AN: This began as a short one shot and evolved into something too massive and scary to imagine. And it's not even finished yet... I was going to post it all but realized it would work better in parts... I started writing it about two years ago and I can't believe how much I still like it... That usually never happens.

So. I hope you all enjoy the first installation. Next part's already in the works.

Warnings: References to child abuse and murder.

Overture

The Past

The artificial sky over colony L2 was a dull and dreary gray as Duo Maxwell stood before the path leading to the small cozy house he and Hilde shared, a letter clutched tightly in his right hand. Storm clouds were slowly gathering, promising rain later that evening. Yet, despite the lack of sun, and despite the season, the air was unnaturally humid and the temperatures were much too high for the middle of autumn. No one who could help it was outside, much preferring air-conditioned homes and offices to the hazy mist that had settled over everything. The streets seemed empty, the fog dulled any sound, so that L2 looked more like a ghost town than a colony.

The year was A.C 197. Peace had long ago become a norm and people were beginning to forget the horrible battles of the Great War. Even the events that had followed a year later were beginning to seem like a faded dream that had never happened at all. And along with everything else, the heroes of those awesome battles were slowly being forgotten. Of course, everyone knew that they owed the Gundam Pilots much of the happiness that they were currently blessed with, but most people only saw the pilots as mere phantasms, constantly at work, but never seen, and therefore, never needing to be thanked at all.

However, all five had known what they'd been getting into when they'd begun, and all five were willing to accept that theirs was a thankless task. Each had by now found his own little niche, surrounded by the people that he loved, and that was more than enough gratitude for them.

Wufei had joined the Preventors and worked partnered with his good friend Sally Po. Anyone who saw them together was rather surprised that they didn't kill each other. Wufei's chauvinism drove Sally up the wall. Sally was a feminist to the core and Wufei couldn't stand her views on weakness and strength. Sally and Wufei fully proved the saying that opposites did indeed attract...

Quatre was kept busy, having come into his inheritance fully when he turned eighteen. Running an empire wasn't at all easy, yet he still found time to visit the people he cared about. And besides, it was rather hard to work too much when you had twenty-nine sisters fussing over every thing you did. If Quatre didn't have enough breathing time, his sisters made sure some was made.

Trowa continued working at the circus with his sister Catherine. Catherine may have noticed that the haunted look in her brother's eyes when they performed their knife act had long ago disappeared. She thanked mostly Quatre for this. The young man always found time to come and visit Trowa and when her brother's thoughts were elsewhere, it wasn't very hard to figure out what, or who he was thinking of.

Heero, to all appearances, had completely disappeared, yet the other four pilots knew this wasn't true. Miss Relena Dorlian had been in need of a good bodyguard after the incident with Merrimea. Just because you didn't see him didn't mean Heero wasn't there. Heero preferred to remain hidden in the shadows. He was always there, watching her, which actually suited him just fine, though he'd never admit it. Besides, all one needed to do was look at Relena to know that Heero was nearby. The Vice Foreign Minister would often glance off to a shadowed corner and grin, blushing slightly when she thought no one was looking.

And as for Duo, well...

When the war had finally, truly been over, when the seemingly endless waltz had finally come to an close, Duo had found that the only thing he really wanted was a certain small house on L2, next to a scrap-yard and a little parts shop with a garage. True, to anyone else it wouldn't seem like much, but to him... Well, he held special memories of that place. During the war, when he hadn't really believed there would ever be a place he could call home, he met Hilde. They'd found they were both fighting for the same things, the same beliefs, and though they'd started as enemies, Duo didn't think he'd ever again meet someone like Hilde. She'd accepted him as her friend almost immediately, she'd left OZ for him, and she'd let him laze around her house, doing pretty much nothing, while she did the laundry and cooked and shopped. (He still felt a little bad about all that, but Duo didn't let it cause him too much grief...) He'd hated having to leave, to say goodbye, but duty had called. Besides, he'd left most of his stuff there, so he was sure he'd come back.

He hadn't had to come back. Hilde had come to him. But the very thought of what had nearly happened to her, all for some-- some stupid disk. Well, sure, it turned out to be more hopeful than anyone could have dreamed, and, yeah, they would have all probably been lost without her, but still. She'd done it for him. That was what got to him the most; because he had never thought he'd meet people who were willing to do things like that for him again. She had almost died. It would have been his fault if she had. And what had he done? He'd called her a stupid fool, and like everything else that came her way in life, Hilde took it with a smile. She'd known he'd say something like that.

He shouldn't have called her names, he shouldn't have yelled at her. It still bothered him (but Duo, like everything else, didn't let it cause him too much grief...) He'd just been so scared, and it was a feeling he'd nearly forgotten. Gundam pilots didn't have room for fear. Of course, Gundam pilots were usually the only ones in danger of being killed. That didn't bother the great Shinigami at all, but Hilde... She deserved to live.

