Hey, everyone!
it's time for reviews!
Genkai Lady: That's cool! Thanks for your review, I bet you'll like this chapter if you wanted a scene with Duo and Hilde. (CEP: Ironically, most of these cool scenes and funny ideas are really just me saying random things. With the Dorothy/Relena scene I just said, 'They should get drunk'. From there it spiraled out into something very cool.)
Eishirou: Not sure what you mean by it not being uncommon for Dorothy to be happy. We never had anything in the fanfic that say that she's not commonly happy. In fact, she's always rather hyper! To be quite honest, we never intended Wu Fei to have been funny the whole time, we're just saying that he would have a very dry sense of humor. After all, he did tell, I think, one joke during the series. (CEP: I actually prefer the English voices all the way around. Dorothy especially. There's this real sense of a hard edge that the Eng. actress brings out very well. We actually discuss events and histories, between us. A lot of your favorite scenes are improvised ones that end up working with the story. Ukky is the organization, I'm the chaos and the weird thing is, we don't cancel each other out, we end up having more of each.)
Hououza: Thanks so much! We're really happy to get your review and hope you like how the girls DO go about getting their "pilots". If they ever get them. (CEP: I think Relena and Dorothy are two often misunderstood characters. Some people think Relena's pointless and I have to wonder what show they're watching, because it's not GW. She was an effective Queen of The World, after all. And a lot of people only look at the surface of Dorothy and think she's just a warmonger, when really all she wants is for people to recogize that it's not enough to have power, but you have to be responsible with it too. That's why I like delving into their characters.)
Garen Ruy Maxwell: Well, if you like it, definitely tell us what you like beyond the non-yaoi! (CEP: Yeah, dammit! What other things do you like. Something interesting that ironically hasn't come up: It's not that we're against Yaoi, it's that we can't see any of the GW characters as homosexual. Quatre and Trowa are the only possible ones, but even then neither really seems like it. Besides Quatre being too girly to be homosexual, he never acts like he's more than friends with the other pilots. Trowa is tougher to figure out because he is so placid. It's almost like he's risen beyond attraction of any kind - male, female, chair . . . But he seems to have this overprotectiveness of Catherine and almost none at all for the men. Maybe it's because Catherine is weaker than the Gundam pilots, but I think it says something that he feels more protective of women, than men. Not to say that he and Catherine would be compatible, but just that he displays more heterosexual tendencies than any other tendencies.)
Wing: Hey, you still won't tell me what's your gender! Yeah, Trowa is the one who said it. (CEP: Dammit! Quit dodging the question! Man or woman?! CHOOSE! Well, we're trying to set-up going to the school by going into how the characters view each other now. And the last thing we want is for this fic to be like all the other fics with the pilots in High School. Unlike those, we actually have a reason for them to be in HS. Besides the overused, "'cause they're high school students, duh." We like the universe that GW is set in and we're sticking with it. I get the feeling that most of our readers enjoy that aspect. What's your gender, dammit?! Sally lives in Moscow. She's assigned to the Preventer's HQ, which, from what we can tell is in Moscow - the capitol of the Earth Sphere Unified Nation. Wu Fei has an apartment right nearby, for the same reason, in case you're curious. As to the string of zeroes, here's my response: (Evil Laughter) I think we top it in this chapter.)
RedLion2: Thanks, we really do love the characters and try our best to give them happiness, growth and truth to fit them. Relena and Wu Fei would be interesting, and we had considered it. After all, at this stage in the game, Relena is pretty frustrated with Heero, and Wu Fei is actually starting to find worth in other people who also happen to be female. (CEP: You've got a good eye. It is possible that Wu Fei could make a move on Relena, but I personally don't think they would be compatible. But neither would we make a relationship easy with Sally. She is too old for him, technically, especially since he's very young. That's also something I want to have fun with. It's pretty unrealistic for a person to only be attracted to the one great love of their life. Relena and Heero make sense because they're insane, obsessive and freakishly weird. But then again, Relena has had a chance to heal a little, so she might be able to break away from that behavior. The weird thing is, Heero's never said anything but compliments to Relena. The closest he ever got to insulting her was telling her that she needed a defensive force for the Sanc kingdom. Hell, on Libra he was telling her that she was amazing and that he was nothing compared to her. Which is why people who write fanfics where Heero hates Relena are stupid. I mean, think about it; he hates her so he puts her on a pedastal? Hello?!)
