Disclaimer: Usual applies.
Ch18, PART 1

Space and Earth had long since been growing into two distinctly different economies - goverend by very different methods. Generally, communication was easier on earth, as was mail and other delivered goods and the transportation of produce. A mexican mango, for instance, could make it to Europe within the day. In space, however, communication had only recently been opened up to the masses - for the fifteen years that the war had lasted communications between colonies had been prohibited and even within the Alliance, the reigning power at the time, tightly supervised. With the dismantling of this came a rush of confusion: communication between the colonies was still a largely unorganized activity, and it was estimated to take another year before it could be properly overseen.

Travel, however, had boomed. When companies stopped legally making weaponry and MS, the best alternative was developing a line of transportation vehicles.Of course they didn't stop there: since the colonies themselves were just large machines, projects for a metro system connecting all within a colony was being considered, and the materials used would come of the now-obsolete mobile suit parts and all the accessories. Small cart-like vehicles for public transportation in the streets were being developed at that very moment, to be tested on the moon where tourism was slowly making a promising comeback. Last but not least, functional vehicles were quickly produced and turned out by the hundreds - there to do whatever gritty, laborous duties needed performing. All were based on old models originally meant for places on Earth - tractors, cement trucks, cranes - but revamped to be of use in Space, were breathing room itself was limited and sources of fuel dear. Hence the new line of functional vehicles: cementors, hovers (used to drag or carry heavy loads), Arms, Junkers. Junkers were unwieldy, boxy and meant for wandering about in space on its own: its main use was to pick up all the flotsam floating about in space, from pieces of armory lost in old battles to frozen blocks of urine (in all seriousness, imagine a three foot high, two feet thick chunk of frozen urine traveling at eighty miles an hour and smashing into a shuttle - it was always a big insurance risk!).

Of course, none of this explains how Duo became a Junker (the term given to the garbage collectors operating Junker shuttles). But he did, sometime in February. The best reaction to the news came from Hilde, who had innocently wandered over with a bag of basic household necessities (toilet paper and fruit, which Duo seemed to run out of without realizing it) when she was informed.

"Hilde, look at my uniform!"

"Duo, you owe me - what's that?!"

"My uniform!"

"That's a Junker uniform, Duo. Why are you in a Junker uniform?"

"It makes sense, doesn't it? I'm a Junker now!"

"Since when? You owe me money, Duo."

"Since last week, but I wasn't sure until they sent me this."

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"I wanted to be sure I got the job." He was beaming at her and she disliked herself for having to question him so, having to give him some reason to stop being cheery so she could have a straightforward answer.

"Duo, please, explain this to me."

"Alright." She really did look bewildered. Hilde sat down, the groceries forgotten on the counter of Duo's small kitchen, and waited. Now he took a moment to pause and gather his thoughts. "See...I need the extra income. I'm not giving up the junk heap, but it's not enough, and one thing lead to another, I found an add...the interview was great, Hilde, I was great."

"That's good, Duo. But - is there anything else?" The Junker uniform was a dark forest green with orange stripes on the cuffs; it was a button up costume that wrapped about the limbs snugly and had a hood one could button up to the collar.

"I'm...starting in two weeks - training, and all that. I really start at the end of this month, so March first is really my first full work day...the hours are irregular, and I'll be in space most of the time, but the shuttle landing is only a few blocks away, I can walk home when I feel like it. The money for a beginner is good, and I don't work too many days a week, just four." Hilde found herself nodding vaguely, questions yet hopping up and down in her head like children wanting attention.

"That sounds - good. What about the house? How are you going to handle the junkyard? And your record - Duo, you don't have a record. What did you give them for a record?"

"Hilde, don't worry about that, I took care of it." Like an expert, his wolfish grin said. "My record is squeaky clean - I am a model of a young man. And the bosses like me."

"And...?"

"The house will be fine, as long as you check on it once in a while when I'm gone. And the junkyard - I told you, I'm not giving up on that." His enthusiasm was hard to refuse. "Besides, if I come across some really spectacular piece of junk, I can take it with me (I talked with some other Junkers, they all do things off the record quietly, and I'm much sneakier than them)." Now Hilde was returning Duo's grin.

"Duo, if you're happy with this, I'm happy."