After Libra, Hilde had been unconscious for a week on MO2. Duo found that while all the other pilots had celebrated (well, Heero hadn't really seemed to care and Trowa had been as silent as usual and Wufei had merely looked annoyed that the enemy had been so weak) he hadn't the heart to do anything more than wait for news of Hilde's recovery. Quatre had seemed to understand. He'd been staying on MO2 as well. Dorothy Catalonia (more like catatonic in Duo's opinion) had really injured him badly. The fact that Quatre had immediately gone out to fight had not helped his condition. The blonde boy's right lung had been punctured near the bottom, and he'd lost more blood than was, er, considered healthy. Actually, when Sandrock had docked back on MO2 and engineers had rushed over to help the pilots out, they'd found a senseless Quatre, still gripping the controls as though his life depended on it. Maybe it had.

But Quatre wasn't a Gundam pilot for nothing. As frail as he seemed, he was as strong as any of them and he'd been up and about the following morning, trying vainly to escape the forty Maguanacs that insisted on following him everywhere. When his sisters had shown up, it had proved to be the last straw, even for Quatre's polite and patient self. Duo had looked up in amusement when the poor blonde had come crashing into Hilde's room, gasping for breath and clutching at his chest. Quatre had hid behind the door, signaling for Duo to pretend he wasn't there. The Maguanacs had run past the room, shouting in triumph that they were on his trail now, while Duo had tried to keep himself from bursting into laughter at the embarrassed look on Quatre's face. He'd lost it, however, when Sally Po's enraged voice had come from the end of the hallway.

"What on Earth do you all think you're doing?! This is a HOSPITAL! Not a battlefield! You're disrupting my patients! Out! Every one of you!"

"But, Master Quatre is-"

"I don't care what Master Quatre is doing. He's probably taking a well-needed rest from you! That poor boy! He must be going nearly mad. You're causing him more bad than good. Now out! ALL OF YOU! Before I give you a reason to stay!"

The hallway had become rather silent after that.

Quatre had thanked Duo repeatedly for not saying anything and had ended up staying the remaining afternoon. It had been a comfort, really, to have someone to talk to. He couldn't have relied on Heero for something like this, that was for sure. The guy obviously didn't feel comfortable in hospitals anyway. He must have had some reason for learning how to straighten broken bones by himself... Ugh, that memory still grossed him out. Anyway, what did someone like Heero need a hospital for? The guy was clearly suicidal. A hospital was probably the last place he wanted to be...

That week had been longer than any before it. The days dragged by, the hours were even slower. Duo probably would have gone crazy if Quatre hadn't been around. Duo wasn't used to sitting around indoors all day, doing nothing. Well, actually, that depended on what kind of nothing he was doing... Hilde would argue that all Duo seemed to do was nothing, which was ridiculous if you thought about it. Duo did plenty of things. He'd helped save the world. That had to count for something or other... So when Hilde had finally woken up, Duo had been beside himself with relief. Of course, at first she was too muddled from medication to understand anything going on around her, and later she was too tired to stay awake for very long, but she was getting better all the time. She met Quatre and they seemed to hit it off quite well, so Duo didn't even have to worry that she'd be lonely if he wasn't around. He brought her flowers one time and was rather confused, not to say utterly terrified, when she'd burst into tears. He hadn't had any idea what he'd done wrong and when she'd exclaimed amidst sobs that no one had ever given her flowers before, it only served to befuddle him even more. Sally Po later recalled to tell him that the medications Hilde was on might make her a bit over-emotional for the next couple of days...

Needless to say, the next gift Duo brought was the day Hilde got out.

Hilde still wasn't fully recovered. She'd broken two ribs, sprained her right arm, suffered from various cuts and bruises and had had a concussion, so she still had to take it easy after she left the hospital. Sally had asked Hilde if there was anyone to take care of her back on L2. There had been an uncomfortable silence as Hilde had looked down at the floor. It was then Duo realized that even after all the time they'd spent together, he still didn't know anything about her past. But from the look of things, he had a feeling he knew enough already.

"I'll do it," he'd offered immediately. Sally had quirked an eyebrow, clearly not sure if he could handle it. Fighting mobile suits was one thing. Helping Hilde recuperate was going to be another story entirely. But Duo wanted to help. He felt he needed to pay her back for the time she took him in. Besides, she was his friend, probably his best friend.

He'd assured Sally he was fully capable. Hilde had been trying to contain her giggles behind him, and he'd suddenly been struck with the notion that this might not be the best idea. If he knew Hilde, she would NOT be making this any easier on him than it needed to be.

Duo had been right. The girl point blank refused to do any household chores, even though he knew that there were a couple things here and there that she was fully capable of. He began to appreciate her a bit more after that experience. The clothes got shrunk in the wash, he burnt dinner, little mounds of dust began appearing under the carpets and he usually messed up the grocery list. Hilde often wondered out loud how it was he managed to remember all the details of his various missions and yet couldn't seem to remember to pick up toilet paper!

But in truth, Duo wouldn't have changed those weeks for anything in the world. Hilde might have driven him insane, but deep down, he'd found his own sense of peace that hadn't quite come with the defeat of the White Fang as it had for everyone else. It was life, just as it was at its simplest.