Rika: Yatta! Glad to see you finally reviewed. I see that all it takes is constant badgering and a knife in the back. I'll remove the knife now. I'd like to see Relena with a hangover too! And we all will . . . . BWAHAHAHA!! (CEP: Stabbity-death, yo. Glad you liked it, and we're glad you reviewed rather than told us by IM. This way you up our review count. The cheap conference room was another product of one of our, "what would be weird and still make sense" brainstorming session. Actually, I want a talking Gundam figure too. After I came up with the idea, I thought to myself, "Dammit! I want one now. Stupid Bandai.")
And now onto the story!! So there!
Chapter 5
Earth, Moscow
April 13th – 7:15 pm
Catherine sighed as she dropped her suitcase onto the hotel bed. She glanced around the large room, unused to the sterile civility of her new quarters. It's too quiet, the maroon-haired girl frowned, eyes searching the emptiness around her and finding nothing to comfort her.
Stretching, the acrobat yawned, arms rising back and toes curling. "Well, we're probably going to be here for a while," she told herself, "might as well unpack."
As she unzipped the suitcase and began to take her clothes from it, an unsettling feeling began to nag at the back of her mind, the hair rising slightly on her neck. The whole ordeal of traveling to Russia and sitting in on the meeting had left her exhausted, physically, mentally, and emotionally. Why was there so much concentration on paramilitary maneuvers?
Tossing back her curly umber hair, Catherine found her eyes drawn to the black shopping back she had set by the door. Pausing, she stared at it; slumped against the wall, it appeared so innocuous. They can't expect me to actually use that knife, she mused worriedly, then slowly began walking towards it. Sure, Catherine told herself as she knelt down before it, taking the bag as if it might evaporate, I can fight someone if I have to. But using a knife . . . Especially one like this . . .
The young woman took out the sheathed knife from the bag, tossing the plastic aside and staring at the ebony sheath. Using this on someone, her eyes tightened as she removed the leather cover and stared at the serrated edge glinting with light, would be akin to mutilation.
With a sudden snarl, she sheathed the bowie, placing it on the nearby desk and leaning her hands onto the wood. Glaring at the wall inches from her face, she scowled through it, eyes on a distant place where she could not escape her rage.
Trowa WILL be fighting again . . . why else go to all this trouble of buying equipment?! Her fingers pulled away from the hard surface to tighten into fists, and she straightened, spinning to glare at the closed door.
Face flushing, Catherine took a deep breath and cried, "That LIAR!"
Storming forward to the door, she flung it open, muttering, "If he thinks I'm that stupid, he's got another thing coming!"
((()))
"It's really great to see you again," Quatre smiled as he leaned against the wall next to the hotel room dresser.
Trowa gave him a miniscule smile as he carefully put away his clothes in the drawers, one after the other, in smooth succession. "It hasn't been that long," he pointed out, mouth growing more amused as he finished and closed the last drawer.
"Two months," shrugged the young blond, crossing his arms easily and watching his friend sit upon the edge of the bed, eyes falling upon the cobalt-blue dress-shirt he wore. "I see that Catherine's attempts to expand your wardrobe succeeded," he chuckled, laughter almost chiming.
The tall young man continued to smile from his spot on the bed, and shook his head. "There really wasn't any reason not to. If it makes her happy and really doesn't cause any damage, what's the harm? Anyhow, it got annoying only having three pairs of clothes and doing laundry all the time."
Quatre laughed again, then sighed in the comfortable silence, his thoughts returning to previous issues.
"So," Trowa placed his hands on his knees and gazed at the fair-headed boy seriously, "what's been bothering you?"
"Problems," the trillionaire exhaled heavily, teal eyes locking onto Trowa's. "Relena will be attending the same school as we are this semester. But she doesn't know that we're all going as well." He winced. "Except for Wu Fei and myself, actually. She asked me to go along and I guess Wu Fei has to, as she 'hired' him to be her bodyguard when away from home."
"So," Trowa slowly tossed his head back and forth, "she still refuses twenty-four hour protection?"
The other young pilot rolled his eyes and shrugged broadly. "Of course she does. If the bodyguard isn't Heero, she's not interested."
Frowning in amusement, the sienna-haired boy joked, "Isn't that a breach of professionalism?"
