Chapter 11
Duo's eyes opened, and he looked down at the petite form of his love, curled in his embrace, her back pressed against his chest. Her blue black hair shone, kissed by the sun's morning rays, and her chest rose and fell steadily as she slept. Duo slowly propped himself up on one elbow, trying not to wake her, and contented himself with simply watching her, his arm slung around her waist protectively. He mused on how lucky he was, and wondered what it was going to be like, being with Hilde for the rest of his life. He grinned, and decided it would never be dull. The angel in his arms stirred, and he pressed a gentle kiss to her shoulder. Her eyes fluttered open, and she turned her head to look over her shoulder at him.
"Good morning beautiful." Duo murmured, a small smile on his lips. Hilde smiled back and stretched, her legs lengthening and her arms pushing out in front of her.
"Good morning." She smiled as she relaxed again.
"How do you feel?" Duo asked, nuzzling her hair.
"A little achy, but I'll survive." Hilde murmured. Suddenly, she sat bolt upright. Startled, Duo sat up too. Hilde put a hand to her head. "Oh my god, what did I do?" She moaned, closing her eyes. Duo looked at her confused.
"Well, unless the rules have changed, we had sex last night." He said, puzzlement crossing his face. Hilde looked at him, and Duo grinned. "And you were amazing babes." He said reaching for her, but Hilde pulled away, taking the blanket with her and pacing the room. Duo watched her, bafflement evident in his face.
"They are gonna kill me. They're gonna kill me, they're gonna kill me." Hilde muttered, pacing the room. She stopped and turned to face Duo, her mouth open and ready to start a tirade, but the words failed in her mouth at the sight of him. With no blanket to cover him, Duo was lying naked, stretched out on the bed, his hands behind his head, watching her intently. She blushed bright red and stuttered. Duo laughed and got up, coming over to her.
"Babes, who are?"
"The, th the girls." She stammered, the sheer masculinity of him overpowering her.
"Why?"
"Because we had sex?" Hilde peeked at him from under her lashes. Duo stared at her for a second, then laughed again.
"Babes, it is none of their business what we do. You love me don't you?" Hilde nodded mutely. "And I definitely love you. So what's the problem?" Hilde turned her face away.
"I couldn't hold out against you. I'm a slut." Duo grabbed her chin and roughly pulled her face to his. After a crushing kiss that left her lips feeling bruised, Duo pulled away, but didn't let go of her chin. His eyes shot sparks, and Hilde would have quailed if she could move.
"I never want to hear you say that again." Duo growled menacingly. "You are an amazing woman, and I love you. What we did was a beautiful thing, and it's not their business whether or not we are together. What matters is that we love each other, and we want to be together." He continued in a gentler tone. His eyes clouded with worry. "You do want to be with me, don't you?" His voice quavered slightly as he searched her face. Hilde's eyes widened, and shock chased across her face, which melted into a tender smile.
"Of course I do." Duo breathed a sigh of relief. "I love you Duo." He smiled at her and leaned towards her.
"And I love you." He captured her lips in a sweet soft kiss, and he lifted her gently, leaving the sheet where it fell, and carrying her to the bed. They lay down together, and their kiss became more passionate, their hands moving over each others bodies.
Suddenly, an alarm sounded, and the vid-phone on the table turned on. Duo groaned.
"Saved by the bell." He grimaced, and Hilde giggled. Smacking him playfully, she got up and started dressing as Lady Une's face appeared, and Duo hastily followed her example as they listened to their commander.
"Du Lac has made an attack. It's just north of Luxembourg. Report to the hangar immediately." The message hadn't even finished as Duo flew out of the door, Hilde on his heels, slamming the door behind her.
Heero and Relena stood in the hangar, awaiting instructions. The others turned up quickly, Duo and Hilde last among them. Relena looked at her best friend, noting her flushed cheeks and short breath. Her eyebrow quirked, and she shot her a puzzled glance. Hilde's resulting blush confirmed her suspicion, and she permitted herself a small smile. Turning her attention to the Commander, she accidentally brushed Heero's arm, and an electric tingle flew up her arm. Be still. She chided herself, forcing herself to listen to the Commander, who was outlining the mission.
Heero almost jumped as Relena's arm brushed his. He briefly blinked, and tried to calm his raging thoughts. He hadn't slept the night before, his proximity to her keeping him awake. Now he had to go into battle with her, and he couldn't afford distractions. He took a deep shuddering breath, and tried to exhale the heat from his body. Relena must have heard, as she shot him a confused glance, but she returned her attention to the mission just as fast. Heero inwardly shook his head. This was going to be difficult.