"Good. Could you undo the clasp in the back of this, though? I can't reach it." He turned around: Hilde saw he'd gotten the tag snagged in the zipper, which made it impossible for him to unzip his self. With a small sigh she stood up and wrestled with it for a bit. A clasp halfway down his back made her shake her head with wonder.

"It's like the clasp on a bra..."

"Really? How do you gals get it off?" He tried twisting his arm back and feeling for the clasp but could barely brush it with his finger tips - the snug fit of the uniform prevented him from much flexibility. " - I mean, without popping a shoulder blade out of its place. Jeez..." Hilde laughed, snapped the clasp open, and sat down at the table again. Duo wiggled about for a moment before he had the top half of his uniform off, hanging about his waist. He wore a normal shirt underneath that tucked into the fitted waistband of the suit: she recognized it as one he used when fiddling with engines that could prove oily.

Hilde fiddled with the longer bits of hair curling lightly halfway down her neck. She hadn't had it cut in forever - maybe she could grow it out a little more. She had to shake the hair from her eyes when looking directly at a person. The groceries reclaimed her attention after that quiet, stretching pause. She gave a noisy little sound.

"Duo, you owe me money!"

"For what?"

"Stuff from last week and today."

"Wow, what'd you get - ?"

"Go check. I know you haven't really left the junkheap in the last five days, so I thought - "

"Coffee! That's right, I do need some. Thanks!" He set the ground coffee on the counter in an almost ginger manner. The toilet paper he threw over his shoulder; it landed in the hall to be taken upstairs later. Some fruit and more canned stuff made an appearance before the bag was empty. He folded it up neatly and set it underneath the sink. "Thanks. How much do I owe you?"

"Twenty-five bucks and a cup of coffee. Strong." He glanced over his shoulder at her.

"You alright'?"

"Yeah." He set about making the coffee and she watched.

"My landlady raised the rent: I'm looking for another place."

This remark made Duo upset a spoonful of coffee; he busily set about wiping up what he could and dumping it in with the rest, then cleaning the last dusting of ground coffee from the counter. He beat the dusting off his hands over the sink.

"Really, eh? Where do you plan to go?"

"I haven't found a place yet. It was very short notice." He looked over his shoulder at her again, this time measuringly.

"Well, if it's only two weeks - "

"I know, I know. I looked around this morning, but nothing too satisfying came up."

"What if you don't, Hilde?"

"Don't what?" He gave a snort and this hiss of water gave rise to a tiny cloud of smoke spiraling over his shoulder.

"You know what I mean. What if nothing comes up?"

"Something will. This area is always opening up new places." Her chin nestled into the palm of her hand, she leaned her weight on her elbow on the table and stared at its surface. "Sorry I didn't tell you sooner. It's just not happy news."

"Nah, but you'll make it." She gave him a close-lipped smile.

"Thanks." He brought the coffee over in mugs. Her own at a small chip on it, on the handle.

"Anyway, everything else is okay."

"Good. How's work?"

"Nothing new." They sat together in silence for a bit before Hilde cleared her throat. "What else - is there anything else about your new job? Something - I don't know, interesting?"

"Uhm... no, it sounds really boring, actually. But we get alot of sick days and vacations. I'm kind of looking forward to it - it means I'll be in space regularly again." He was smiling to himself as he said this. "Training'll be a cinch, it's mostly operating the Junker and making reparations on it. I haven't met my cabinmates, but I get two. I still need to go through the paperwork, though...there's a lot to cover. Especially on insurance." He sounded a little bewildered now: the paperwork that came with normal daily living still surprised him. Hilde once found him face-down on some forms he had to fill out for the junkheap - not out of vexation at the slow process, but out of boredom - he had fallen asleep. When he woke up, some of the ink (cheap stuff) had run off onto his cheek and the cuff of his sleeve.

"I guess you'll be taking books with you."

"Yeah, I guess."

"You'll get really good reception out there, between satellites. You'll probably catch a news channel from Earth."

"That'd be something."

Silence.

"Hilde, about your apartment..."

"Yeah?"

Duo scratched the underside of his jaw.

"Well, I have an idea." A frown pulled at her eyebrows and she stared at him questionningly. He shrugged. "Just stay here."

"Huh?"

"Hilde, I'll be gone half the week anyway, and there's that extra room upstairs - it makes sense, doesn't it?"