"I suppose one might see it as a preamble to marriage," Quatre grinned. "But, in reality, that is the problem I'm worried about." The smile fell, and his saffron head dropped. "As soon as Relena and Heero see each other, things are going to get shot to hell."
Trowa nodded. "Precise in mood, if not in particulars."
Mouth quirking, Quatre looked at him flatly. "That's all you can say?"
With a spot of laughter, the acrobat grinned at him. "No, but I thought it might frustrate you."
The fair-haired boy chuckled and sighed, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Frustrating me out of amusement seems to be an ongoing theme, lately."
"You're right, though," Trowa told him, rising to slowly pace around the room, a thoughtful expression giving an extra glint to his auburn eyes. "It could either go very well or very poorly . . . most likely the latter than the former." He turned and gave Quatre a stern gaze. "What do you think we can do to make things go more smoothly?"
"Well I-"
Suddenly, a voice called from outside the door, "TROWA!"
"Uh-oh," the young blond winced as Trowa opened the door to display an enraged Catherine.
Periwinkle eyes blazing, the teenage girl demanded, "Where is that jerk?!" as she rolled up the sleeves of her blue blouse.
The tall pilot gazed down at her serenely. "Which one?" he simply asked.
"WU FEI!" she yelled, fists clenched as she shot him an annoyed glare. "Who else?!"
"Well," Quatre nodded uncertainly, brows furrowed, "there are only so many jerks around."
Raising an eyebrow at the both of them, the male acrobat shrugged and sighed. "I think he left with Sally. Probably to turn in for the night." His gaze studied her as she frowned and glared up at him.
"Okay," Catherine snapped, squaring her shoulders as her curly maroon hair bounced. "Then I'll remind you again: No matter what weapons you guys bought today," she raised a finger to shake at him, "you're not going to fight anymore. RIGHT?!"
The young blond next to them stared and didn't speak, watching as the two stood their silently.
Bowing his head, Trowa gazed into her eyes. "Catherine . . ." His stare hardened sorrowfully, and to her surprise he informed her, "Sometimes, the only recourse is to do battle. However, if I can at all prevent a fight, I will."
Her finger slowly drew away, hands curling into fists again as she bared her teeth, tears glittering violet-blue in her eyes. "Fine. Just . . . just be that way!" Spinning, she darted from the room, steps clattering as she ran down the hall. "You're such a man!" she cried behind herself as she fled.
Exhaling slowly, the brown-locked young man's chin fell and he tossed a wry glance to his companion.
Quatre just shook his head, closing the door behind Catherine and leaning up against it. "Just going to let her run off?"
With a shrug, Trowa replied, "It's better to let her blow off some steam right now. She's never really understood me fighting; I think she believes that she should fight all my battles for me."
Smiling, the saffron-haired pilot murmured, "Now I see why the circus remained so attractive to you. It's nice having someone to care that much about you. Even if the methods aren't the most thought-out."
"She's still young," Trowa told him, and Quatre raised a brow.
"I thought she was older than you," the trillionaire teased slightly, smiling.
Returning the smile, Trowa shook his head, long bangs brushing his shoulder. "She is, physically. And, physically, we're still young, too."
A frown touched the shorter boy's features, and he folded his arms and rested further against the door. "Yeah." His blue gaze faltered into sadness. "Sometimes it's hard to remember that."
((()))
Earth, Izumo
April 14th – 1:10 am
Dorothy beamed as the bartender set down another drink for her, and grabbed it with a hand, giving the Hispanic woman a thumbs-up and a drowsy wink. "Thanks, sister."
Arching an eyebrow the bartender told her, "I should call you girls a cab."
"Nah," the tall blonde waved a hand at her, tossing back the martini, "I'm fine . . ."
"Okay, cab-time," returned the curly-haired brunette, giving her a wry grin and a shake of her head. "Give me your keys, you can get them back when the taxi arrives."
Giving her an ice-blue glare, the teenager murmured, "You can have my keys . . . when you pry them from my cold, dead . . ." She hiccupped and looked over at the shorter blonde next to her. "What was I saying?"
Relena gazed blearily at the wall lined with liquors and sparkling glasses, one fist holding up her chin. "Heero looks better in school uniforms than he does in those stupid shorts. I always wanted to buy him . . . some new clothes . . . but he never stayed around long enough for me to . . . buy him any." One finger from her free hand began to play absently with a snag in her yellow sweater, tugging on it and pulling the yarn further out.