Hilde had been there when he'd agreed to give up Deathscythe. That time wasn't one he liked to remember and he didn't know how he would have pulled through if it hadn't been for her. Quatre had called with his idea to send all the Gundams off into the sun. As much as Duo had hated to do it, he'd known that there was no place for mobile suits like the Gundams in the newfound peace. At least it had been a fitting end for his ol' buddy. Deathscythe would always have his place in the sun.

But then Merrimea showed up...

That had nearly turned into a disaster. Relena had been kidnapped and Heero had gone as nuts as Duo thought he would ever go. Of course, to the untrained eye, it wouldn't look as though Heero really cared all that much, but Duo knew the truth... Or, well, he thought he knew the truth. He wasn't actually all that sure. But, anyway...

Hilde had known he had to go and fight. They'd both thought he'd never have to again, but the colonies had once again been in danger and they both understood that there was no other choice. The only thing that had really bothered Hilde was that Duo would be fighting without his Gundam.

But Quatre had brought Deathscythe back, and when he'd taken his place in the cockpit, he'd felt a rush that only battle could bring on. Deathscythe had fit like an old glove, and the Shinigami had once again felt alive. However, Duo had known that it was only delaying the inevitable. As good as it felt, once Daikhim Barton had been defeated, Duo hadn't had any disillusions as to what would happen next.

He'd blown Deathscythe up himself. Duo had found it ironic that his self-destruct button had worked at last...

Hilde was there when he got back, with pizza and a movie. She said she knew it wasn't enough to make him feel better, but that it was all she could do.

Oddly, coming from her, it had been enough.

The months that followed were quiet, or as quiet as it could get when you put Duo Maxwell and Hilde Schbeiker together. Prank warfare took on new meaning where they were concerned and any visitors were usually wise enough to double check their beds, food, clothes and basically any suspicious object that turned up.

So time passed and they both settled down comfortably, never having to worry about anything except what was for dinner.

Neither he, nor Hilde had been expecting what happened next. During the war, many people had abandoned the colonies, heading for the safety of Earth. More than a quarter of the population of L2 had run away from the impending war, leaving the colony in a state of economical crisis as well as plain empty. But Duo had always thought the house was Hilde's...

"Can I help you Mister?" Duo asked as he opened the door to a trite knock, only to find a rather large and beefy man with a pinched expression on his face on the other side. The man looked more than a little upset and pushed inside without giving Duo another glance. He stood in the middle of the room, looking around and amidst his own protestations, Duo noticed the familiarity the man seemed to have with his and Hilde's living room. A funny feeling caught him by surprise.

"Hey, I'm talking to you!" Duo said again, a bit louder, despite his worries.

The man spun around, his little eyes glaring at Duo as though he were something disgusting stuck on the bottom of his shoe.

Duo only had one thought. 'There's gonna be trouble.'

"Hilde babe!" he called, loud enough so that Hilde could hear him upstairs. A minute later, her soft footsteps could be heard coming quickly down the stairs and she appeared in the doorway to the den, in an oversized tee shirt and jeans, her hair still wet from her shower.

"Yeah Du-"she stopped abruptly when she noticed the man looking murder at her standing next to the television. Her face paled immediately and she gave a rather audible gasp. She seemed to shrink back into herself. In one moment, she went from being sunny, smiling, never-say-die Hilde, to a small, terrified little girl.

Duo couldn't believe the change that came over his best friend in those two seconds. He'd never seen her as anything but strong, anything but mature and steadfast. She was like a rock. She was always there and always steady. Hilde had never let anyone see any other side to her. Duo had always assumed that there was no other side, or if he'd known, he'd at least hoped for it. He knew what it was like to hide secrets and he'd never wish it on anyone.

Despite his training, despite his past as a fighter pilot, Duo found himself swallowing nervously. He knew he shouldn't be afraid. He was the Shinigami, after all. But he found he wasn't afraid for himself. He was afraid for Hilde.

Duo glanced again at the man. He had black, messy hair and violet eyes, which looked completely out of place on his fat head. He was wearing jeans and a red tank top, which showed off three very nasty scars and an unoriginal tattoo of a skull. The man was looking at Hilde, a wild look in his eyes, an evil smile tugging at his mouth. Duo immediately made a move to stand in front of her, but Hilde held out a hand, signaling him to stay where he was. Duo wasn't one to listen to what Hilde said, but for some reason, he did as he was told. Hilde seemed to have regained her composure and gotten over the shock, but there wasn't even a trace of a smile on her face as she said, "Hello, Daddy."

Duo still remembered the exact feeling he'd had at that moment, as though he'd been punched in the gut (and he knew exactly what that felt like...) He'd always thought that Hilde was a war orphan like himself, or something of the sort. He'd never dreamed, in a million years, that she still had living family, and he definitely would have never thought this man was it. The way he'd looked at Hilde made Duo feel sick and Hilde's fear of the man was obvious.

Hilde's father seemed very smug at his daughter's terrified reaction and his grin grew, exposing teeth yellowed from smoking. He began to laugh maniacally a moment later and it was then that Duo realized the guy was sodding drunk.

His anger flared.

