No own, No Profit, No Sue. ‘kay?
The mist sat low against the ground, moving around his feet and
seeming to snatch at his ankles. The
air was heavy, and each breath felt laboured.
All around, the barren and blackened trees that surrounded him seemed to
creak and groan in the strong wind. A
nagging voice in his head questioned the presence of mist and wind. He shook his head in irritation. The landscape was bland, vacant of colour.
“Hilde?”
He glanced around, hoping for a response to his shout, but none
was received. His voice sounded hollow,
and the same nagging voice questioned the lack of echo.
“Hilde?”
Suddenly a flash of purple, almost garish in its’ vividness,
caught his eye. He shook his head
again. Hadn’t Hilde thrown that jersey
out years ago?
“Hilde!” he hollered to the departing figure.
Gaining no recognition, he broke into a jog, as he tried in
apparent vain to catch her as she walked away.
Jogging soon progressed to running, as she mysteriously appeared further
and further away. Yet the faster he
ran, gasping as he struggled to breathe the leaden air, the greater the
distance between them became. His heart
began to hammer in his chest, as he was overwhelmed with a fear he could not
fathom. Why wouldn’t she stop?
“Dammit Hilde, stop!”
She continued to walk, and now the heavy mist appeared to surround
her… concealing her.
“HILDE!!”
******
Hilde shook Duo’s shoulder firmly.
“Duo. Duo, wake up. You’re
dreaming.”
Blue eyes snapped open, slightly dazed as they made an effort to
focus on the face that hovered before them.
Blinking several times, Duo drew a deep breath, followed by a sigh of
relief.
Hilde crouched beside him, running a gentle hand across his
forehead, hoping to soothe him. She was
startled. It had been so long since he
had had a bad dream, and this one certainly seemed to have rattled him. His fringe was darkening with sweat, and he
seemed to tremble slightly.
“Hon? Are you alright?”
Duo gazed up at her, and he frowned slightly. The early morning sun was casting its rays
through the small bedroom window, and the light illuminated Hilde’s weary
features. She didn’t look like she had
had a wink of sleep. He raised his hand
and traced his thumb along her lower lip.
“I should be asking you the same thing. You’re exhausted.”
He paused a moment, troubled.
“Hilde, have I… have I done something wrong?”
“No!” she gasped, “No, of course not.”
She ducked her head, flushing slightly; distressed by the lie she
was about to tell.
“I’m sorry I was so horrible last night, Duo. I didn’t mean it. I… I was just tired.”
Duo gave her a lopsided grin, and he seemed reassured.
“Hey, it’s okay babe. As
long as everything’s alright.”
Hilde nodded softly, although her heart sank. She was torn by her guilt, knowing that she
had never lied to him before. No, it
wasn’t a lie, she reasoned. She was
just withholding some information. She
groaned inwardly. Oh, who the hell was
she trying to fool?
Hastening to distract Duo, and herself, she ran her hand across
his smooth chest, enjoying the texture of his skin beneath her fingertips. Leaning forward, she placed a heated kiss
against his breastbone. Giving him her
best alluring glance, she allowed her hand to drop lower.
“Well then. How about I
make it up to you?”
******
“You’re Late.”
“And good morning to you too Heero ol’ buddy.” Grinned Duo, as he
hung his jacket behind his office door.
“Hn, you’re still late.” Replied Heero, who was sitting back
behind Duo’s desk, his feet up and arms crossed.
“Ah, but it was so worth it.” Duo laughed, his trademark twinkle
in his eye. “Anyway, shouldn’t you be off writing another book or
something?”
Heero shrugged. He watched
silently as Duo seemed to pace the room.
Despite his cheerful facade, Heero suspected that something was
troubling his friend. He waited,
certain that the loquacious American would be quick in spilling his
dilemma. His presumption was not far
from the mark.
“Say, is Relena much of a ‘morning’ person?” asked Duo, wiggling
his eyebrows suggestively. Heero paused
a moment, before glowering at his American friend.
“I am not discussing my sex life with you, Maxwell. Especially not at 9.30 in the morning.”
Duo grimaced.
