?
A frown played her lips and her eyes darted from his. He cleared his throat and walked in, closing the door behind him. Duo paitently waited for an answer, and gave up after several seconds passed. Still watching him, Hilde moved her attention away from the window, her safe haven, and readjusted herself in the seat.
'Cold uncomfortable chair.' Past memories of him and herself picking out these chairs together flashed before her eyes. It was a year ago, and they were shopping for office furniture for their recently built location. He had joked earlier about getting two very uncomfortable chairs that would make their employee's nervous and on edge. Well, it worked, even though she wasn't his employee.
The sound of his leather chair creaking awoke her from her memories. Sighing, she readied herself for the impossible. With a deep prolonged intake of air, Hilde looked straight into the eyes of the man who haunted her dreams, and weakened her very self being...
"Duo, I've been thinking..."
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Time seemed to stop for those few seconds that had Hilde uneasy and Duo in no hurry. A frown crossed his line for a smile while he finished adjusting the few papers that were settled on his desk. Time froze for a few more seconds, Hilde wanting nothing more than for this to be said and done with. Then she could go home, pack and leave on the first flight available. If only he would acknowledge her properly, then maybe she could....
He piled the last three stacks of paper onto the spare desk behind him, then acted as if he was lost in thought. Which wasn't too hard an expression to muster; he used his 'lost-in-thought' act many times before.
Duo figured that Hilde wanted to tell him something. Something he wasn't going to be very fond of, that's for sure. But what got him so unsure was the way he saw her slip from this world to enter anothe. It frighten the hell out of him. These past weeks had been an utter nightmare. Things just weren't how they used to be, and they both knew it.
She was reaching the point where boredom screamed out in big bold letters, while he evolved into the screamer. But why should that have to matter? They're friends, and friends can get bored with one another, right? He dodged the negative notion. Of course friends could get bored with one another.. That's what other friends are for. To make up for the boring, dull, old ones.
But for some reason, his theory just wasn't making enough sense for him to build off of. And now here they were, both needing to say something but not quite brave enough to say it.
Duo sighed as he turned his chair as well as his attention towards Hilde, finally. She seemed annoyed and looked bored. Two most undesired expressions where he was concerned.
"Sorry about that." He broke the silence, but his gut was still twisted into a knot. "Papers were out of order, didn't want them to..." She cut him off.
"You don't need to explain, it seems that we both have gotten used to being ignored by one another." She didn't want for their conversation to start out on the rocks, but by God did he piss her off. Making her sit there and wait a good five minutes for him to straighten out his darn papers pushed her too far.
She looked down at her hands after saying that cold-hearted phrase. She didn't see the disappointment in Duo's blue eyes, nor did she see the question, but an embarrassed flush came to her face; she didn't want him to see it.
"I apologize, that wasn't very nice to say. I'm sorry, Duo, I didn't mean it." 'If only I could believe my words as well.'
Duo placed his hands on the arms of the chair and sighed deeply. He caught her flush through her lowered lashes and a silent smirk smeared across his frown.
"I came here to talk, but if you're too busy..." Hilde started to say quietly, then waited for his response, Duo finally giving in a couple of moments later.
"I'm not busy, babe! Want's on your mind," he said with a ghostly tone of voice trying to break the ice. It didn't work. He even added the word babe in a most forgotten manner, and it made Hilde cringe. In the very beginning, his calling her babe was okay, until things got a little more serious. Serious as in they grew up, but that didn't stop him one bit when they were at a public function and he wanted to trot around her whispering babe here and there.
"I ah.. didn't attend the Governor's Stand, as you cans ee." She spoke quietly. Of course right when she had the okay to tell him the news she chokes up. A look of question registered on his face. She quickly added in, "It was canceled this morning. Eve said that if it were to be rescheduled she would take the job." Still fidgeting with her hands, Hilde straightened her back and forcefully got to the point. "Duo I'm lea.."
"Why was it canceled? I thought Airicon was bristling with conventions." Duo mused, his eye brows closing in "If you didn't want to go, you should have said as much the moment the assignment was oped."
'Figures he'd say as much. And look at that expression. As if he wants to know why it was canceled!' Hilde sighed and indulged Duo in an explanation of why the stand was canceled. He nodded his head after Hilde asked if it was alright for Eve to take the job if offered again. Quietly, Hilde turned 75% of her attention to what lay on the other side of the wall which separated her from freedom.
With a deep sigh, Hilde gave up and stood from her chair. So far, they'd gotten nowhere and precious time was being wasted. 'I guess a nice in-depth note to him will have to do. Boy will he be pissed.' She thought to herself as she quietly walked over to the door.