"Hilde, I don't know what's going on here, but I think you should go back upstairs."

Hilde's eyes went wide. "No. No, Duo, you can't."

"Can't what, babe?" Duo asked, not really paying attention, already trying to figure out how he was going to get a guy that big to go sailing out the front door.

He felt Hilde's hands grasp his arm in a tight grip a moment later. "Duo, you can't do this. You can't kick him out." Duo looked back at her questioningly, to find her indigo eyes pleading with his.

Her father had stopped laughing by now. "That's right, you can't. This is MY house, y'hear?! And you!" His gaze shifted once again to Hilde and Duo felt her cower away. "What do you take me for? I go away for a while and I come back to this?!" The man was slurring his words by now and slowly advancing, his eyes menacing. "You, sitting here in MY house like it was yours, you nobody! You're nothing, you worthless bitch! And you sit here like some kinda queen! I betcha laughed at night, didncha? Oh sure! You laughed at me! You brat! You laughed at me after screwin yer boyfriend over there. Ya laughed at me while ya sat in MY house, watchin my damn TV on my couch! You little bitch, get over here!" He'd reached the two of them by now and had raised his hand in a balled fist. Duo heard Hilde cry out in back of him as she buried her face in his shoulder, clutching his shirt like it was a lifesaver.

The shirt wasn't, but Duo sure was.

He sprang into action, moving himself out of the way and pulling Hilde with him as the fist came down. Duo loosed Hilde's death-grip on him and swung low in a round-a-bout kick that sent the man sprawling on his back with a grunt. Duo didn't waste any time. He knew better than to stay around, especially with Hilde. He turned around and ran for the door, pulling her along with him. It was no use getting any of their things, there wasn't time. As they ran down the front path, Duo heard a strangled yell behind him and then a gunshot rang out. The bullet missed them and hit just inches in front of them, sending earth and chunks of concrete at their feet. Duo didn't turn around, he just kept going. He could hear Hilde crying in back of him, but he couldn't stop to comfort her now.

Duo ran and ran, until he knew that they were both safe. Then he turned straight into an alleyway, gasping for breath, still clutching Hilde's hand.

When they'd both calmed down, Hilde began to sob hysterically, her tears spilling non-stop, her petrified wails and gasps echoing off the buildings.

"He came back, Duo! He came back! I didn't think he'd ever come back..." Hilde seemed to crumple and Duo found himself pulling her into his arms. He didn't have the faintest idea of what he was doing. There didn't seem much he could do.

"Shhh... Hilde, its ok, babe. He can't do anything to you while I'm here. Shhh... It's gonna be all right, don't worry." He didn't know how long he stood there, rocking her back and forth, letting her cry. He didn't even know what he was saying, half the time. Duo just let her cry.

It was a while before she finally calmed down and when Duo looked up, he could see that it was already near nightfall and Hilde had cried herself into exhaustion. She hadn't told him anything and he hadn't expected her to. She'd fallen asleep, slumped against him, his arms completely supporting her.

That was when Duo realized the awful situation they were both now in. They were standing in the middle of an alleyway, Hilde completely exhausted, with no where to go, no clothing, no food and no money. There was a madman back at their place who probably had every legal right to be there and it was going to be dark soon.

"Well, Hilde baby, I guess it doesn't get much worse than this," Duo muttered to himself as he picked Hilde up.

They definitely had a major problem.

Having had no other choice, Duo had done something he hadn't been very happy about. He'd found a payphone and called Heero.

Heero, however, hadn't said a word about anything. He'd simply told them to wait at the spaceport, terminal D, and that someone would be there to pick them up in an hour. Relieved beyond belief, Duo had hitched a ride to the port for him and Hilde and when he'd arrived, sure enough, Relena's private shuttle had been waiting, with Heero as the pilot. This hadn't surprised Duo at all. Heero was one to do things himself.

After laying Hilde down on a couple of seats, Duo had joined Heero in the cockpit. They'd both been silent for a moment before Heero spoke.

"She awake yet?"

Duo looked across at his "pal" more surprised by the fact that he cared at all than by the fact that he'd started the conversation. He decided to overlook it, though.

"No," he said, sighing. "She's had it way rough today. She never told me she had family."

"Not really a surprise, is it?"

"No." Duo shook his head staring at a cluster of stars over to the right. "It's just, I dunno." He shook his head, frowning. "I'd never thought about it. She always seemed so-"Duo searched for the right word. "Happy. Like nothing anyone did or said could touch her."

Heero shook his head, remaining expressionless. "You know better than to believe that, Maxwell."

"Yeah, I know." His thoughts drifted to the unconscious figure, lying asleep behind them. "What is she going to do? What are we going to do? I never pictured going anywhere but back there after the war and it went without saying that she'd be there too. She's my best friend, Heero."

"Poor kid... Well, at least you're finally leaving me alone..."

Duo snorted. "Finally got a sense of humor, did you? My point is, I'm not going to leave Hilde alone on this one. I don't know what that guy did to her to make her this way, but I'm sure as hell gonna find out, and when I do-"Duo made a violent strangling motion in the air, envisioning Hilde's father.