Nodding, the young Catalonia set down her empty glass on the edge of the bar, the bartender just fast enough to swipe it up before it fell. "Quatre sure looked cute in those silly little outfits of his. Like a little doll. I wonder why he never had a suit-coat? It was like he . . . he wore three piece suits without the coats, ya' know?"
"Keys," the Latino woman raised a brow and held out her hand, smirking a bit as Dorothy handed them over without even looking at her.
"Keys, shmeys," waved the platinum-haired girl. "He sure is sexy . . . in a kind of little boy way, ya' know? I never really thought he was that cute until he fought me . . . There's just somethin' so adorable about such an innocent lookin' cutie-pie with a weapon . . ."
"I tried to get him to visit you," Relena sighed, deep azure eyes saddened, "but he keeps saying he's too busy and you're too scary . . ."
"Hey!" Dorothy retorted drunkenly, "that's not my fault, you know."
"It's not?" The Minister raised a bleary eyebrow to her and turned half-way to stare at her. "So, who's fault is it?"
"That," the taller teen hiccupped, "is a secret."
Just then a nearby man wobbly sauntered over, his grin more of a grimace below his balding head. "Hey, honey," he smirked at Dorothy, who never turned from facing the bar to look at him, "how 'bout you and me take a ride and - UGGH!"
The man slumped slightly as the tall girl pulled back her fist from his stomach and majestically rose, a cruel grin crossing her mouth. "I've been wanting to do that for some time!" she cried.
"You little-!" Roaring, the drunkard straightened and swiped at her face with an open hand, but Dorothy ducked back by lying against the stool, then grabbed a nearby empty bottle and smashed it over his head, her cackles filling the air and drawing the attention of all the patrons.
"Hey!" another man hollered, "what the hell was that for, you freakin' maniac!"
Relena rose her head to see four men closing on them, the bartender waving her hands at everyone and people cheering from all around. "Dorothy?" she blinked groggily, turning to look at the men.
The insane cackling filled her ears as she stared at the vision of the taller girl standing before her, long silvery hair tossed around her and her teeth bared in a feral pose. "Come on," she taunted, holding the broken bottle in one hand and brandishing it high into the air, "you little boys think you can take me?!"
Lurching at her, the men attacked, and to Relena's drunken dismay, Dorothy managed to kick and fight them off of her for many seconds, as their cries of pain and rage filled the air, overcome occasionally by that maniacal laughter.
"DOROTHY!" the saffron-locked Minster winced, pulling her hands to the front of her golden sweater and edging away from the struggle occurring a mere few inches from where she sat. "Eep!" Relena cringed and ducked a flailing elbow, then wailed as her barstool was suddenly swept out from under her as one man grabbed it to crash it down upon her companion's head.
Finding herself on the dirty floor and gazing up at chaos before her, the young woman gaped, then frowned, seeing Dorothy cut and fending off the attackers with two broken pieces of barstool and bared teeth. "Hey, you leave her alone!" Relena growled, jumping uncertainly to her feet, fists clenched at her sides. Spinning, she swiped up another barstool and in one smooth motion, whipped it high into the air, shouting "FORE!" as it clubbed one man under the chin – flinging him into the air as he groaned in pain.
Roaring, Relena took her weapon and plunged into the fray, whacking randomly and lucky enough that she kept missing her friend in her wild abandon. The two girls fought like animals, Relena flinging her stool and Dorothy upper-cutting and swinging herself around to thrust her elbow up into another man's nose. His screams filled the air as he fell away, blood pouring from his face, and as the tall girl raised her head to scan her surroundings above the scrape, she blinked in surprise to see the entire bar entangled in battle.
"Rrrrrrrr, get away from ME!" Relena screamed, kicking a man hard in the gut and tossing him to the ground. She turned to Dorothy to find the two of them free of attackers for the moment, and their blue eyes met in shock.
"We gotta get out of here!" the platinum-locked girl exclaimed, spinning to whip out her wallet and flinging some bills onto the counter. "Here's the payment for the damage, can I have my keys?"
"NO!" the bartender yelled from under the bar, then peeked out to glare at them. "You girls are definitely TOO drunk!"
Just then a honking noise cut across the rolling cries of the combatants in the bar, and Relena looked towards the exit. "The taxi's here, I think," she blinked uncertainly, then looked down at the broken bar stool in her hand. "Wow, did I break that?"