Swift hands folded over hers as she reached for the handle. Surprised and shocked, she stood still and let the feeling that built inside her chest take over. Warm breath hissed in her ear while more time passed.
"I'm sorry, Hilde. Stay, please?" It came out as a whisper, a plea at its best.
Two waves of heat shuttered down her body, she quickly turned her head and collided with his hard chest. This was not going as planned. She was supposed to tell him that she was needed else where and leave it at that. But if something intimate were to happen, all was lost.
'Please let me go Duo.' Silently Hilde begged for the man who held her in his arms to release her, though her wish was lost with all the others.
"I'm leaving..." Two words uttered smoothly, two words meaning so much.
He looked down at her, an angel in his arms, the goddess in his dreams. "No you're not, I've caught you." A sly smile appeared on his face, taunting her senses, twisting her guard.
"You don't understand..." She locked eyes with the deep pools of blue that cascaded over his white orbs.
Duo brought his lips just inches away from hers. He licked them, teasing her with his moves. A seductive tone escaped his wet lips, "Stay?" He quietly begged, bringing his free hand to her hair, slipping his fingers through the short black silk.
Hilde mouthed, 'I can't.' Two words that brought both Duo and herself back to reality. "I can't." She said again out loud, trying to make herself believe again. For a few moments Hilde caught a glimpse of what life would be like locked away, tucked under Duo, being cared for, worshipped, loved...
Quickly she forced herself to stop thinking of the impossible. 'Not worth the pain, not worth my suffering.'
"I'm leaving, not just this room..." Hilde stepped back and glazed into the eyes of the man that swept through her dreams, day in and day out. "...but I'm also leaving Earth." She whispered those final words, gaze down cast, expression grim.
At first, Hilde thought he hadn't heard her correctly. He just stood there looking into her eyes, searching for a hint of jest, though he failed. Duo hated failing to an extreme. His brows met and his gaze took a turn for the worse. With two swift movements, Hilde was out of his arms and facing the dark and angry back of the once gentle man who held her too close.
"When?" He managed to choke out in a coarse voice, barely meant for her to hear. "When," he repeated, "and why?"
Hilde didn't know what to say, but suddenly words escaped from her lips. "Later on tonight, first night flight available. A friend of mine..."
"Do you need me to book flight for you?"
She slid off her tracks as she drank in his question. 'He accepts the fact that I'm leaving...' A single tear started to form in her right eye.
"N..No! I ah,I'll take care of that later." Seconds after those words left her mouth she regretted them. 'He wasn't supposed to know that' "I was thinking about this a couple of days ago."
"A couple of days ago?" His voice grew louder, his eyes darker. He knew she wasn't going to say anything back, so he remained with his back facing her.
"I should have told you sooner.... But I wasn't sure if I was going or not." Hilde added in, breaking the silence that captured them, suffocating them.
Duo let out a loud angry sigh and walked toward his desk, hands in the pockets of his pants and his expression grim. He lost himself in his thoughts, ignoring the hurt woman that stood behind him and the single tear that fell from her eye. He knew that he shouldn't have turned his back on her, but what else was he supposed to do? A knife slid through his chest, the breath knocked out of him, his heart almost stopping. He knew he shouldn't feel so upset but it stung that he was the last to find out about her departure. They're friends, best friends, and her not telling him first was a major blow on his behalf.
If only he had known she was leaving, then he would have gone with her, but now it's too late. Meetings for the next eight weeks had already been scheduled, booked, and organized; there was just no way that he could disappear.
With his thoughts pushed aside and locked away, he readied himself for the hurt look that he imagined Hilde had slammed on her face.
Instead, what he saw he wasn't prepared for....
What he saw was his office door wide open....
And his goddess-angel nowhere in sight.....
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Duo watched as his best friend boarded the plane that would make the distance between his angel and himself further and further apart. She didn't know he was there, watching her, savoring her elegance with his wanting eyes.
'Stop it!' He commanded himself. He wasn't supposed to think about her that way. 'She's a friend, not some woman you can look at and want...' He moaned at the thought of having Hilde wrapped in his arms, their warmth heating them, their hands caressing each other.
His daydream ended when he lost sight of her, his breath caught. Hilde done it, she'd really done it. She left, not saying good-bye to anyone, not even saying good-bye to him. The tightness in his chest got to him, he had to sit down. This just wasn't going very well. First his best friend ignores him, then leaves him.
While he thought of all his problems, and those still yet to face, he rested his head on the glass window that separated the outside world from the one within. In the wake, through a distanced window, one pair of eyes glanced his way. Surprised and heart broken, she kept watching him until he become but a mere dot on the green planet that she planned on never stepping foot on again....
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TBC
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