"Easy there, cowboy. Don't get too carried away. You know that it's going to be a lot more complicated than that. You've got to get the guy convicted, otherwise, you can say goodbye to any dreams you had."

"You're always one to point out the brighter side of life, Heero," Duo drawled.

Heero grunted. "You're just lucky Relena's on the colonies now, otherwise, you'd have no place to go."

"I wouldn't say that," Duo replied coolly. "I didn't really think you'd care at all, I was just calling you cause I thought of you first. Quatre was the guy I was really going to get to help. And speaking of Relena..."

Heero's expression didn't change. He really was the perfect soldier. "I've got to get back soon. Relena's meeting with the representatives of D-67 about new trade routes with Earth in a couple of hours."

"What's that got to do with you?" Duo asked in confusion.

Heero didn't answer right away. He seemed to be thinking whether to tell Duo or not. "I'm her personal bodyguard."

Duo looked at Heero blankly before he burst out laughing. "Personal bodyguard?! You're joking, right? Mr. Heero Yuy, 'I'm better than everyone else and don't give a damn' is Relena's personal bodyguard?! She got you, man. Hook, line and sinker! You're in way over your head!" Duo was cracking up and his ribs were starting to hurt. He stopped abruptly when he suddenly found himself looking down the barrel of Heero's gun.

"One more word, Maxwell, and I'll kill you." For the first time in their conversation, Heero's expression had changed. He was currently displaying a rather evil half-grin, as though he really wanted Duo to give him a reason to shoot him. He wasn't even looking at Duo. He kept his eyes straight ahead, keeping their course steady.

Duo just shook his head. "Ah, just like the old times, eh, Heero ol' buddy, ol' pal?"

Duo was there when Hilde woke up the following morning. Relena had immediately taken them in, no questions asked. Duo hadn't told her the entire story, not sure whether Hilde would have wanted her to know, but had told her enough to understand that they were currently homeless, foodless and basically everything-less.

Relena had offered them two rooms, but Duo was so worried, he'd slept on the floor in Hilde's. Well, he hadn't really slept all that much. He couldn't stop thinking about the events that had taken place. He needed to have a serious talk with his roommate and he started forming his questions during the night.

"Duo?" Hilde asked, as she sat up in bed, rubbing her eyes.

Duo had been standing by the window of the huge room, the morning "sun" light filtering through the thin drapes.

"Hey," he said softly, moving to sit down next to her. She looked miserable but definitely better than she had the previous day.

Hilde slowly took in their surroundings, moving from the white marble fireplace to the portraits on the walls then from the floor-to-ceiling windows to the canopy of her four-poster bed before finally resting on Duo again.

"You look like shit," she told him matter-of-factly.

Duo couldn't help but laugh with relief. After everything that had happened, he'd been worried... well, it didn't really matter. But seeing Hilde give him a small grin was even more relief.

"Thanks, I feel great too..."

Hilde suddenly looked away, pulling her knees up and resting her chin on top of them. "I'm sorry, this is all my fault."

Duo shook his head. "No it's not. Don't say that. Hilde," he said softly when she still didn't turn his way, "Hilde, look at me."

Hilde reluctantly turned her head to face him again, her eyes shining with unshed tears of guilt.

"None of this is your fault. Don't think that. Don't worry, you'll see. Everything will turn out ok in the end." He reached out a hand and tilted her chin until she was looking directly at him. "Promise me," he said.

Hilde nodded tearfully but then took a hold of herself and wiped her eyes, sniffling. "Sorry, I must look a mess," she said, running a hand through her hair. "Where are we anyway?"

Duo stood up, his braid swinging behind him. "Actually, my dear Hilde," he began in phony voice, grabbing the end of his braid and pulling it up in front of his face like a microphone. "You are currently asleep in one of the many guestrooms of Miss Relena Dorlian in her private home on the colonies. But that's not all!" Duo was having a hard time keeping a straight face as he watched Hilde cracking up on the bed. "You were brought here by none other than two dashing and very handsome Gundam pilots, one a bit more dashing and handsome than the other, if I may add," he continued, waggling his eyebrows. Hilde snorted with laughter. "And just when you thought that it couldn't get any better, you my dear, are scheduled for breakfast among the rich and famous in fifteen minutes. Yes, that's right, you will dine upon nothing but the best Belgian waffles this side of the solar system to your heart's content!" Duo dropped his braid and sat down in a huff. "And the best part about all this, is, of course, that I didn't cook."

Hilde exploded in torrents of giggles, while Duo inspected his fingernails, sighing. "Ah yes, another job well done. Mission accomplished." Duo got up and walked to the door, Hilde still laughing after his retreating form.

"I'll be back in five, babe. Come on, get up, get dressed and forget about what happened yesterday for now. We'll have plenty of time to worry later. Right now, the only thing I'm worried about is a stack of waffles downstairs with my name on it."

Hilde's giggles followed him out the door.

Duo had spent the next few days going over his options.

The first, naturally, would be a restraining order on Hilde's father. That option was pretty much useless, as a) Duo didn't think her father would really care and b) that would only supposedly keep him away, not get them the garage back.

