Platonic Love - Ch. 1 - Dancing, Dating, and Dreaming - Edi

[Kilmeny]

Platonic Love – Chapter One - Dancing, Dating, and Dreaming
By Kilmeny

Disclaimers: Gundam Wing belongs to Sunrise. Any songs or quotes belong to their authors listed with them. This story is not being used to make a profit.

Author’s Notes: Once again, it would be a good idea to reread this chapter if you’ve read it before. I’ve edited it since then, and there’s an extra part at the end. Remember, this begins a year after Endless Waltz. Enjoy!

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Chapter One – Dancing, Dating, and Dreaming

Celebrating—everyone was celebrating, except Hilde. She didn’t feel much like celebrating. It was New Year’s Eve of her 17th year; she was single, never been kissed! And she was supposed to feel like celebrating?! Come on! Like that would ever happen when she was in this mood. She’d rather just mope around by herself.

It wasn’t that she was unhappy. No, that wasn’t it. Her life for the past year had been great. Duo had returned safe and sound after the Mariemeia incident, and they had even decided to go back to school at a university nearby. They had made lots of new friends, and she loved her school. She loved her job in the salvage business, and she loved her home with Duo, but lately she’d felt like something was missing. Upon closer examination she realized that she was a little lonely, not for friendship but for love. She’d barely dated, so immersed had she been in her studies, whereas Duo dated a new girl every week. But now that she had decided she wanted to date seriously, she barely knew how to go about it. Should she wait for the guys to come to her, or should she bravely go out on the dance floor and put dibs on the hottest guy she could find? The only thing Hilde could decide was that this night sucked . . . big time.

“Hey, Hilde, how’s it going?”

Hilde looked up from the remains of the punch she had been swirling in her glass. It was one of Duo’s buddies Blake Starbuck, the epitome of a “tall, dark, and handsome” man with black hair and deep brown eyes. He also towered over her, making him that much more formidable. There was no way she was going to tell him what she had just been thinking. She plastered on a very nervous smile, “Good, are you having fun?”

“Yeah, although I’m not really into fast-dancing, but I’d like to slow-dance, if you would, later?”

Hilde felt herself blush, amazed with her luck. Now don’t stammer! “I’d love to.”

Blake smiled, “Great, so, how’s your remodeling for the salvage yard going?”

“Oh, did Duo tell you?” she asked, and when he nodded, she said, “Well, I still have to get the cabinets in for the storage room, but Duo hasn’t had time yet to help me. Otherwise, our offices are done.”

“Did you get all the new tools that you wanted?”

“Yes!” she answered excitedly, her recent pessimism vanishing with the reminder of her new toys, “And a new computer. It was part of my Christmas present from Duo.”

Blake was surprised to see a girl get so worked up over a new set of tools, but then again, it was Hilde. He was about to ask if he could help her with the cabinets when Duo came over, clamoring for her attention.

“Hilde-babe! I need you. They want us to dance for them!”

Hilde’s eyes left Blake’s and turned to Duo, her smile brightening. “What kind of dance?” she asked, up for the challenge.

“A little swing, a little tango, and maybe even some dirty,” he said, a glint in his eye as he placed a hand suggestively on her hip.

She laughed and slapped his hand away, throwing her drink in a trashcan. “Duo, I’m not dancing dirty with you in front of all these people,” then she turned to Blake, “I’ll be right back, okay?”

“I’ll come watch,” he said, sighing inwardly at Duo’s bad timing. Duo had encouraged him to ask Hilde out, so why was he interrupting them?

Meanwhile, Duo was teasing her as he led her out to the dance floor, “So, you want to dirty-dance in private, then? I think it can be arranged.”

“Stop it, you pig! You’re awful.”

“You know you love me,” he said, as he pulled her against him when the song started.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” she said, and then they were dancing, too caught up in the moment to talk anymore. Although Duo had brought along a date to the club, he and Hilde were usually demanded by their friends to dance at least once together. This was because they were undoubtedly the best dancers in their class, but only when they danced together. There was an extra spark, an added energy and tension that wasn’t there when they danced with someone else.