"You mean, me come here, to stay?"

"Sure, there's room, you need a place, why not?" She was hard-pressed to give a reason for refusing his offer and sat in befuddled silence a moment.

"So, wait - you wouldn't mind?" There was that confused-scowl again. He shook his head.

"Hilde, I wouldn't mind."

"I'd help clean upstairs."

"Well..." They stared at each other, a little dumbfounded. "So, does that mean...you'll come here?" She scratched at the side of her mug thoughtfully.

"I guess...I mean, the details need to be worked out, but..." She cocked her head at him and he nodded.

"I guess - we'll be housemates." He said, looking down at the table surface.

"Roommates." Hilde corrected him. She stared at him, hard, with a look that would have made him wince had he been looking. She gave a small cough. "Are you really sure that's okay?"

He looked up again. He saw the hair that needed trimming, the limpid curls lying softly against her neck, and the concern in her eyes and the tension in her shoulders, the way she hunched up like she was waiting for something to fall; for the first time he realized she was wearing that sweater-thing again, the one that folded across her chest and tied at the hip, and that she must really like it because he'd seen it on her so often. She didn't budge when she refused to help him with the paperwork, and she kept track of the money he owed her. He realized that, even sitting down, he was taller than her now: standing, he thought he had seen the top of her head just glancing down. And, with a grin that broke up all the serious consideration, all the wondering in his face, he thought being housemates could be alot of fun.

"Roommates, huh? Sounds good to me. When do you want to move in?" It was her turn to be taken back, and she stared at him dubiously (a twitch near her jaw told him she was chewing the inside of her cheek), hands placed in front of her on the table. Then she looked down, tracing the lifeline on one upturned palm. Without knowing it she had begun to nod to herself.

"Well...I've got some stuff, and - that room needs to be cleaned out (right?), so...whenever the room's ready, I can bring my stuff in." Duo nodded, feeling, now that a decision had been made, much happier and surer about this.

"Faaan-tastic! Do you need help with that?" She shook her head.

"Nah, thanks."

"You don't have furniture?"

"All that I've been using came with the apartment and stays there when I move out." She explained. He leaned an elbow on the table and let his gaze travel, unseeingly, out the window facing the backyard; so, she had lived in a rented apartment with rented furniture...that all sounded very bare. Kind of like a caveman renting from another caveman. With a furtive glance around hisself, he also felt that, while his stuff was secondhand, at least it was his.

"Okay. It's up to you. I know a furniture place - "

"I'll get that on my own, Duo, thanks." He backed down quickly.

"I know, only - I've got a cart in the back, we can drag anything you get back here."

"Sounds good."

Pause....

"Hilde?" She glanced up, puzzled at his tone.

"Yeah?"

"Trust me."

"What?"

"You've got to trust me here."

"Duo..."

"I'm serious. If we're - living - together, then you can't just refuse me like that." She looked like she was growing annoyed so he continued, hastily but firmly. "I mean...look, if it came down to it, I would trust you with my life - my life! Okay? And I really value it, so that I'd give it to you - that's worth just as much. Actually, I think this'll be fun - wait, think about it - hey, was that doubt there? - waking up and always having coffee here and me always making you a cup."

"Yeah, it'll be fun. But it's not going to be that easy."

"No, but - look, we're already referring to this as a set thing! There's stuff to worry about, but I really need your support and faith to deal with it." It was her turn to look down at the tabletop in some confusion and vulnerability.

"Duo...of course I trust you. Completely." She heard him give a long sigh.

"I know that...Hilde, we've had it tough, but...lean on me here, just a little."

She nodded, quickly and firmly. Then she stood up.

"I have to go to work, Duo. I'll come by later for some more planning."

"Maybe you can even help me clean up later, too." His remark bumped a smile onto her face.

"Maybe."

He saw her out at the door. He was leaning against the open door, one hand on the inside-facing knob, the other in his pant's pocket.

She turned, threw her arms around his neck. It was a quick, retreating hug she had to hold herself on tiptoe for. It caught him off guard and by surprise, but just as quickly he hugged her back one-handedly. She pulled back and grinned, elbowing his side lightly. Then she was off.

"See you later, Hilde." He called after her.

TBC - Part 2 still in the works. What'd you think, though? - Becca-W