"No, that guy's skull broke it," Dorothy told her tiredly. "Okay, now I can have my keys, right?"
Before the bartender could answer, a thug climbed up from the floor and groped for the tall girl, and with a tired sigh she raised a fist and back-punched him without even turning to face him.
With an "Urgh . . ." the man slumped to the ground once more.
"Right, keys," the worried Hispanic woman frowned and tossed them over. "You girls are nuts, you know that?"
"Thanks!" exclaimed Dorothy, catching the keys and giving her an ice-blue wink. "C'mon, baby," she grabbed Relena's arm and they raced for the door, "let's blow this joint!"
Behind them, the bartender grabbed the money left on the table, her sienna eyes widening as she realized the number of hundred-dollar bills she held. "Holy . . ." The brunette began to laugh as she sunk down below the bar, calling out to the girls, "Thanks, ladies, itte rasshai!"
Relena turned to yell back and wave, "Itte mairimasu!"
((()))
Earth, Moscow
April 13th – 8:23 pm
Hilde ducked back out of the way of the creature's swing, gasping as she rolled away only to see the muscular arm slam down against the fertile earth she had just been standing upon.
In the misty darkness of the haunting forest surrounding them, the tall, wide monstrosity's eyes seemed to glow a dull bloody red as it bellowed in rage, making the girl jump back slightly. "This is-" she gasped, heart beating fast as she found herself backed into a thick tree-trunk, "-a bit much!"
Across from her on the other side of the monster, Duo threw his ebony cloak back from his arms and tossed back his head with a cackling laugh. "C'mon, buddy," he smirked at the filthy figure as it turned to growl at him and swing another arm. "Don't worry," he yelled over to Hilde as an aside, "this is nothing, Babe!"
She watched with concern as he ducked easily out of the way of the creature's attack, its sluggish lumbering expected from a creature a good two heads taller than him. Pulling back his hand, bright mandarin fire flared to light within Duo's palm as he brandished a long-sword he'd swiped from one of the fallen humans around them.
With a smirk, the young man's violet eyes narrowed and he dropped into a forward roll to avoid the massive club smashing down towards him, then leapt to his feet behind the beast, hand flung outward and blazing fire roaring into the ugly animal's torso.
Looking down at her own sword, Hilde frowned, then looked up at the back of the screaming monster. Shaking her indigo head, she raised the weapon and rushed forward towards the creature, eyes widening as the implications of what she was doing began to set in.
With a loud cry of rage and more than a little fear, she swung the sword directly at the exposed side of the abomination, wincing in disgust as the blade sliced deeply into the flesh, splattering black ichor over the metal and onto her shirt. "Ew, this is really gross!"
The enraged roar of the beast filled her ears as it spun, thick arm thwacking her firmly in the side of her head and dropping her to the ground.
"Hilde!" called Duo's voice from across the overgrown road, and she opened her eyes to see him lunge forward towards the inhuman being as it slashed its club at his head. Right as it would have struck, the young man dropped low and swiftly spun in place on the balls of his feet, long copper braid flying and sword singing through the air just before he whipped the thick blade up, momentum sinking it deeply into the chest cavity of the monster and ripping apart the ribcage in a splatter of gore.
Covering her eyes, Hilde lay upon the dirt and listened to the heavy sound of the creature dropping to the ground, the earth shaking slightly around her. Okay, it's dead. Wow. It's dead. And so is Duo.
"Hey, uh, Hilde-babe, are you okay?"
She looked up to see Duo standing above, reaching out a leather-gloved hand to her as he knelt down, purple eyes filling with concern and a few loose strands of sienna hair falling around his face.
"Yeah, I'm fine . . . besides being scared out of my mind!" she retorted, glaring at his instantly happy expression.
Allowing herself to be pulled up, Hilde stood and shoved her hands onto her hips eyes narrowing at him as he looked at the sword he'd used. "What the hell is wrong with you, Duo?! Besides the obvious!"
"Huh?" Confused, the boyish young pilot knelt down and cleaned his blade upon some overgrown grass, his features difficult to see through the mist as he bent over the weapon. "C'mon, that was fun," his gentle voice rose over the fog as she glared at his back. "You didn't get hurt, did'ja? I told you not to put your personal damage settings so high."
