Chapter 3: Helpful Appearances
Relena dropped her pen onto her desk and ran to the door when she heard the doorbell ring. She quickly unlocked the door and swung it open, then was immediately caught up in a tight, violet-scented hug.
"Nice to see you too, Hilde," Relena laughed and hugged her back. Hilde grinned and released her friend, then grabbed her dufflebag. "Here, let me show you to your room."
"Jumped onto the shuttle as soon as you called me, girlie," the blue haired woman walked in and after taking off her shoes, followed Relena to the extra bedroom. "It's a good thing I was in dire need of a vacation. Let me just freshen up a bit and then you will tell me everything!"
"Sure, Hilde, whatever you say!" Relena laughed and headed into the kitchen. "Hungry?"
"Starving! Feeding me?"
"I guess I have to!" Since she had already prepared for Hilde's arrival, there wasn't much to do. Relena heated up the chicken in the oven, tossed together a quick salad, and began to set the table. By then, Hilde had showered and offered to help. The two girls decided that it would be more fun to sit at the breakfast nook instead of at Relena's large dining table and had their dinner.
"So spill the beans, Relena," Hilde raised her eyebrow she spread salad dressing liberally over her salad. "What's going on between you and Mr. Yuy? Sounds like there's more than a business relationship going on over there."
"Honestly Hilde, I don't know," Relena sighed. "He never really showed a whole lot of interest in me-"
"Are you kidding me? He rescued you multiple times, he kissed you twice-"
"No, those were never kisses, those were almost kisses."
Hilde blinked and put her fork down, "Almost kisses? As in he started to kiss you and then stopped!"
"Well, things happened, like the hatch of the Peacemillion opening and he had to get me out of there, or that time on that abandoned colony and it was about to explode- hey that's not funny!" Relena blushed as Hilde burst out laughing.
"Oh you two are just... just too much," the blue haired woman laughed so hard that she started to choke. Hilde had to take a drink of wine to calm herself down but then she leaned in. "So how do you feel about him now?"
Relena sighed and leaned back in her chair, "I... really don't know. I was crazy about him when I was younger but that was when I didn't really know better. My entire world was changing and I latched onto the only constant thing and that turned out to be Heero. And, uhh, no pun intended, but it was more hero worship than anything," she blushed as Hilde snickered. "I do like him though. I like him a lot."
"Just a lot, huh?" her friend raised her eyebrow.
"Well to be honest, I don't know a whole lot about him, mostly because he doesn't tell me," Relena smiled somberly. "It's funny, I know the way his brow furrows when he's not happy about something, or the look he gets on his face when he's concentrating hard... and I don't know what kind of music he likes to listen to or what his favorite food is. It's not like I really paid attention to him either, especially after Pagan passed away..." She closed her mouth abruptly and started clearing away her plate.
Hilde reached out and grabbed her hand, "Relena, don't clam up. Pagan wouldn't want that." She got up and wrapped an arm around her friend. "I kept kicking myself after he died when I noticed that all you were doing was work. I should've been there for you."
"No, it isn't your fault. Duo had just left you and you were struggling with keeping up the scrap business all by yourself," Relena hugged Hilde. "I should have been there for you as well. It must've been difficult for you."
"Yeah well... what could I do, he was in love with what's-his-face, not with me," Hilde remarked with a bitter smile. "I couldn't hold him down no matter how much I loved that braided idiot. He sold me the business and then left. Okay, enough of the depressing stuff!" she said suddenly, "Let's get this mess cleaned up and make some sundaes. Just because we went through some hard times doesn't mean we should be upset about it now! Besides, we have to make up for lost time!"
Hilde jumped up and grabbed Relena, then dragged her into the kitchen. Relena laughed happily and let herself be pulled.
/-/-/-/
Duo Maxwell yawned hugely as he trudged up the cobblestones to Relena's front door, shooing a lone cat out of his way before he hopped onto her porch and rang her doorbell. He waited and frowned when he noticed that no one was answering, then rang two more times. Right when he was considering breaking down the door and running in with his gun cocked, the door swung open and a sleepy looking Hilde snarled, "She's coming, hold your damned horses, Heero-"
Her eyes snapped open when she realized who was at the door. The two usual chatterboxes were soon caught in a rare moment of silence as they devoured each other visually. Hilde couldn't stop staring at her ex-boyfriend. She was accustomed to seeing Duo in his regular black clothes so she had never seen him in a Preventer's uniform before, the sexiest uniform to exist in a very long time. While other people would had faded into nothingness in the dull olive greens and navy blues, Duo seemed to glow since both colors caused his already vibrant eyes to stand out and plucked out the red in his hair. The tight sleeves defined his muscular arms and the white, v-neck t-shirt he wore underneath his jacket hugged his torso and emphasized his collar bones, revealing a hint of the well-defined chest that she knew lurked under there.
Duo's violet eyes took in Hilde's silky, powder blue shorts and tank top pajamas, nothing special but the silk clung to her figure and left nothing to the imagination. Vaguely, Duo noted that she had let her hair grow since they had parted ways and her blue-black hair was softly brushing against her bare shoulders, settling at the top of her perky breasts. He swallowed hard when he noticed her nipples had hardened from the chilly morning breeze and her figure was still slim and fit, but curvy in all the right places.
Of course, in typical Duo fashion, he couldn't stay silent and enjoy the view for long. "Babe...?" he asked hesitantly. "What are you-" WHAM! Duo found himself on the ground looking at pretty stars and bluebirds flying over his head as Hilde rubbed her sore fist and ran into the house. There was hysterical screaming, then a calm, soothing voice, and then Relena suddenly appeared and crouched over the fallen Preventer.
"Duo? Are you okay?" she pushed his bangs out of his eyes and frowned when she noticed the beginnings of a black eye.
"Oww... ow ow ow ow..." Duo sat up slowly and groaned. "Sheesh, the one day I stand in for Heero and I get socked. Ow. Yeah, I'm okay Relena. What's Hilde doing here anyway?"
"She's on vacation," Relena answered shortly and helped him up. "What about you?"
"Heero's supervising the installation of the new security system, remember?" Duo opened the door for her and climbed into the car himself.
"That's supposed to be next week."
"They moved it a week early, I guess they forgot to mention it to you."
They drove silently for awhile until Relena remarked, "Hilde's really mad at you."
"No kidding."
"Well, you probably shouldn't have called her 'babe'."
"It's a reflex," Duo sighed and winced when he felt his black eye sting. "I've always called her 'babe' and she's always let me."
"That was before you broke up with her after being with her for all those years. She still loves you, you know."
"I know." More silence and they arrived at Relena's office. Duo parked his car, leapt out and helped Relena out, then trailed after her as she mentally ran down a long list of things she had to do that day. Meanwhile, the wheels in Duo's own head was turning as he stared at the Vice Foreign Minister, wondering how much his ex-girlfriend had told Relena about their relationship. He sighed, women teaming up wasn't part of his plan to hook Relena up with Heero, if anything, Hilde was a wild card and could easily pull Relena from one direction to the other and back again.
The future looked very frightening indeed.