Disclaimer: Yeh, sure. I think of it this way: if I owned the durn thing, I wouldn't have to spend every last cent collecting the movies, would I? No, I think not.
A/N: Okay, so I haven't worked on this story in FOREVER! Really, I haven't been working on any of my fics because I'm more focused on my original stories. Yup... I'm gonna be a published author one day (rolls eyes veery likely...), so if you see the name Iota Halberd on any books in the next several years, help a poor girl out and buy them... Please?
Oookay, Duo x Hilde... This may sound easy, but nothing is easy when you're dealing w/ Gundam Pilots. I mean, honestly - they're stubborn, self-degrading, selfless, ruthless, kind-hearted, confused, emotionally scarred, overly-mature... But they're 'soooo' cute!
Operation Shove
Phase I
-
Hilde followed slightly behind Duo as they walked through the dark warehouse. "Duo," she whispered, stumbling over a darker lump in the floor. The corner of a box scraped her leg, and she grabbed for him. "Duo? Duo, can you see?" Her hands wrapped around his braid, and she stepped closer.
"Whassamatta, babe," Duo replied playfully, "Ya scared?"
Hilde scoffed. "No," she snapped. "I just can't see my hand in front of my face. Can we have light, please?"
"Shhhh.. Not yet." Duo pulled her gently to the side and placed his hand over her mouth. "Not now."
Bright yellow light suddenly spilled into the warehouse from an opening door. Two men walked in chatting amiably. Catiously, Duo stepped behind several boxes and pulled Hilde with him. The men's voices grew louder.
"Damn, we were so close to killing that bitch..." One of the men growled.
"I hear ya. We shoulda sent a professional out to do it. I don't know what the boss was thinkin', sending that fool..."
"Heh. Yea. But I've never met The Chicken, have you? I heard that no one has. Sounds like a typical cult we're in to me."
"No, that's where you're wrong. I'll be damned if I joined a cult. What I joined is a New Order. And we're gonna change the world."
"Yea, you'll be damned, all right..."
"Shut up."
They heaved something heavy off the floor and carried it out.
"I'll be damned, too, if we don't get some real orders soon..." The men closed the door.
Hilde frowned. "They don't even know who's giving them orders. Duo?"
Duo stood and pulled something from his hair. "Here," he handed Hilde a pair of sun glasses. "I don't want you yellin' at me if you don't put those on." Hilde obeyed with a smile as Duo pressed the button on his small, blinding light. He let it dim, then held it up and turned about the room. "Hilde," he said, his face serious, "Hilde - check these boxes. Don't take off your gloves."
Hilde nodded. Very rarely did she ever go on missions with Duo. She looked at him carefully for a moment, admiring the rather serious expression on his face. Then, she began pulling open the boxes. "Guns. Guns in this one." She yanked another open. "Duo... Duo, these look like drugs. There are drugs, guns, ammo... knives... Explosives! There are tons of explosives!" Hilde hurriedly put the boxes back into place. "What do you think they're going to - "
Duo turned to her. "I don't know. We don't have time, Hilde." He pulled a gun from the back of his pants. "I hear them. Hurry."
Hilde replaced the boxes carefully and retreated to the far corner of the room, near where she and Duo had come in. In front of them were a dozen boxes, behind them were two tightly sealed plastic boxes. Duo's light went out.
"This'll make up for that idiot's failure, right? We're gonna blow the shit outta Vegas... It's gonna be sweet."
"Yea, well... Don't count your chickens before they hatch, Jay."
"You're no fun, you know that?"
"Yea, I know it. We've just been blunderin' so much lately that I ain't got no faith, that's all."
The other man laughed. "Heathen."
"You know what I mean."
Again, the two men left carrying a large box. Duo released Hilde, whom he had stopped mid-gasp. Hilde frowned. "Duo..."
With a sigh, Duo replied. "Why do you think I know the answer to everything? I'm not stupid, babe, but I ain't a genius, and you know it. C'mon..."
-
Lady Une had been standing. She continued standing until Maxwell and Schbeiker left the room. Then, she collasped dejectedly into her chair and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Damn them," she muttered. "Why can't people just live their lives? They always want to stir up trouble . . . Damn them all." Rumaging through one of her desk drawers, Une continued to mumble about the evils and ironies of humanity. Finally, she found the folder she was searching for and flipped through. "It seems," she said to herself, "that several of the rebels are going to be in L2 shortly." She frowned. "If they're going to blow up Vegas, why would they be on L2? Damn it!" Defeated, Une slammed the folder onto the desk and reached for the phone. Her hand hovered over it for a moment before she let it drop to the desk and sat down again. "Mr. Treize," she whispered. "You would never have allowed this to happen . . . Why Vegas?"
-
Hilde smiled at Duo. He didn't seem to take notice. With his hands behind his head and his feet on the cafeteria table, Duo was staring at a large black vent on an otherwise mostly white ceiling. Hilde's smile grew wider. She loved the far-off look in his huge cornflower-blue eyes. He had a habit of trying to act cheerful and loud, but she knew that he really wasn't. He was unhappy behind that big, cheesy grin, but she didn't know why. Sure, he had a naturally cheerful disposition, but cheerful and happy are two different things. He wasn't very open, either, which bothered her.
"Hey," she said gently, touching his arm. "We have the next three weeks off. Wanna go back to L2?"
Duo tilted his head, and one eyebrow lowered slightly. ". . . Sure, I guess." He said and smirked. "Get us a flight for tomorrow and I'm there. But right now," Duo stood and put his baseball cap on, "I'm off to get some shut-eye." With a wink, Duo was gone.
Hilde frowned. "Oookay, I'll get us a flight." A devilish grin to rival one of Duo's own crossed her face. "The earliest I can find." She chuckled. 'Oh, how he'll complain,' she thought. 'And I'm going to laugh...'
-
What Hilde forgot was that she'd have to get up early, too. She stumbled sleepily out of the girls' barracks at 2:00 AM and scorched herself taking a too-hot shower. Then, she had to muster up the courage to sneak into the guys' barracks at such an early hour. Unfortunately, the other three people that she'd have loved to wake up (and would have been afraid to wake up) were gone. They may have protected her against the rest of the angry male population that she encountered by just opening the door. Apparently, some people didn't like even the hall lights being on.
Duo yawned. "Hey.. hey, what're you jerks yelling for? Hilde-babe?" He chuckled. "You're mean. You really are. But, I'm gonna be a nice guy and save your hide." He pushed away a few men who looked ready to jump her. "A'ight, a'aight," he muttered sleepily. "Go back to bed, all a' ya..." Waving them off, he wrapped an arm around Hilde and moved her out of the barracks. "Babe, it's 2:30 in the morning. Tell me you have a good reason for wakin' up the neighborhood."
"Yea - we have a plane to catch. You have half an hour to get ready. I'll get us breakfast." She laughed at Duo's bewildered expression. "Yes, I'm serious. Now, get. We need to be out of here by 3:15 at the latest."
Woo! I have finished this chapter - FINALLY! Coming soon: the early-morning plane ride straight from a sleepy, college-aged guy's worst dreams... (At least, that's what Hilde would prefer...) Actually, I think the next chapter is going to bounce back to the insanely futile plight of Trowa and Wuffy...