The second option was to convict him of child abuse and heaven knew what else. Duo still had to talk to Hilde. The gun he'd shot was probably unregistered on top of the fact that guns had pretty much become illegal since the end of the war except for those with special permits. Besides that, Duo was sure that a guy like him had committed quite a number of felonies. All they had to do was nab him for one of them...

The problem with this option was that there probably wasn't anything that would land him in jail for very long. Duo needed something that would help Hilde sleep at night. He wanted the guy out. For good.

The third option was unlikely and more or less crap. It might be that the house didn't really belong to Hilde's father anymore. The fact remained that he'd abandoned the colonies, an act that was frowned upon. Duo didn't know if the government had left everything in his name or had confiscated it.

On his second day at Relena's, Duo had called Quatre, asking for his help. He knew that Winner Enterprises was bound to have only the best lawyers. He also knew it was low, but he'd give up a bit of his pride for this. Quatre, however, didn't mind at all, and set his lawyers to the task immediately. He remembered Hilde well and had really liked her.

Hilde, in the mean while, had become fast-friends with Relena. Duo had a feeling that she hadn't ever really had all that many girlfriends, people she could chat with about dresses and boys and other things that Duo really didn't want to get involved in. Heero seemed to pretty much keep to himself as well. It was scary, if you thought about it. You never knew if he was in the room, unless he wanted you to. Well, Heero had always been a creepy guy...

Duo knew it was good for Hilde to keep her mind off things, and he was happy for her, but the truth remained that he still really needed to know what they were dealing with.

"Hilde?"

"Yeah?" came Hilde's inquiring voice from behind a clump of bushes. Duo walked around them to find Hilde sitting next to a pond, her shoes off and her toes dangling in the water.

The gardens around the Dorlian Manor were pretty extensive, so when Relena had told him that Hilde had gone outside for a walk, he'd had a hell of a time trying to find her.

"Hey, mind if I join you?" Hilde shook her head, so Duo sat down, took off his shoes, folded his pant legs up to the knee and put his feet in the water. The cold water felt great, especially in the summer heat. Duo sighed.

"Feels good, huh?"

"Yeah..." Duo glanced at Hilde. Her eyes were closed and her head was leaned back, catching the rays. He hated to bring up the topic, but he needed to know. And somehow, he knew that she needed to tell.

"Hilde, about the other day..." Hilde's eyes snapped open and she sat up straight. Duo continued, pretending not to have noticed. "I'm working on ways to get the garage back and there are a few options that might help. Quatre's lawyers all say that-"Duo trailed off suddenly, seeing Hilde's stiff reaction and realizing that this wasn't the way to go about it at all. He didn't want her telling him something just because it was important for a case.

Hilde was his best friend; that was why it was important. He wanted her to tell him because she wanted to.

"What happened?" was all he ended up asking.

Hilde looked extremely uncomfortable and didn't answer.

"If you don't want to tell me now, that's fine. I just think you should talk to someone. I hope it'll be me, but if you feel more comfortable talking to Relena, or someone then that's okay. I'll be around, though, so..." Duo made to get up, but Hilde's hand suddenly reached out and grabbed his arm, holding him where he was.

"He hit me, Duo. A lot." Her voice was pained and far away, like she was talking from a different time, a different place. Her eyes seemed distant, like she wasn't really seeing the garden or him. Duo took her hand and held it tightly, waiting for her to continue on her own time.

Hilde took a deep breath as though preparing for a great plunge. "He used to hit me all the time, before he left. He used to hit my mother too. I can't even remember when it started. He'd come home drunk every night. If he was in a bad mood, he'd take it out on us. If he was in a good mood, he'd hit us, cause—because..." Hilde swallowed hard and took a deep breath to try and steady her quavering voice. "If he was in a good mood, he'd hit us cause he liked to hear us scream. It- it made him laugh."

Hilde had Duo's hand in a death-grip and Duo found himself clenching his other fist in anger. He still didn't say anything because he sensed that Hilde wasn't quite finished.

"It never really mattered how, just as long as it hurt a lot. Sometimes he'd come home with a stick, or something he'd found on the street. Other times he'd get creative." The word was dripping with sarcasm and hatred. Hilde's features were momentarily twisted in anger. Duo didn't think he'd ever seen her like this.

"Hot irons, used bottles, the broom, and of course, there was always the belt." Hilde gave a dry humorless laugh. Duo felt sick.