"Very well. You are dismissed. Good luck." Lady Une folded her hands behind her back as the pilots ran to their respective Gundams and suits. The boys were winched up into their suits as the girls stepped into theirs. The girls suits closed up, and Relena flexed Pax's arm slowly. The eyes glowed, and the Shifters jumped, landing in the sockets that had been provided on the Gundams. The Gundams heads turned, checking their passengers were secure. Une nodded as they turned to look at her, ten pairs of mechanical eyes watching her closely. The Shifters returned the nod curtly, and inside her suit, Relena input the co-ordinates.
"Feeding the co-ordinates through. Prepare for Shift." She broadcast on all channels.
"Affirmative." The four girls replied.
"Cargo attached and ready for Shift." Dorothy intoned.
"All good here." Hilde came through loud and clear.
"We're ready." Sally smirked.
"Let's go." Cathy called over the speaker. The five male pilots remained silent, waiting. Relena took an inaudible breath and sent a fleeting prayer skywards.
"On my mark. Three. Two. One. Shifting." She punched the button at the same time as the other girls, and the small suits and their larger counterparts disappeared, leaving Une looking at an empty hangar.
They materialised two miles outside Luxembourg, and Relena breathed another prayer, this time of thanks. They had all made it without incident, and for the first time taking the Gundams with them, it was an unmitigated success. She sent a quick report to Une, letting her know it had gone well, and pulled the others up on her screen.
"Everyone ok?" She asked her girlfriends on a secure channel as the Gundam pilots took off towards the battle.
"Couldn't be better." Hilde grinned at her.
"Worked like a dream." Sally smiled. Relena allowed herself a small smile.
"Ok then. Remember, once we get there..."
"We know, Lena. The guys do the fighting and cause a distraction. We sneak in, secure the hostages and get rid of the ground troops. We were there too." Dorothy said, gently. Relena smiled ruefully.
"I'm sorry, I guess I'm just nervous about working with them."
"It will be fine." Cathy's calm tone soothed her raging emotions. "We held out enough. Now we need to be a team." Relena thought for a moment, then nodded.
"Ok, let's show them what we can do." The girls grinned at her, and cut the connection. Relena re-opened Hilde's. Hilde looked at her, grinning, then saw the look in her eyes, and her face fell.
"You want to tell me something Hilde?" Relena's voice was soft. Hilde avoided her, a blush creeping up her neck.
"I...slept...with Duo." The end came out in a rush. There was a few seconds silence.
"Yes!" Relena's shout made her jump. "Finally!" Hilde looked at her, astounded. Relena was grinning from ear to ear. "Congratulations honey."
"You're not mad?"
"Why would I be mad? You love the guy, don't you?" Hilde nodded, her eyes sparkling. "Well, there you go then. I'm really happy for you. One question though." Hilde met her eyes. "Is he good?" Hilde stared for a moment, then laughed.
"Amazing." She grinned. "And, you and Heero?" She asked hopefully. Relena's mouth twisted. She and Hilde had confided in each other their feelings for the two Gundam pilots in question for a long time, and the two best friends had kept their secret from the other girls, trying to convince them that they didn't care. They knew it had failed miserably, but they still went to each other first.
"He went to his bed, I to mine. He slept well. I tossed and turned all night." Relena grimaced. "Maybe it wasn't meant to be."
"I don't believe that." Hilde said forcefully. "It'll work out, you'll see." Relena forced a fake smile on her face.
"I hope so." She pulled the others up again as they neared the battle site. As the Gundams got closer, she pulled the men up too.
"Shifters detachment sequence commencing." The boys nodded curtly, their attention on the battle ahead. Duo's eyes flickered to the side of the screen, as did Hilde's. Relena caught the movement, and the ghost of a smile flitted across her face. Heero's eyes widened as he saw a feral smile appear on Relena's face, the same smile that adorned his features when a mission went well. He felt...proud... yes, proud of her, proud that she was facing the battle head on without shame.
"Shifters, ready?"
"Ready." Came the answer, and the girls nodded to the lads.
"And three. Two. One. Detach." The girls released their vacuum locks and dropped gracefully to the floor, then sped off in the direction of the city. The enemy, fixed on the approaching Gundams, didn't even notice. Their Gundams slightly lighter, the men threw themselves into the battle, intent on keeping it that way.
