Disclaimer: Gundam Wing isn't mine, as the usual disclaimer goes. But oh… if it was… I wouldn't be writing this!

Author's Note: I haven't written a Gundam Wing story in quite a while, so I'm a little hazy on specific details, so this will probably be a bit AU. Thanks for reading, and I always love comments/editing.

Regret & Redemption

It had been six years since the end of the war. Six years where Duo had made himself a living as a mechanic, running his own garage, finding that he couldn't stay away from all things mechanical. So maybe cars were his replacement for Shinigami, but nonetheless he found the hard physical labor pleasurable after the years of living on the edge of death. He hadn't kept in close touch with everyone from the war, something that he regretted. Quatre and Trowa were happy working at the Winner Foundation, Heero and Relena were busy with politics, and Wufei and Sally were still part of the Preventers. Which left him all by his lonesome, but he got along. Weekends were spent at various clubs and bars around the city, while the weekdays were spent slaving away at the garage.

He hadn't thought things would change, until one fateful dark stormy day when Hilde came hobbling into his garage. The lightning intermittently cast shadows on her bruised and bleeding face as she looked around the large room. Duo heard the door shut and scooted out from under the car he was working on, thinking that another customer was looking for help. As soon as she saw him she cried out softly and sunk to the floor. Nothing registered in his brain for a split-second, and then he was running across the room and cradling her in his arms as she silently wept. What in the world happened to her? Duo thought frantically, trying to calm her. She clung to him and as he held her he noticed she was pitifully thin and ice cold to the touch.

"Hilde, there's a couch in the back room, hold on to me," he softly commanded, not letting her disagree as he scooped her into his arms and carried her back where it was warmer and more comfortable.

They were silent as he put her down on the sofa and wrapped her in blankets. Questions flew through his head as he poured a cup of coffee from the machine and gave it to her, sitting down in a chair nearby.

"Hilde…." he had no idea how to ask what happened to her and so he trailed off, staring at her.

She didn't meet his gaze, but shakily held the coffee mug between her hands.

"I didn't know where to go," she whispered, tears welling in her eyes, "Noin and I…I thought we were perfect…"

Duo immediately knew what happened, and fire burned in his eyes, "She did this to you," he stated flatly, trying to keep his emotions in check.

"I didn't think she would ever do this to me, I loved her…at first it was wonderful, but then she started getting depressed and I couldn't help her. Nothing I did changed what she felt. And then she started getting angry, blaming me for her unhappiness, but I tried so hard," she let out a little sob, "I tried but nothing worked. And last night, she just exploded…"

"It was because of Treize, wasn't it?" Duo asked.

Duo had seen Noin gaze after Treize, but Treize never saw her love for him. In fact, he almost made a point of ignoring her after the war. So Noin went to Hilde, and Hilde being the kind caring person she was, she opened her heart to Noin. That was the reason why Duo had originally left and opened his garage, because by the time he had sorted out his feelings for Hilde she was already happy with Noin. And while Duo didn't want to ruin what they had, he also couldn't bear to be near them. All he cared about was her happiness, and if she was happier with Noin, then he had to let them be, and live without Hilde.

Hilde nodded her head slightly, "I knew she had feelings for him, but I thought she loved me and had forgotten him. But he never left her mind…and then he got married and she just…but I understand why she would do that. She was upset."

Duo couldn't believe his ears. After Hilde had been abused by Noin she was defending her. Only Hilde could have such a large heart, he thought sadly.

"I'll go get my first aid kit and some ice, just drink that coffee," he said and came back a few minutes later after finding everything he was looking for.

Hilde had curled pathetically into a ball on the couch, shivering with her hair covering her eyes. Duo's heart leapt out of his chest at the sight, and simultaneously swore that nothing would ever happen like this again to her.

"Here, you want me to help you?" he asked quietly, not wanting to scare her.

She sat up slowly, wincing from pain. "I'm okay. I just…I don't know what to do…"

"You obviously are not okay babe," Duo said protectively, "Hold onto this ice and we're going to go to my apartment where we can fix you up better."

With that said, he scooped her up again in his arms and carried her to his small pick-up truck, where he put her in the passenger seat. He ran to his office, scribbled a note: "Closed for the day," taped it to the door, and ran back to his truck and started it up. His apartment was only a five minute drive, spent in silence as Hilde looked out the window and Duo tried not to kill anyone.

He parked the truck and took her in his arms again, taking her up to his apartment. Hilde limply lay in his arms, not resisting but not helping him either. I never thought I'd carry her this way to my apartment…he thought. Once inside, he laid her on his bed. She was obviously exhausted from the night and morning of getting to his garage, and as soon as her head touched the pillow she was asleep.

Duo straightened up and thought his heart would break. Hilde was a mess and all because he hadn't stood up and spoke his feelings to her. He cleaned her face and bandaged it up, then moving to the rest of her body. Noin hadn't skimped on breaking Hilde. There was barely any skin that hadn't been bruised or was bleeding, and his tears softly fell onto the bed as he finished bandaging her. Duo pulled a chair next to the bed and gazed on her broken face until he drifted off to sleep, both of them dreaming nightmares but too tired to wake from the terror. And so the night crept onwards.

Regret & Redemption

I will probably continue this story, but I just wanted to get the beginning out to see what you readers have to say about it.