Rolling her eyes, the girl crossed her arms tightly and glowered. "So? This game is way too realistic. I can't believe you like this!"
"What?!" Straightening and sheathing the blade, he looked down at her in shock. "There's monsters and swords and magic . . . what's not to love? You just need to get a little used to it."
"Which is ANOTHER thing," Hilde pointed out, "you're cheating." The dark-haired girl looked down at herself and first noticed the dirt now covering her clothes. "Great, now I'm all dirty," she growled, dusting off the tight leather-worked pants and finding herself even more annoyed that they were so comfortable. "You're a sorcerer, what the hell are you doing swinging a sword around?!"
With a shrug, Duo replied, "it's not cheating." He raised a copper eyebrow at her and smirked, "You can multi-class."
"But you DIDN'T!" she raised her head and glowered at him. "You're a straight sorcerer!"
Giving her a thumbs-up, he grinned, "Don't you know it, baby."
"Oh yeah?!" she cried, indigo eyes blazing as she slowly began to step forward towards him, "Give me that sword! I'm gonna shove it so far up your ass you'll be choking on it!"
"Wh-what'd I do?!" he cried, backpedaling away from her quickly.
"You KNOW what you did!" Hilde yelled at him, chasing him over to the tethered horses. "Where'd you learn to use a sword like that, anyway?! That was totally not in-character!"
Dashing around the horses - who looked up in surprise – the braided teenager called back, "I improvised, okay? What's the big deal?"
"Yeah, right!" the short-haired girl sprinted after the pilot, circling back to try to catch him only to have him duck under a surprised ebony horse. "I've never even seen anyone use a sword like that, you twink!"
"You know," Duo laughed as he stopped to throw an arm over his black stallion's neck, "you look really good in that tight leather bodice."
"ARGH!" That pervert, he's sure lucky he didn't say that when someone else was around! Flushing, the brunette stamped her foot and leaned back against her Appaloosa, only to find herself glaring down at the rather revealing crisscrossing leather straps holding her bodice together. "It's not as if they had a lot of selection, you jackass."
"Well, you know me!" he beamed, then turned and sauntered back towards the pile of bodies. Looking down at them, Duo put his black-gloved fists onto his hips and spoke aloud, "D.M. Loot."
A loud bass voice said into the air, "You have found: nine gold, thirteen silver, four copper, two long-swords, three unidentified rings."
Nodding, Duo commanded, "D.M., add all to inventory."
"Added."
Mounting her dappled horse, Hilde sat and glared down at Duo in annoyance. "Are you done yet? Next time we play Time Crisis 9, okay?"
With a raised eyebrow, Duo looked back at her and headed over towards his own horse, shaking his head. "I'm tired of guns. I'm already an elite commando. This is something different."
Hilde rolled her dark blue eyes and looked up at the overcast afternoon sky. "Okay, whatever." Sighing, she conceded, "I guess it makes sense."
"You mean," Duo asked her as he got onto his horse as well, "that there's nothing about this game you like at all?" Amethyst eyes twinkling, he looked at her steadily, as if daring her to agree.
She growled low in her throat and kicked the flanks of her mount, ignoring him as the animal began walking away from the carnage. "Well, the battles suck."
"They don't suck, it was just your first time!" he told her, following on his sable horse. "It always hurts the first time," he beamed.
With an enraged growl in the back of her throat she retorted, "I'd hit you if I could do it without falling off this horse."
"Aw, but why?" he whined, adjusting the leather gloves on his hands. "You know you like it."
Rolling her eyes, Hilde griped, "Because you've been bouncing around like an un-medicated six-year-old ever since Wu Fei and Quat came to pick us up. Do you know how long that's been? Two and a half days!"
"Two and a quarter!" he defended jauntily. "And I'm not bargaining on this!"
"Grr, fine, two and a quarter, you weirdo." Turning to look back at him, she continued, "Two and a quarter days of you acting like you've got a pixie-stick I.V. drip! It didn't bother me as much at first, but now I'm starting to crack. Okay?"
Wincing, Duo gave her hurt purple puppy-dog eyes, shoulders sinking. "I'm sorry. I just haven't seen all my friends all together in so long."
"How is that 'so long'?!" she snapped, navy eyes bitter, "it hasn't even been three months, or did you forget Millie and Lu's wedding?!"