The song switched from a swing to a tango, and they switched just as easily, a fire in their eyes as their gazes hardly broke contact, seeming to challenge one another: who could dance better? Who would tire first? Everyone whistled and clapped, cheering them on, enjoying the show.

When the song ended, Duo whispered in her ear, “You win. I messed up that time.”

“What are you talking about? You didn’t miss a step.”

“But I interrupted you and Blake.”

“Oh . . . there was something to interrupt?”

Duo looked incredulous. “Just go back and talk to him,” he said, shoving her towards Blake, who was waiting off to the side.

Hilde resisted and glared at Duo, embarrassed, then, seeming to collect herself, she walked back over to Blake.

“You were great out there,” he said, offering her a fresh drink.

“Thanks,” she said shyly.

Blake decided not to waste a moment, “You said you still needed the cabinets in, right?”

“Yeah, who knows when they’ll get done, though.”

“Well, I could come over and help you with them. I’m not busy tomorrow.”

Hilde rewarded him with a smile, “Great, I’d really appreciate it. Uh, how about you come over in the afternoon, and we could go to dinner afterwards.” Inwardly, she commended herself on her bravery. She had just asked a guy to dinner!

“That would be perfect,” replied Blake.

**********

“Duo! Get in here. I need you!” yelled Hilde, dancing up and down in front of her mirror, haphazardly throwing shirts against herself to see what would look best.

Duo came running in, “Are you alright?” he asked, a hand on the doorframe, catching his breath. Then he chuckled, “Oh, is that all?”

“Duo, it’s not funny. I can’t find anything to wear!” she said in exasperation. She flung the offending garments on her bed and crossed her arms.

“Chill out, Hilde, you guys are just putting some cabinets in, not going on a big, romantic date.” He walked over and picked up a few of her shirts, placing them against her as she had done, studying her face. “Hmm, these all look fine to me, but your eyes look really nice with this one,” he said, handing her a royal blue shirt.

She took it reluctantly, “Yeah, but he’s probably seen me a dozen times in it.”

“And if he didn’t like the way you looked in it, then he wouldn’t have asked you out.”

“But what if this is the one shirt in my wardrobe that he absolutely despises?”

“Then I’m sure he’ll walk out the door in disgust as soon as he sees you in it.” When Hilde’s negative expression didn’t change, he laughed, “Oh, come on, Hilde. I know Blake thinks you’re great. He’s used to prissy, superficial girls, and from the moment he met you, I can tell he thought you were something special. What other girl would spend the day with him playing with power tools? And looking hot in a blue shirt with a . . .” he stopped to look around the room, then picked up a pair of black pants halfway hidden beneath her bed, “pair of tight pants.” He threw them out on the bed with a flourish.

Hilde relented and let out a giggle. “Did he say that he thinks I’m special?”

Duo rolled his eyes, crossed his arms, and leaned against the wall. “No, but he did ask me if it would be okay if he asked you out.”

“Why would he ask you that?”

“We live together, Hilde. I’m sure a lot of guys assume that you’re off limits or something.”

“I hate that!” Hilde said, wrinkling her nose, “Why do people assume that we— . . . maybe I should just go around with a sign that says ding-ding-ding ‘I’m single! I’m not with Stupid’ and a little arrow pointing to you.”

“Hey! That’s hardly necessary. Anyway, I’m sure with Blake around, you won’t be able to wear that ‘single’ sign for long,” he said, ending in singsong voice.

Hilde smiled fondly at Duo. “Thanks for the encouragement. You can go now. I’ve gotta get dressed.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, use me, abuse me, then send me on my way. But good luck anyway, Hilde-babe.”

**********

“Of course, I get stuck with the dishes while she has fun with her date,” Duo whined good-naturedly to himself as he rinsed out a pan, splashing water on the counter for good measure. He looked out the window, watching as Hilde talked with Blake in the backyard. Her eyes were bright as she chattered on, but Duo could tell she was nervous. He was sure, however, that Blake wouldn’t notice. He raised a brow, thinking, Hmm, she does look hot in that outfit I picked out, if I do say so myself. Come to think of it, why hadn’t someone noticed Hilde before now? He knew that she frequently became upset about her constant single status, and she probably thought there was something wrong with her. It should be more likely that people thought there was something wrong with him—living with such a gorgeous girl for so long and not putting the moves on her. But it was as if he and Hilde had silently come to the conclusion that it wasn’t like that; it was simply . . . platonic, that’s all. Yet Duo never took the time to wonder much about this. He didn’t like to analyze things that were so complicated.

