Ai Shiteru: Duo and Hilde

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"Hilde! Hey, Hilde! Toss me the monkey wrench, will ya?" Duo Maxwell called from under a car. He slid out, his face and long braid stained with oil and dirt.

Hilde Schbecker, a pretty German girl, grabbed the wrench and walked over to Duo, "Alright, alright. Here." She said, bending down to hand it to Duo.

"Thanks. Oh, and I think I need some juice to cool down." He said, smiling with puppy dog eyes at her.

Hilde sighed, rolling her eyes, but with a smile on her face. Duo was a big kid, he had never grown up…

'And I love him for it.' She thought, walking slowly up to the house she shared with him.

It bothered her that Duo's happy-go-lucky façade was a mask he wore during the day. At night, the mask would fall off and she would hear him…

Looking up at the house, Hilde stopped for a while. It was after the attempted coup de tat with Mariemeia, when Hilde met Duo by chance. They'd had lunch, talked about what they would do after, and had agreed on setting up their own shop.

She and Duo had bought the house, with money earned from a rented electronics and auto repair and workshop. Money and finance had been stiff for a while, but after buying their house, and saving up to buy the rented out workspace; they had lived in comfort since then.

'Yes, I should be happy…I have everything I want…' she thought, proceeding inside to get Duo's orange juice, 'But…no, wait…I don't have everything I want…'

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Duo watched as Hilde left to get the juice he asked for. He sighed, running a hand through his ruffled hair.

'I've been living with Hilde for, what? 3 years? 4? So, he'd been living with her for 3 years now, since they were both 19.' He thought.

'And throughout those years, we were friends. Good friends. Well, yeah, they did go out a couple of times…but did that count?'

Duo knew he loved her. 'I don't know if she does, too. Maybe I'm just a brother to her…' he thought.

'Anyway, I don't want to risk losing her as a friend; that could happen. I'll leave it for a while. I have more problems to deal with. They come at night…'

At that moment, Hilde returned, carrying a pitcher of ice-cold lemonade and a glass. She smiled at Duo before tossing him a clean towel from the bench.

"Here, Duo. Clean yourself up, you look like a mess." Hilde said, pouring a glassful of the juice for him.

"Thanks." He said, wiping the stains as he got up. Duo walked over to Hilde's worktable, where she fixed or built electronic devices for PCs and other appliances. Duo handled the cars and trucks that came in for repair.

He took a swallow of the cold, refreshing juice, the ice feeling wonderful on the hot summer day. Putting the glass down, he returned to the car he was working on, sliding underneath again. Hilde returned to the virus infected PC she debugging.

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"Man, I'm stuffed." Duo said, pushing his plate away from him, as he and Hilde finished up their dinner. Hilde cooked up a delicious meal of steamed veggies and salmon.

"Yeah, me too. I'm going upstairs and I'm hitting the sack once I get to bed. I'll just clean up the dishes tomorrow." Hilde said, trying to stifle a yawn. They got up from the table and climbed up the stairs.

"Same here. Good night, Hilde." Duo said, as he opened the door to his room. Their rooms were side by side, with only a wall in between.

"You, too. Sweet dreams." Hilde said as she closed the door to her room. She really meant that part about 'sweet dreams'.

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Once inside, Hilde leaned on the door. Every so often, at night, she would hear Duo at the other side of the wall, cry out in the middle of the night. Then she might hear a muffled sob coming from him…

She knew Duo was having nightmares at night. Then she would ask him in the morning, and he would hide behind a mask of cheerfulness and smiles, and say it was nothing…

But, no matter how hard Duo tried to keep the truth of the nightmares from her, she knew. Hilde had a feeling it was from his past. She didn't know his past…Or what had happened to him…

Hilde crawled into bed, after changing her clothes. She lay awake, trying to listen to the sounds of the night.

She was awakened in the middle of the night to loud cries in Duo's room. Hilde sat up, listening to him. Then she heard muffled words coming from him.

"No! Stop it! Get away from me!" the voice came quietly, urgently. Hilde realized Duo must be talking in his sleep.

