Chapter Twenty Five

The trip back home had been much longer than usual. It was probably the fact that he was more than eager to get home as soon as possible.

After the last few days events, Duo had made up his mind. He had taken a decision regarding something very important in his life.

He got incredibly upset when he realised he'd just missed the bus that was supposed to take him home from the shuttle airport.

'The hell I'm going to wait till the next one…I'll get a taxi…' the American pilot thought. He was in such a hurry he did not care about the money he would have to spend for the taxi.

Finally, after what it had seemed an eternity, he was unlocking his apartment's door. He stepped in and dropped his suitcase and his jacket on the floor. He started looking around. There were no sounds coming from anywhere in the apartment.

"Hilde? Are you there?" Duo asked.

Not getting a reply, Duo insisted:

"HILDE!! WHERE ARE YOU?" Duo shouted.

Still not getting a reply, Duo went outside to the small shed where Hilde and himself had the scrap yard's office. Opening the door saw Hilde checking some files.

"Hey, Hilde! I've been looking for you…what are you doing here?" Duo asked sounding a bit more upset than he really intended.

"Well, I'm working Duo…you know, someone has to run this business of ours…" replied Hilde rather annoyed.

"Oops…I'm sorry Hilde…I…Oh, stop that…we need to talk…" said Duo going to her and making her stand up.

"Why do I feel all freaked out hearing you say this?" replied Hilde looking at Duo gravely.

"Well…Is just that I don't want to waste anymore time…" said Duo. Then he took Hilde's face in his two hands and, without any previous warning, just kissed her full in the mouth, giving Hilde the shock of her life.

"D…Duo…" Hilde managed to say as soon as Duo pulled away from her to get some air.

"I know…It was not very orthodox but, Hilde I love you. I have always loved you…I thought it was just a very deep bond of friendship but the last weeks' events have made me realise that I don't love you just a s a friend and I want to be with you for the rest of my life, if you allow me to…" said Duo quickly afraid that she might have interrupted him.

"But…Duo…I…" started saying Hilde.

"Please, say you'll think about it…" interrupted Duo.

"Duo, I'm trying to say yes, I do want to spend the rest of my life with you but…I just don't understand why you're so sudden about it…" replied Hilde looking a mix between confused and happy.

"Well, it's a long story but, I'll just say that I don't want to waste a minute of my life denying what I feel for you. I've always thought that I would have plenty of time to figure out what I wanted from life but, you just cannot be sure when everything will end…so, I want to make the most of it while it lasts…and I really want to share my life with you…I know that this is sudden, I hope I'm not freaking you out but, I would like us to get married someday…" explained Duo.

"Married? Hey, don't you think you're rushing things a little bit here? You've just asked me to be an item. Shouldn't we wait to see what happens?" asked Hilde looking very cute with a slight blush on her cheeks.

"I didn't mean to get married today…but I don't want to wait for too long…so, what do you say? Will you consider marrying me in the future?" said Duo looking hopeful at Hilde.

"Yes, Duo, in the future, I will be more than happy to become Mrs Maxwell…" replied Hilde.

"Mmh…Mrs Maxwell, it does sound good, doesn't it?" said Duo hugging Hilde and kissing her again.

Duo spent the rest of the evening showing Hilde how pleasant their new condition as a couple was. That night, while Hilde was sleeping with her cute little head laying on his shoulder, Duo thought about Heero and Relena. It was terribly unfair that, the two people that had done the most to ensure the peace they enjoyed now, could not have the happiness they deserved.

"Heero buddy, I hope one day you'll feel for Relena, the same I feel for Hilde…" whispered Duo to nobody before falling asleep.

Not-So-Quick Author Note # 3: I know that this has little to do with the story but, I'm trying to fit other relationships in this HY/RP story. In any case, and answering to the people that have mentioned this in their reviews, I don't actually have the story all written just yet. I only have some sort of story line that I am following and sometimes changing along the way, regarding the length of the chapters, I was told by my partner that it's easier to read if the chapters aren't too long, also this helps me to update frequently... I also know that this is kind of dramatic but, do not fear, I am a romantic person so there will be a happy ending, is just that I don't know how long it will take so please be patient!

I am absolutely shocked with the amount of reviews I'm getting and how nice you people are! I just love you all so much! Thank you for the time you're taking reading this…it is the best sensation in the world to see that people appreciate your work. THANK YOU GUYS FOR EXISTING!