Duo wondered if he would be expected to let her talk about her date tonight. Sure, he didn’t mind, but he also didn’t want to hear it from Blake as well, then they might expect him to tell them what the other one said, so on and so forth. He did not want to get in the middle of it all. And besides, it might be a little weird to hear about Hilde’s love life. Not that he’d be jealous or anything; it would just be . . . weird . . . and complicated. Complicated was not good, so he wouldn’t ask.

**********

“So, how’d it go?” Why was he asking?

Hilde smiled and hung her coat up on its proper hook, picking up Duo’s coat that had been tossed across the back of an armchair and hanging it as well. “Great. We didn’t do anything fancy, but I still had a lot of fun. It was only our first date after all.”

“Oh,” okay, please don’t go into detail.

“He said he wanted to see me again sometime, and I’m glad. I feel pretty comfortable with him, you know?”

“Yeah,” said Duo, forcing a smile of interest.

“Well, I think I’m going to do some homework and go to bed, okay?”

“Okay, goodnight.” He let out a breath of relief.

That was strange, thought Hilde as she walked down the hall, why’d he look so tense? After finishing her homework, she flopped down on her bed and smiled, daydreaming about her next date with Blake. He had been such a gentleman, and he was so hot, not that that was extremely important or anything. As she dozed off, she noted that his smile was a lot like Duo’s.

**********

A couple weeks and two dates later, Hilde and Duo were sitting on the couch and watching a movie, attempting to share a bowl of popcorn. Unfortunately, because of the constant tug-a-war over the bowl, the couch usually ended up with the biggest share. It had been Hilde’s turn to pick the movie that week, and of course she had picked something romantic, but it had battle scenes for Duo, too. It was coming up to the really romantic part where Guinevere would finally let Lancelot kiss her, only to be interrupted by King Arthur. Hilde’s eyes neither left the screen nor blinked as she brought handfuls of popcorn up to her mouth. Duo merely rolled his eyes, watching her expression with more interest than the actual movie. When the scene was over, Hilde sat back against the cushions and sighed, smiling dreamily.

“Are you satisfied now?” asked Duo.

“I won’t be until the end. Hey, the popcorn stays in the middle, not on your side!” Duo guiltily placed the bowl back between them, but not before taking a generous handful.

“Maybe we should just get separate bowls,” laughed Hilde. They had never been good about sharing when it came to food.

“Nah, you’d still find a way to fight about it.”

“I’m not taking the bait and starting a fight about you saying that.”

“Aww, so close,” said Duo, grinning as he got up and stretched, “I’m going to get another drink.” He retreated to the kitchen. Moments later, he heard a wail from the living room. He rushed back to Hilde. “What is it this time, a spider?”

“No,” moaned Hilde in distress, “I just realized Blake hasn’t kissed me yet!”

Duo resisted the urge to look horrified. No details, please! “Geez, Hilde, um, I’m sorry?” What was he supposed to say?

“He hasn’t yet, but he’s bound to eventually, right?”

Evidently, the movie had driven her mad. He turned it off and sat down beside her. “Hilde, I’m really not following you on this one.”

She groaned and put her head in her hands. “I’ve never been kissed, Duo! What if I’m a horrible kisser? Man, this is so embarrassing.”

Duo was a little surprised to hear this, and he wanted to be comforting, so he said, “Well, I could tell you if you’re a bad kisser or not.”

Hilde immediately raised her head and looked at him with wide eyes. “You could?” she asked, as if she thought there was some sort of birthmark he could find on her or a test he could give her to judge her kissing ability.

“If you don’t mind me being your first kiss, that is,” he replied nonchalantly, “I mean, there has to be some benefits to having a guy for a best friend.”

Her cheeks went pink. “Oh,” she said intelligently. “I . . . guess I don’t mind.”

“I’ll have to do it sometime when you’re not really expecting it, though.”

