It was a small wedding.
Actually, considering that the groom was a war hero and the bride was the former Queen of the World, it was a microscopic wedding. Hilde thought it was lovely, though, and it was awfully kind of Relena to invite her, especially given the circumstances.
Duo officiated.
Hilde hadn't talked to him in weeks. He was such an ass. And now that the ceremony was over, he was out cracking jokes with everyone else, easily making himself the life of the party. Not that that was too hard what with Relena trying to divert attention away from her condition and Heero being, well, Heero.
Relena looked lovely in her dress. She hardly showed at all; it would probably be a few weeks yet before strangers even started to guess that she might be pregnant.
Hilde, on the other hand, looked like she'd shoved a balloon into her clothes. A small balloon, but still. And our due dates are only about two weeks apart! she thought sadly. It's so unfair. A dress had been out of the question for Hilde; her ankles were so swollen that she couldn't stand the thought of anyone seeing them, and her legs weren't much better. Luckily, it was cold enough out that no one bothered her about wearing pants to a wedding.
Not that many people noticed her at all—which, in all honesty, was fantastic. Hilde didn't want anyone to notice her. It was why she'd sought out the darkest, loneliest corner she could find after the ceremony ended.
Unfortunately for Hilde, her corner was neither dark enough nor lonely enough to keep everyone away. But she could hardly shoo Heero off; it was his house now, too, after all.
"Shouldn't you be out there dancing with Relena?" she asked, flashing him a smile as he plopped down on the end table next to her chair. "This is supposed to be your day, not Duo's."
"Hn," Heero muttered. Hilde rolled her eyes. He'd softened a little after he'd really gotten serious about Relena, but Hilde didn't think he would ever be a particularly social person. Maybe that was why he was invading her space instead of celebrating with his new wife. "Relena will dance with just about anybody, and she says I owe Duo a favor."
Hilde scowled when she spotted the blue velvet box in his hand. "I'm not interested in that," she said sharply. "And, although I really appreciate everything you and Relena have done for me, what's going on between Duo and me is none of your business."
Heero didn't flinch. "Just hear me out," he said. "After that, you can do whatever you want. I only know Duo's side of the story, and he's too busy being stubborn to say anything to you himself."
"Fine," Hilde said through her teeth. "I'll listen."
She didn't want to hear it, but she'd listen to anything if it meant people would finally stop asking her why she'd broken things off with Duo. As if they even needed to ask! A responsible boyfriend did not leave town without a trace when his girlfriend revealed she was carrying his child. A responsible boyfriend didn't avoid her worried phone calls and emails, either. And a responsible boyfriend certainly didn't have to be hunted down and dragged back by his best friend.
Hilde sighed. Heero was a damn good best friend for an irresponsible boyfriend to have, she decided. Anyone else would have stayed out of it altogether.
Heero set the box on the arm of Hilde's chair, but she refused to touch it. She'd seen what was inside. She didn't want it. Or, rather, she didn't want to want it.
"It's going to look awfully bad if anyone catches you giving that to me on your wedding day," Hilde pointed out, trying for a joke and failing miserably. Heero rolled his eyes. Not that he would have laughed at a good joke. His sense of humor was still a work in progress.
"Nobody's looking at us," Heero replied. "But it is going to look bad when Duo realizes he's misplaced this. He's been carrying it around with him for weeks, hoping you'll change your mind."
Hilde made a face. Her mind was made up. Duo was too irresponsible to be a parent. She wasn't going to marry him, and his half-assed proposal—which he'd delivered immediately upon returning from God-only-knew-where—had only enforced her decision.
"I'm not going to marry him on the spur of the moment just because I'm pregnant," Hilde said flatly. "Duo doesn't know the first thing about being a parent. Or a husband. He's only doing this because he thinks he has to, and while I appreciate the gesture—"
"Hilde," Heero interrupted. "Remember that time Relena asked you to go with her when she had her mother's old jewelry appraised?"