"Of course I didn't!" he glared at her, pulling the stallion up to her own horse as they trotted. "But that hardly counts! I was completely ignored!"
With a sigh, Hilde snorted, "That's ridiculous, how could anyone ignore you when you were practically bouncing off the walls! It's a good thing it was a happy occasion or someone might have actually gotten mad at you."
Duo glanced away from her, and she just barely caught his words, "Didn't stop Heero."
Hilde winced and ducked her head. "Oh, Duo." Exhaling slowly, she looked away, eyes pained. "I'm sorry."
He nodded but didn't answer her. Instead he spoke to the game again. "D.M., travel."
The scene around them shifted to show a parting of the trees into a dirt-covered street. Along their left, a three-story inn stood, windows glowing with warm lamp-light from within. Above, the sky was filled with stars, the sun just set and leaving a slight glow across the foliage-lined horizon. Obviously, many hours in-game were taken up by traveling.
From atop her steed, Hilde glanced over at the horses tethered to the posts along the front of the inn, then to their right, where other smaller buildings stood, some with signs that swung lightly in the breeze showing a weapons shop and a general store. "Wow, it's so realistic," she commented softly, giving a worried glance to her mounted companion.
"Yeah. Wanna keep playing?" Duo asked, less cheery but blatantly trying to keep up his veneer.
"Sure." Nodding, she dismounted and led her Appaloosa over to a free post, glancing back to make certain the pilot was behind her. "Let's get rooms, then."
Duo dismounted as well and tethered his horse to a post, then followed her in, his long black cloak trailing behind him. Turning to watch him, Hilde smiled a bit and shook her head at his long tunic and trousers, both a deep sable that matched his boots. He's such a drama queen sometimes.
"D.M.," the braided teenager held out a black-gloved palm and smirked as they entered the inn, "Make me cool." Suddenly, a pair of black sunglasses appeared in his hand, and he chuckled and put them on.
"Hey!" Hilde frowned, looking over her shoulder, "what did you just . . . Duo!"
Shrugging with a grin, he adjusted the thick cloak over his shoulders with his gloved fingers as if fixing the collar of a trench-coat and retorted, "What? You don't like it? It's a cheat-code I found online."
"That's hardly medieval," she grumbled, feeling guilty about needling him further when he had just admitted something so personal about his feelings for Heero. Now what do I do? Maybe we can talk in one of our inn rooms.
She let Duo handle getting them rooms, rolling her eyes at the look of confusion over the A.I. innkeeper's face that seemed to have little to do with his sunglasses.
"What did you say to him?" she asked Duo as they headed up the stairs, neither hungry in character or out – not that it would matter in any case, since the food was all pretend.
A smile broke out over his features and he replied, "I told him I wanted the 'sexy' room."
Hilde burst out laughing despite herself and continued to chuckle as they walked up the stairs. "You're crazy, you know that?"
"Yeah, I know," the sunglass-wearing teen called behind him.
Frowning slightly, the brunette looked down at her booted feet taking the steps one at a time, then spoke quietly. "Hey, Duo?"
"Yeah?" he stopped at the top of the stairs and turned to look at her.
With a smile, Hilde halted at the top step and touched his leather-mantled arm. "Why don't we go talk in your room, okay?"
"Huh? Oh, um," looking a bit incongruous when such nervousness was juxtaposed with the dangerous façade that his black clothing created, Duo nodded and winced. "Sure."
Following him to the room he'd purchased for himself, Hilde blinked in slight surprise when Duo slumped upon the bed, appearing quite adorable with his sour expression and the sunglasses falling down his nose a bit to reveal downcast purple eyes. "Alright," the surprised young man sighed sorrowfully, "I know I deserve it - go ahead and smack me."
With a chortle escaping her, Hilde tossed her head back and forth, a grin breaking out upon her face as she sat down to his left. "You dummy, I'm not mad at you!"
"Huh?" he blinked at her in confusion, long lashes framing the sad amethyst eyes gazing into her own from above the sunglasses. "But you were mad five minutes ago . . ."
"Take off those stupid things," Hilde said, swiping the dark glasses herself and tossing them onto the bed. She turned to peer up at him in concern, placing her hand over his on the bedspread. "Duo, I . . . I wanted to apologize for making Heero angry at you with the Wing Zero doll. I didn't really think he was as bad as you said he was, so I guess I didn't think. I should have expected a strong reaction, considering how quiet and cold he was at the wedding."