“I’ll take that as a yes.” Duo rubbed the back of his head
thoughtfully. “It’s funny, but I wouldn’t say that Hil is, but boy was she
frisky this morning. Almost intense….”
Heero stared at him through narrowed lids, intrigued by the other
mans’ agitated condition. Noticing the
odd look he was receiving from his friend, Duo gave a nervous cough, before
attempting to change the subject.
“Anyway’s, you’ve yet to tell me why you’ve chosen to grace me
with your presence.”
“Why I’m here isn’t important.
Don’t avoid the issue, something’s on your mind. Is Hilde okay?”
Duo jerked to a halt.
“Hilde? What makes you think…”
There was a sharp rap on the door, interrupting them. They both turned, as Colonel Une appeared in
the doorway.
“Ah Heero,” she began “ I had a feeling I would find you here. Relena won’t be too much longer. Could I possibly speak to you quickly?”
He nodded briskly in reply, as he rose from the desk and followed
her out into the hallway. Before
closing the door behind him, he glared at Duo.
“This conversation is not over.”
Slouching into the now vacated seat, Duo groaned inwardly. Great, just what he needed, a grilling from
the perfect soldier. He rubbed his
hands across his face, his thoughts in turmoil. He could no longer remember exactly what the dream was about, nor
did he know why it still left him so ill at ease. What did it mean anyway?
He sighed, as his vid screen buzzed to life. Why was it that when he actually wanted to
be left alone, nothing would? He was struck with a wave of guilt as Quatre’s
face flashed up on the screen.
“Cat Man! How’s it going?”
Quatre smiled warmly back at him.
“Things are going well. I
just thought I would check that everything was going well with the
preparations? Is there anything I can do to help?”
“Hell no!” laughed Duo “You’ve already done enough. Just make sure you’re on that shuttle in six
hours.” He leaned forward with a conspiratorial air, “We’ve got one hell of a
Bachelors party planned.”
“I have no doubt. What
about Hilde? Do the girls have anything planned?”
An almost imperceptible shadow flashed across Duo’s face, catching
Quatre’s eye. His expression slipped to
one of concern.
“Is something wrong? You’re not getting nervous are you? Surely
you’re not having second thoughts?”
Duo blinked, and he shook his head resolutely.
“Second thoughts? I’ve never been so sure of a decision in my
life. I don’t know how I ever lived
without her. It’s just…”
Quatre waited patiently, his characteristic compassionate gaze
adorning his features. Duo stared out
the window, composing his thoughts. Or
at least attempting to.
“I came home late last night.”
Quatre simply nodded, and continued to wait.
“She was angry at me.”
Duo shook his head. He
couldn’t seem to find the right words.
He was probably over reacting. He simply couldn’t understand why this bothered him so much. And then there was a flash of the dream, and
he recalled the conversation from that morning.
“She’s hiding something from me.”
Quatre’s eyebrows shot up, and he opened his mouth to say something. Duo continued, interrupting him.
“I know her, man. I know her better than I know myself. She’s never lied to me but this morning… I
think she did.”
Duo’s tone seemed confused, almost incredulous.
“I asked her if I’d done something wrong, something to warrant her
strange behaviour, but she said that everything was fine. That she was just tired.”
“Maybe she was, Duo.”
“No, you don’t understand.
I can’t explain…” he sighed, frustrated.
“I had a dream last night.
She was walking away from me. I
kept yelling at her, asking her to stop, to wait. But she just kept walking.
And then she was gone.” He
shuddered slightly at the memory.
“Duo,” Quatre’s voice was soft, soothing. “I’m sure you’re both just
tired, nervous. This is a tremendous
step in anyone’s life. Try to
relax. It was just a dream.”
Duo nodded; glad to have shared his worries. He gazed at the framed photograph that
rested on his desk. She smiled back at
him, her eyes glittering with mirth beneath the woollen cap that obscured her
dark hair and framed her glowing cheeks.
His heart swelled as he traced a loving finger over Hilde’s motionless
image. He had never known such love,
never could have guessed how it would overwhelm him.
He would die without her.
******