The anger suddenly disappeared to be replaced once again with debilitating fear. "One time, Mama tried to stop him from hitting me anymore and he got really mad." Hilde stared off at absolutely nothing, tears streaming down her face. "Mama lost the baby... I remember..." Hilde was rocking back and forth, shaking her head. "I was twelve and Mama told me I shouldn't cry. I should always smile so that people wouldn't know. I smiled at my teachers and friends and told them that I'd fallen down the stairs, or slipped in the shower or walked into a door. After a while, I think they stopped believing me... He didn't let me go to school anymore after that. He said I was too stupid for school anyway. Then Mama left." Hilde stopped rocking and sat silently, staring at the small ripples in the pond. She sounded like a lost little girl. "I don't know why she didn't take me with her. Daddy got very mad after Mama left. I was thirteen then. Daddy came home one night with some- some friends... They didn't really pay much attention to me at first. I thought if I could just stay out of sight, everything would be ok. But I heard them. They were talking about going away that same night. Daddy had done something, I- I," Hilde hesitated, "I don't know what... He was leaving. They noticed me and called me and one of them asked Daddy if he could have me and he said yes... He said yes..." Hilde was crying again, taking gasping breaths, trying to regain control of herself. "I r-ran. They were all drunk and couldn't keep up with me. I just kept running until I couldn't breathe anymore and then I hid. I didn't go back to the house for two days. I didn't eat anything and I slept in the park and when I went back, he was gone. Just like that." Hilde turned to Duo, and when he saw the look in her eyes, he couldn't stay quiet anymore.

"Oh, God, Hilde." He whispered in horror as the whole tale came to an end. He pulled her to him, hugging her tightly, wishing none of it had ever happened to her.

The great Shinigami's heart broke as he sat there that day, rocking his best friend, wishing he could take it all away and crying with her.

They didn't move from that spot all day. When their feet got cold, they put their shoes on and sat on a patch of grass nearby. Duo asked Hilde how it didn't bother her living in that same house all these years.

"That's the thing. That's not the house we lived in. My father owned the garage and the place came with the property and the scrap-yard. I don't know where he got the money for it, he never seemed to work very hard... I think his father was rich, or something. We lived a few blocks away... Anyway, after he left, I didn't really know what to do with myself. I didn't want to go back to the house, so I stayed at the garage. A couple days went by and I finally got the courage to go over there. I needed to get some clothes and other things. I may have been young but I was forced to grow up pretty fast. When I look at myself back then I'm more than a little surprised at how clear headed I stayed." Hilde gave an odd smile of satisfaction. "I was going through the things my mom left behind and I was looking through this drawer when I realized it was smaller than the other ones in the dresser, so I took it all the way out and in the back there was a panel and a small compartment." Hilde sighed and picked at some grass. "All her jewelry was in there and enough cash to keep me on my feet until I sold some of it."

Duo laid back and put his hands behind his head. "What did you do then?"

Hilde looked down at him, a small grin on her face. "Whenever I needed to, I sold a necklace, or a ring, or something. I don't think my mother would grudge me for it. I don't think my dad ever knew about that stash or he would've taken it with him. It must have been from before she got married. There were some really expensive pieces in there..." Hilde shook her head, the grin still there. "Then I forged my mother's signature, opened a bank account and got back into school. I went to a different one, across town, where no one knew me, and I worked harder than anyone else and got the best grades in my year. I don't know what I was trying to prove. Maybe I was trying to show myself I could get along just fine without anyone else to look after me. I was especially good with computers so I took advanced classes and got myself one at home. I was hacking into government systems by the time I was fourteen. That's when OZ came into the picture. I didn't know what they were all about, I thought they were protecting the colonies and I loved the colonies more than I'd ever loved anything before. So I joined the military academy, got top training and became an officer a year later." Hilde blushed in embarrassment. "You know the rest. I still can't believe I tried to get you to join..." she giggled, rolling her eyes when Duo stuck his tongue out at her. She was silent for a moment, staring at nothing in particular. "I never stopped smiling, though. I never let people see how much I hurt."

Duo gazed up at the sky. He'd never known any of this. 'Never-say-die Hilde'... She'd probably been dying on the inside the whole time...

"Do you ever wonder where your mother went?"

Hilde was silent and didn't seem to want to answer. "I- I know where she went..."

Duo sat up abruptly. "What? You know and you haven't gone to see her? Where is she?"

The question seemed to upset Hilde. She hesitated before saying, "I can't tell! I promised I wouldn't tell! I- p-please, Duo, don't make me."

Duo had given up and hadn't pursued the subject any further. But he knew one thing, Hilde was definitely hiding something important.

So he'd been back to where he started. Well, kind of. Duo now had a greater desire than ever to put that man behind bars. He hated him with a passion. He'd never hated OZ that much and he often found himself wondering what he'd do if the war was still going. It would have been so easy to kill the guy and make it look like an accident...

But there was one up-side that there hadn't been before. They could definitely charge the guy with child abuse, battery and assault. He wondered if Hilde would have had a little brother or sister if her mother hadn't lost that baby. He wondered how many times a day Hilde must wonder the same thing...

But even with all that, Hilde's father still wouldn't be in jail for more than ten years at most if he was convicted. He'd come back when he got out, Duo was sure of it, but there didn't seem to be anything he could do about it.

It would be so much better if Hilde could tell him where her mother was. She could testify as well and Hilde's mother might know a lot more than Hilde did. But Duo didn't press Hilde about it. He'd seen the expression on her face when he'd asked her about it in the garden. Duo had a feeling she needed a little time.

"What do you mean the best you can do is a restraining order?!" Duo practically shouted at the social worker sitting across from him.