'I can't let this go on any longer…' she thought, climbing out of bed in her pale yellow and purple nightie.

Hilde went out of her room and made her way to Duo's. She grasped the doorknob and slowly turned it. Cautiously, she stepped inside.

As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, Hilde saw a small curled up form lying on the bed, tossing and turning once in a while. She could hear small cries and sobs coming from it.

"Duo…" she murmured, walking over to him.

She sat on the side of his bed, gently brushing loose strands of his hair away from his face. He let his braid loose at night, so his hair was wild and disheveled. Hilde could see tear streaks on his face, he was whimpering softly. His breathing was ragged and uneven.

Hilde breathed out slowly. 'Duo needs help…He need me…' she thought. Hesitating, she climbed on his bed, half-lying, half-sitting up against the headboard on Duo's bed.

In his sleep, Duo sensed something warm, safe and gentle near him. He curled up to Hilde, resting his head on her chest. His arms encircled her waist, one hand clutching hers tightly.

Duo stopped moving, his breathing becoming regular and soft. Hilde held him to her, gently stroking his hair and forehead. She was about to fall asleep, when Duo stirred.

"Hilde…?"

"Shh…Don't speak, Duo. Just rest. You've been having these dreams for along time now, haven't you? It will do you good to tell me what's been bothering you. I'll help you, Duo…" she said, holding his hand tighter.

Duo remained silent for a few minutes. "I wasn't an orphan, Hilde. I knew my parents. I've never told anyone this. Before I was sent to the orphanage, I was living with my mom and dad. I was happy…"

Hilde listened, continuously brushing her hand over his hair.

"Then, one day, a group of men and women barged into our house. They were wearing white. I thought they looked like the priests and nuns from the local chapel. I didn't know what they wanted, nor did my parents. We were sitting on the couches, watching TV, when they stormed in. Then they started talking. Back then, I couldn't understand what they wanted, but I know what they said."

"They grabbed my parents, and would've took me too, if my dad hadn't yelled at me to run. And I did. I ran out of the house and kept running. I never looked back." "They shoved my parents into a black car, and I followed them. They led me to the woods, into a clearing. There, they…they…"

Duo couldn't continue. Tears were threatening to escape from his eyes. Hilde knew what was next, even though Duo didn't finish. She knew about those kind of men and women. She was around 13 or 14 when she learned about the secret Religious Cults of people. What sickened her were the sacrifices they used. Human sacrifice.

Now she had a vague understanding why Duo called himself Shinigami, God of Death. Why he was usually dressed in black, dressed like a preacher. Hilde knew she couldn't heal this old wound. Duo has to do it by himself, but she will be there for him, helping him.

Looking down at him, Hilde couldn't see the tough, rough and trained to kill Gundam pilot. Nor could she see the smiling boy she was with earlier that day. Instead, she was looking at Duo, the real Duo, whose real inner feelings and pains were pouring out.

"Duo…it's alright. Stop now…I'll be here. Sleep now…" she said, closing her eyes and tightening her grip on his hand.

Breathing deeply, Duo shut out the pain inside him. He pulled Hilde down until she was beside him. Taking her into his arms, he enveloped her into an embrace, resting his chin on the top of her head.

"Hilde…Thank you." He murmured. Duo looked down at her beside him, smiling through his fast-drying tears.

"Ai shiteru, Duo." She said, gazing at him with shining eyes. Duo smiled, then gently, he bent down and their lips met for the first time.

They broke the kiss after a while. Duo held Hilde in his arms as she sighed and closed her eyes, 'Now everything I want and need is here…' she said softly, smiling at him.

Duo nodded, "Yeah, same here." He grinned. Hilde could sense he was feeling better now. But now they were tired. Sleep was inviting them to her.

Duo managed to whisper, "Ai shiteru…" and kiss Hilde's forehead gently, before both of them fell into a deep, peaceful sleep, holding each other tightly.

END

*Um, no, they didn't do IT.*
-C. Kennedy