Shaking his tawny head and waving his right hand nonchalantly at her, the braided young man muttered, "Nah, it's nothing big." But he turned his other hand slightly on the bed so as to take hers, and smiled at their clasped hands, his gloved and hers bare.
"Liar," she grinned, staring up into his tired violet eyes. "Don't give me that." Ducking her head shamefully, the indigo-locked teen continued, "I wanted to get you annoyed, and pull a prank on you by showing it to him, but I really never believed he was quite as anti-social as you made him out to be."
"Well," Duo frowned in confusion as he blinked in thought, "I'd like to say he's gotten better, but to be quite honest, he's kinda just fluctuated back and forth from really antisocial to sociopathic, and then back to antisocial again."
"Wow." Dark blue eyes sad, Hilde gazed up at him with a concerned expression. "The poor thing. He must really be hurting inside. Why didn't you ever have us go and visit him? You know I wouldn't have minded!" she earnestly told him, taking his hand with the two of hers and pulling it up to hold firmly.
"Um . . ." holding the back of his neck with his free hand, Duo winced. "Well, if Heero doesn't want to be found, there's not much you can do about it."
"Did you even try?" she gave him a knowing look, mouth quirking.
Looking up at the ceiling of the candle-lit inn-room, Duo opened his mouth, unable to answer at first. "Well, um, that's kind of a funny story, actually . . ." His head dropping, he glanced to the side and quipped, "No."
"Well, how do you know if you don't try?" she exclaimed in annoyance. "I know all guys are supposed to be macho and never show affection for one another, but I know that you care."
Laughing with slight nervousness, Duo shook his auburn head. "Heero wouldn't want me to find him," he told her, ducking his head, "he wouldn't want me around. That's all there is to it." He glanced up at her and tried to smile, but the sight of his hurt purple eyes gazing at her so dejectedly sent a painful tear through her.
"Oh, Duo," the short-haired girl murmured, pulling him into a hug. "I think you're wrong. He smiled at us when that guy Bill at the Army store teased us. He wouldn't have smiled if he hated you. And he didn't kill you. I doubt he was really going to. I'm sure he's just not certain of how to have a friend. Let alone a friend who's so different than himself and wants to help so much."
"Hey, I – I didn't try to help that much," Duo argued uncertainly, his arms slowly tightening around her the longer she held him. "He wouldn't really notice, anyway," he spoke more softly, voice roughening with dejection.
The indigo-haired girl rested her cheek against his and looked deeply into his eyes. "I'm sure he noticed. That's probably why he seems so uncomfortable around everyone – they've all probably tried to be his friend before, right?"
"Well, yeah, him and Wu Fei were sort of friends, but then they tried to kill each other," the one-time God of Death joked, voice cracking and one leather-gloved hand rising to wipe at his face. "Wow, allergies. This video game really has a lot of realism, huh?" He tried to look away from her without moving his cheek from her own, but she could easily see the tears filling his eyes.
Hilde pulled back until their noses touched, and gazed deeply into his watering violet eyes. "Oh, Duo, it's okay. Everything will be alright, you'll see."
"I'm . . . fine," he sniffed, grip instantly tightening almost desperately around her. "No problems here." He began to shake as Hilde pulled him closer and ran her hand over his head, gently guiding him to rest his head upon her shoulder.
"Duo, sweetie, it's okay," she told him, rocking him gently from where they sat upon the bed, "just let it all out. Everyone needs to cry sometimes. It's good for you."
He merely nodded, clutching to her and beginning to weep.
With a soft exhale, Hilde tugged on his arm slightly and told him, "Why don't we lie down and then I can hold you better, huh?"
"Okay," he sobbed, tears running down his face.
They fell back onto the bed and Hilde pulled him closer to her, running her hand and fingers over his sienna head and rubbing his shoulder comfortingly as he cried.
"Poor Duo," the dark-haired girl whispered, wiping away his tears from his face and kissing his forehead. "I'm so sorry I showed Heero that doll; it wasn't my place to do it, I had no right. And this whole trip I've been so mean to you."
Squeezing him tightly, the short-haired teenager buried her head into his shoulder and began running her hand down his braid, feeling herself tearing up as her guilt began to eat away at her. "I'm so sorry, Duo," she mumbled, voice thickening as she listened to him sob.