Much to the G-Boys relief… I don’t own Gundam Wing. Tra La
La
“Are you sure it was a good idea just leaving them like that?”
Gracing Quatre’s question with a low grunt, Heero rolled his eyes
as he swung open the front door.
Carelessly tossing his keys on the small table, he made his way down the
hall, mentally shaking his head at Quatre’s habitual concern.
“We didn’t need to be there.
They have to talk things out, and we’d only be in the way.”
Not stopping to see if his houseguest had followed, Heero paused
as he saw a soft patch of light beneath the sitting room door. He frowned to himself, as he nudged the door
open. He should have known she would be
incapable of going to bed, and he doubted that her current hunched position in
the large armchair was doing her posture any good. Someone had draped a blanket over her, and she now clutched a
corner of it to her chin in an almost childlike way.
“I tried to get her to go to bed, but you know how stubborn she
is.”
Heero smirked, barely acknowledging Trowa’s presence in the corner
of the room.
“Don’t I ever.”
Disturbed by their low exchange, Relena stirred slightly, the
blanket dropping back into her lap.
Frowning, Heero stepped forward, quickly gathering her into his
arms. She curled against his chest, tucking
her head under his chin and sighing softly. He pretended to ignore Quatre’s soft smile, simply turning
wordlessly to the door. Had Relena been
awake, she would have chastised his complete lack of hospitality towards their
guests, but he didn’t really care. It
wasn’t like they didn’t know their way around.
Besides, he had more important things to take care of.
******
Her stomach turned uneasily, and
she fought the urge to take flight, as she watched his bewildered expression
clear, replaced by an intense stare that seemed to pierce her very being. The slow caress of her fingers ceased, as
they were firmly clasped in his, and as she backed away from him he simply
gripped them harder, following her until they both stood facing each
other.
“You came back.”
The statement allowed little room for argument, as she found herself
wrapped tightly in his possessive embrace.
She squirmed against him, forbidding herself the luxury of surrendering
to his touch, and with some effort she was able to push away from him.
“Duo… Duo, we need to talk.”
He sighed, his arms dropping to his sides as he stepped back. Looking away from her, he sat back down on
the couch, his arms crossed firmly against his chest.
“Okay. Fine. So talk.”
Stunned to silence, Hilde stood frozen as she looked down at
him. A burning sensation at the back of
her throat warned her of the encroaching tears, but she knew there was little
she could do now to stop them. The
first tear teetered momentarily on her lashes, before slipping soundlessly down
her cheek.
“It was a part of you. So
precious and special. I wanted it more
than anything, and I lost it before I even knew it was there.”
Her words were soft, choked, and Duo strained to hear her. She held her hands clasped before her,
kneading her fingers in distress, as if the motion would help to force out the
mess of words and emotions in her head.
He ached to hold her, to take the pain away, but he contained himself,
afraid he would simply frighten her back out of his life.
She hiccuped, the tears flowing freely now, swaying as the fatigue
of the last few days finally became too much for her.
“I’m sorry. I’m so… so
sorry. I just want you to be happy, to
have everything you want in life, for everything to be perfect. And I’ve ruined it, ruined everything.”
Her legs seemed to give way beneath her, and she collapsed to her
knees, an image of despair. Unable to hold
back any longer, Duo knelt before her, cupping her tear streaked face in his
hands. He brushed his thumb under her
eye, wiping away a lingering droplet.
“You shouldn’t be sorry, Hil.
This is my fault; I’m the one to blame.
You never would have boarded Libra if it wasn’t for me, and then you
never would have been injured. I got
you into this. I did this to you. You
have every reason to hate me. I don’t
deserve you, I know that. But please… I
love you. I can’t live without
you. I’d do anything if you’d just
stay.”
Hilde shook her head, pushing his hands away from her.
“You don’t mean that Duo.
It’s not your fault; none of this is your fault. Please don’t think that.”
Duo’s dark eyes took on a determined glint, as he grasped her
shoulders firmly, his jaw clenching as he glared at her.
“I’m not letting you give up on me, Hilde. You’re not allowed to make this decision on
your own. I love you, and I know you
love me too. Anything else is irrelevant. I asked you to marry me, and if my memory
serves, you said yes. That means we’re
in this for the long haul. We may not
have exchanged vows yet but as far as I’m concerned the promise was made the
day you put that engagement ring on your finger.
This is just a test, Hilde, a bump in the road. There are going to be more. But there’s only one person who I want to
walk life’s highway with, babe, and it’s you.
Whether we walk it together, or with a few extra little feet, is in Fate’s
hands and not ours. But we’re going to
walk it anyway, so quit fighting.”
She gazed back into the blazing depths of his eyes,
mesmerised. She felt him take her hand,
and found herself unable to resist as he slid the familiar band of gold onto
her ring finger. He leant forward, the
warmth of his breath caressing her cheek.
“Marry me, Hilde. Marry me
tomorrow.”
Her soft agreement had barely left her lips, before every thought
was erased from her mind by the press of his lips against hers in a passionate,
desperate embrace.
******
“Did you find her?”
He could tell by her hushed voice that she was still half asleep,
but it amused him that her thoughts automatically focused on the problem at
hand. He nodded, refraining from
comment as he pushed through their bedroom door, simply setting her down on the
edge of the bed. She blinked up at him,
frowning at his lack of information.
“Well?”
As if oblivious to her question, Heero pulled the carefully
arranged covers back, before he began to unbutton her blouse in a business-like
manner. Perplexed, Relena allowed herself to be undressed by her
apparently detached partner.
“Um, Heero, what are you doing?”
“Going to sleep. You have
a meeting in seven hours… in case you’ve forgotten.”
Relena’s eyes widened as he switched off the light and pulled her
under the covers with him.
“But Heero… what happened?”
She heard him, as he sighed into her hair, his arm tightening
around her waist.
“Things are going to be fine.”
******
“Say, babe?”
Hilde lifted her head from where it rested on Duo’s chest to look
up at him.
“Why exactly DID you come back?”
Smiling to herself, she curled closer to his warmth, breathing in
his familiar scent.
“Let’s just say that your Best Man is very persuasive.”
Duo blinked, his brow creasing.
“Heero? Wha…?” He was silent for a moment and then, “Did he
threaten you?”
Hilde giggled at the indignant rise in his question, and she began
to stroke his chest as if to pacify him.
“Oh course not. We just
talked. It was very… enlightening. Relena’s a lucky girl.”
Duo sighed, as he lifted a hand to run his fingers through her
dark hair.
“Not as lucky as I am. And
she’s an angel to put up with him.
Grouchy bastard.”
Hilde laughed, poking him playfully in the ribs.
“I’m not going to listen to that kind of talk anymore. You owe him big time now buster.”
She gave a wide yawn, her eyelids finally surrendering to
sleep.
“So… what did he say?”
“That, my love, is between Heero, myself and a rather
unappreciated piece of pie.”
******