"I don't see what this has to do with anything," Hilde complained. "That was almost a year ago."
"Relena's errand was just an excuse to get you into the store," Heero said. "So she could get your ring size for Duo."
Hilde swallowed hard. "I'm still not convinced," she said shakily. "Like I said, that was almost a year ago and he didn't—"
"It takes time to have a piece like this made to order," Heero replied, still as calm as ever. "Duo ended up on a waiting list, and the jeweler wasn't inclined to rush—until Duo showed up on his doorstep about two months ago and demanded an explanation for the holdup."
Okay, Hilde thought. Now I'm starting to feel a little bad about all this.
"He went to that much trouble—for me?"
It came out a crackly squeak, just a hint above a whisper. Hilde was just grateful that she wasn't crying. Yet. Pregnancy sucked.
Heero shrugged. "By the time I got there to see what was going on, Duo was already on his way back here. He was afraid you'd be mad, but he didn't think you'd dump him."
"Aww, crap," Hilde muttered, blinking back the tears. She wouldn't blame the baby this time—she'd be crying even if she wasn't pregnant. "I still don't get why he just ran off without saying anything, though. Idiot."
Apparently Heero didn't have an answer for that one. He just pushed a box of tissues toward her and got off the end table. The song was winding down; the dance wound end in a minute, and Duo would notice the two of them talking.
"He is an idiot," Heero agreed. "But for better or for worse, he's your idiot now. Nothing can erase the fact that the two of you have a child together. So you might as well give it a shot. If you don't, you're always going to wonder how things might have worked out."
Hilde blew her nose so she wouldn't have to answer. She wasn't sure there was a whole lot left to say anyway; Heero was clearly finished talking. He was already walking away, leaving Hilde alone in her corner with that stupid blue box on the arm of her chair.
He really wasn't one for goodbyes. Maybe he just didn't feel like there was anything more he needed to say. Whatever the case, Hilde wasn't sure it was any of her business. Heero was Relena's problem now, the same way Duo was hers, and Hilde thought that was probably for the best. She had enough to think about. Like the baby. And Duo. And that stupid, stupid box.
Except it wasn't quite as stupid as it used to be.
Hilde sighed again and picked it up. Duo was deliberately not looking at her—they'd been carefully avoiding each other all night—so it was easy enough to drift up to him without catching his attention.
"Hey," she said when she was an arm's length away from him. "I think you lost something."
He jumped when he noticed her standing right behind him—it wasn't easy to get the drop on the God of Death, after all—but his hands were gentle when he closed her fingers around the box.
"It's yours anyway, Hilde," he said. "Since you don't want to keep it, you should sell it and use the money for the baby. Start a college fund. Something."
Hilde shook her head. "The market sucks right now," she reminded him. "And—Heero told me everything. I completely misunderstood you, Duo, and I'm so sorry."
The last sentence was barely a whisper, but Duo's eyes went wide when he heard it. He shot a look in Heero's direction, and Heero returned it with a shrug.
"Relena talked him into it," Hilde mumbled. "She told him he owed you a favor."
Duo cracked a smile at that and chuckled softly. "I never thought I'd see the day when that guy took directions from anybody," he said. He sobered too quickly. "Hilde, what are you saying?"
"I'm saying that none of this would have happened if you had told me what was up instead of just vanishing for three whole days so you could go beat the crap out of some poor jeweler," Hilde replied. "And—and I'm saying that we should see this through. Together. If we don't at least try, we're always going to look back and regret it."
Duo looked doubtful. "So does this mean you'll marry me after all?"
Hilde pretended to think about it for a second. "Ask me again tomorrow," she suggested, pressing the ring box back into Duo's hand. "It's beyond tacky to get engaged at somebody else's wedding."
Notes: I can't remember why I wrote this, but it's kinda cute and I'm a sucker for a happy ending. Anyway, tell me what you think. :D