Hilde laughed, her shyness retreating. “So if you jump me in the kitchen later this week, then I know you’ll just be testing me, right?”

Duo grinned mischievously. “Right.”

“But you have to do it sometime before my date Friday and definitely not in public or in front of anyone. And don’t grab me from behind or anything.”

“Okay, okay, Hilde, I get your point. I’m not going to surprise you that much.”

“What if I am a bad kisser? What if I gross you out, and then everything will be weird, or what if Blake comes over and- and-“

“Jumps you in the kitchen?” offered Duo.

Hilde’s eyes widened. “Oh my gosh, don’t let us be alone if he comes over, okay?!”

Duo laughed outright at her expression. “Chill out, Hilde, you’re not going to gross me out, and it wouldn’t be the end of the world if Blake kissed you before you were sure of your skill or whatever it is you need to know.”

Hilde leaned over and gave Duo a hug. “Thanks, Duo, you always keep me from freaking out.”

“That’s what I’m here for,” he replied, wrapping his arms around her petite frame, thankful that she was there for him, too.

**********

If there had ever been a time when Duo was especially grateful for Hilde’s presence, then it was after he had one of his nightmares. His nightmares usually consisted of a violent scene from his childhood at the Maxwell Church, an especially horrific battle, or some act of violence his mind made up. It wasn’t that the nightmares scared him exactly, it was more that they disturbed him, forced him to recall memories he wanted to forget, and so he needed someone there to take his mind off of things. Hilde was always there. She never laughed at him as if he was acting like a frightened child, nor did she brush it off as something he should just “get over.” She understood that horrific things had happened to him, and he needed her help, simply in the form of her presence.

In this nightmare he had played the leading role as God of Death once again. Presently, he was sitting up in bed, his sheets twisted around him and sweat trickling down his face. He sighed heavily, wanting to remember the dream, but at the same time wishing he could shut it out. He remembered standing in a wheat field and watching Hilde timidly walk toward him, holding something in her outstretched hands. When she was close to him, he could see that she was about to cry, which troubled him, since she had only truly cried once in the time he had known her. She held out the gift in her hands to him; he couldn’t recall what it was. But then when he took it, he threw it onto the ground, and it shattered like glass into a million pieces. Hilde crumpled at his feet, seemingly lifeless, and he had walked away! Walked away from her, just like that! Before he could turn back to her, he woke up.

Duo glanced up at the quiet knock on his door. “Come in,” he said wearily.

The door opened, revealing a worried, pajama-clad Hilde, shivering in the night’s coolness. “Did you have another nightmare?”

“Yes,” he replied, motioning her to climb in next to his warmth. Hilde gratefully obliged. He was startled when he felt a cool, wet cloth on his face. She thought of everything. He took it from her and dragged it over his face, wishing that he could just as easily wipe away the memories as he wiped away the sweat. “Hilde, when am I going to get over this?”

She gently cupped the side of his face, studying him intently to make sure he was all right. “I don’t know. Will it help for you to talk about it?”

He took the hand that cupped his cheek and lowered it but didn’t let go. She still felt fragile. Shaking his head, he replied, “Not this time,” unwilling to let her know how he had treated her, even if it had been a dream.

“Do you want me to stay?”

He knew he shouldn’t ask her to sleep beside him, but after that particular dream, he really needed her close. “For a little while.”

“Alright, come here then,” she said, propping herself up against some pillows and directing him to lay his head on her lap. There was a lump in his throat and stinging behind his eyes as Hilde ran her fingers through his bangs and hummed softly. It had be so long since anyone had been as kind to him as she always was.

“How did you know I had a nightmare?” he asked, his voice shaking a little.

“I don’t know. I think I woke up thinking about you, and it was weird . . . my heart was hurting.”

He shivered as a vision from his dream flashed in his mind; the shards of Hilde’s gift still lay glittering on the ground, but this time Hilde’s body was gone.

**********

Author’s Notes: Feedback is very welcome. Tell me what you look for in a good DuoxHilde story, and I’ll definitely keep it in mind. I’m hoping to make a lot of progress in my writing during this story, my second multi-chapter work. Thanks for reading and God bless!

To Be Continued