Mnemosyne Chapter 5

By Raletha



"Trowa's here," Duo informed me as he wheeled me down the hospital corridor. It was the first day I was allowed out of my hospital bed on MO-II.

"What?" I demanded from my wheelchair, "No, never mind, I heard you. Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"I didn't want to excite you."

"Bullshit." I realised what I should have asked Duo was why he'd told me now.

"Hilde-"

"I want to see him."

"You need to understand-"

"Duo, I want to see him. Where is he?"

"He's with Quatre."

Quatre I hadn't met yet, but I knew a little bit of him from Duo's tales of the war, their time on Earth, the final moments of fighting. Quatre had been more seriously injured than I had. Did that mean...?

"Is he hurt too?"

"No, Trowa's fine."

"Then why didn't he come see me?"

"He..." Duo sighed. "Because I asked him not to."

"Well, I want to see him now."

I thought it would hurt more, seeing him again along with the realisation I'd lost him to another, that I could do nothing to reclaim him.

Trowa sat close by Quatre's bedside. They were talking. I couldn't hear what they were saying to one another, but I did hear Quatre's soft chuckle in response to something Trowa said; I saw the way it lit his whole face.

I saw the look in his eyes.

"Hey, guys," said Duo. "Hilde's doing the rounds, she wanted to come say hi."

At that look in Quatre's eyes—something twisted in my chest, winding tight until I was glad for the support of the wheelchair. Otherwise, I feared I would have stumbled, or fainted. It seemed like minutes passed before I could breathe again. I felt the warmth of Duo's hand on my shoulder.

That look in Quatre's eyes—I saw its twin fading from Trowa's when he turned his head to speak to me in greeting.

"Hilde...?" he said my name with a little bit of awe, but there was pleasure there too, and some surprise. I knew he remembered me.

But the look in Trowa's eyes told me there was nothing between us now beyond friendship. For it was suddenly clear to me that the reason I'd lost him wasn't because someone else had found him.

He'd found himself. A whole person looked at me from behind those green eyes—and though he might still be chipped and crazed, weren't we all? There were no more dark shadows that I could see.

The tightness unwound, like it had never been there at all. A full and genuine joy replaced it, and I smiled so widely my cheeks ached. Oh, it still hurt, but there was sweet with the bitter, enough that I could put aside the shock and pain, and rejoice in what was good in that moment. "Trowa, it's... God, it's really you. I'm so glad. Duo hadn't told me you were here."

"Hilde," said Quatre, "It's good to see you up and about. I'm rather envious, really." He smiled at me, a wide unaffected smile, and I noticed his eyes again, but for a different reason. They were the same colour as mine, a little darker, maybe a little bluer in certain light, but close enough to the same colour. Trowa had never even been mine to lose.

"Quatre, it's nice to finally meet you." I meant it.

Duo wheeled my chair next to Trowa's and pulled up a seat on my other side.

Trowa leaned near, touched my shoulder, and asked softly, "Shall we make some new memories?" I didn't think Quatre or Duo heard him.

I smiled. "Yeah." And this was a good place to start.

end.