As the girls raced along, they headed for the quavering lights from the city. They reached the crest of a hill then stopped and looked down briefly on the city. Parts of it were in ruins, and flames were everywhere. Screams floated up as mothers tried to protect their children from the falling rubble, and men shooed their families ahead of them as they fled from the heavy mobile suits that raged a battle above their heads.
"2,500 civilians still alive. At least half are injured." Cathy reported, doing a quick survey.
"Alright. Dorothy, clear a path for them. Sally, get the injured out. There's a city below the city, take them there – it will keep them safe until its over. Cathy help Sally. Hilde, you're with me. Go!" The girls jumped, and landed near the city. Running flat out, they gained the city and began evacuating the civilians, Relena and Hilde heading for the town hall.
Dorothy blasted the rubble out of the way, and gestured to the terrified civilians.
"Down here!" She yelled as she blew a hole in the floor. Sally and Cathy made for the ones who couldn't walk and took them below, jumping to save time. One by one, the injured got transported to safety. Once they realised the new suits were helping, the people calmed down slightly, and gathered their wits enough to help get others. Dorothy stood guard, watching for enemies. Across the city, Relena and Hilde raced to the town centre, as detailed in the mission brief.
"What are we looking for?" Hilde asked as they tore round a corner. A hail of bullets greeted them. Flipping, they jumped over the shoulders of the soldiers and knocked them out cold, then carried on their way without breaking pace.
"The leader." Relena replied, jumping over a pile of rubble. "Une wants him for questioning. It stands to reason that he will be in the most important building."
"Right." Hilde bent her head to her running, and within seconds they had reached the Town Hall. Gazing up at it, they weighed their options.
Quatre spared a quick glance at the city.
"The evacuation is going well. They're almost finished." He reported. His shotels cut through another suit like a knife through butter, and he turned to face another. As though Sandrock was programmed to know where she was, he was completely aware of Dorothy and what she was doing, and Sandrock's screen showed an image of the evacuation, purely for report updates of course. Quatre felt a barrage of bullets at his back and turned to face them, throwing himself into the fray.
Close by, Duo sliced through another enemy, and Trowa's artillery was working overtime. A flame erupted from Wufei's dragon arm, and another enemy was destroyed. Heero's beam sabre flashed, and a mobile suit exploded.
"Ooh wee!" Duo's voice came up over the com channel. "Feels good to be back, don't it?" The other men didn't answer, but each knew the surge of adrenaline that had raced through their bodies at the beginning of the fight. It came from being one with their Gundam again, doing the thing that they were trained to do. They were soldiers at heart, and would always feel better in their suits.
Within minutes, the battle was over, and the Gundam pilots looked at each other. Quatre chuckled, and Trowa grinned. Duo burst out laughing, and even Heero and Wufei smirked.
"Hell yeah!" Duo whooped.
Relean and Hilde sped silently along the town hall corridor. As most of the troops were fighting the Gundams, there was little security, but they activated their stealth modes just in case. Turning a corner, they stopped abruptly. Red lasers from a portable detection device blocked their way, alarms that would set every bell ringing in the place, and worse case scenario, bring down the building. Hilde raised her bow, an arrow fitted to the laser string. Aiming for the PDD, she let fly. It exploded in a cloud of blue grey smoke, and from out of it raced the two suits, heading for the mayors office.
The two solid oak doors gazed at them from the end of a long corridor. Gaining them, the girls waited outside, tuning their hearing to what was going on inside. Hilde held up six fingers. Relena nodded, then made some motions. Hilde nodded, and counted to three, then kicked the doors open with Relena. While Hilde knocked out the six bodyguards with tranquiliser darts, Relena knocked out and grabbed the obvious Commander General, and without a backward glance, the girls ran with their trophy.
Dorothy radioed the others and let them know that the battle was over. The people began to emerge from the underground city, bleary eyes blinking at the bright sunlight. They turned to thank the mysterious suits, but they had already disappeared.
When the girls arrived back with the Gundams, the men breathed an inaudible sigh of relief. The plan had worked perfectly, and the boys were pushed to admit that they had done well. As Relena loaded their hostage into Wing Zero's giant hand, the other girls kept watch.
When it was done, the girls once more resumed their position aboard the Gundams, ready to shift. Suddenly, an explosion in a field to the west of the city made the Gundams turn, battle ready. When no suits came, the girls Shifted, and they were once again stood in their hangar.