"Mr. Maxwell," the woman said nervously, glancing around at her fellow co-workers to see if anyone had noticed his outburst. "I must ask you to control yourself. Shouting will hardly get you anywhere in here." The woman pushed her reading glasses further up her nose while looking down once again at the papers on her desk. "As I said before, the best I can manage is a restraining order on Ms. Schbeiker's father. I'm sorry. Had this come to our attention a few years ago, when the girl was still living with her father, we would have been able to accomplish much more. Normally, we would remove her from his custody and send her to a foster family. The only person who would be able to press charges would be the mother, but as I understand it, her whereabouts are unknown.

"However, this brings me to a question of my own." Duo didn't think he liked the disapproving look that had come into the woman's eyes. "It says here that Ms. Schbeiker is currently only sixteen, is that correct?"

Duo felt the blood drain from his face, seeing where this was going.

"You are fully aware that I'm authorized to have Hilde placed in a foster family. The same goes for you, Mr. Maxwell."

Duo swallowed nervously. "H-hey, lady, Mrs. Corman, was it? You're definitely making some kind of mistake. Neither of us needs to be anywhere but where we are. I can take care of myself and Hilde. You have no right to take me or her anywhere. Do you know what we were both doing during the war?"

Mrs. Corman pursed her lips in amusement. "Yes, Ms. Schbeiker was an officer for OZ before she deserted-"Duo cut her off.

"Wha-?! Deserted?! How can you call it deserting? Do you know what OZ was all about? They sat there spewing lies about peace and protection while building mobile dolls on the moon! So the girl gets a clue and she's called a deserter?!" Duo was outraged and he knew he was only getting himself into more of a fix than he was already in.

Mrs. Corman sat, apparently indifferent to the entire speech. "As I said," she continued a moment later when she was sure Duo was finished. "Ms. Schbeiker was an officer in OZ before she deserted. She was nearly killed in the battle between the White Fang and OZ after escaping the battleship Libra. She then spent three weeks on MO2 before being released into your custody. I'll have to speak with the woman who discharged her, Miss Sally Po. She should have called social services.

"As for you, Mr. Maxwell, well, actually, you're quite an enigma. I haven't any information about you at all, but anyone can see you're much too young to be out on your own."

Duo almost laughed. This woman didn't have any idea who she was dealing with. She also didn't seem to realize any of the reasons behind what Hilde had done on battleship Libra and that because of her, a lot of people slept safe in their beds these days, including herself.

"Mrs. Corman, you're wasting your time, and mine, actually. You're not going to put me or Hilde in a foster home or anything like that. What you are going to do, is locate and contact Ms. Schbeiker's mother, keep us informed of your progress, get that restraining order and look through your books until you find a way to get that man behind bars."

Now Mrs. Corman really looked amused. She continued speaking as though she were indulging a little boy. "Oh? And why am I going to do that?"

Mrs. Corman's amused look faded a bit as an evil grin spread across Duo's face. "Do you like peace, Mrs. Corman?" he asked her.

Confused, she nodded her head. "Yes, I'm grateful every day for it."

"Do you have kids, Mrs. Corman?"

The confusion became more pronounced. "Yes, two children."

"Grandkids?"

"Five."

Duo nodded. "And they like the peace as well?"

For a moment, Mrs. Corman smiled as she thought of her grandchildren. "Oh, yes. It's wonderful not having to see soldiers everywhere. That's no way for children to grow up. But, I say, Mr. Maxwell, what are you getting at?"

"Do you know what Hilde was doing on battleship Libra, Mrs. Corman? Why she risked her life trying to reach Peace Million afterwards?"

The woman shook her head, her brow furrowed.

"Let's just say, we Gundams wouldn't have made it out alive without the information she brought us and your grandchildren definitely wouldn't be enjoying the peace."

Mrs. Corman's face had gone rather white. "We Gundams?" she asked raspily.

"Yeah, didn't you know I'm a Gundam pilot? Gosh, Mrs. Corman, I was sure you'd known..." Duo said in mock surprise.

"I- well, I-"

Duo shook his head. "We're both staying with Miss Relena Dorlian. You know, the vice foreign minister?" He got up to leave.

"Dorlian?" Mrs. Corman was looking a bit flustered.

Duo laughed and shook his head. "Call me when you find something," he said as he turned to go. "Just ask for the Shinigami."

A month had passed while they'd stayed with Relena, a whole month since they'd been kicked out of their garage and their dream. Duo often found himself wondering if they weren't being a bit of a burden on Relena, but when he'd asked her, she'd only laughed. Relena wasn't always around and in the time that they stayed, she'd made several business trips to other colonies as well as one big trip down to Earth for a week, and Heero had gone with her every time. Duo still couldn't help teasing the former Gundam pilot whenever he got the chance and so far, he'd been threatened about ten times. Duo and Hilde pretty much had the manor to themselves besides the help. Duo didn't mind. Hilde had been a lot better since she'd talked to him, it seemed. Her cheery personality was back and her mood was contagious. She'd made it a rule to greet every person in the manor every morning and by the end of two weeks, knew all of them on a name-to-name basis. The help, on the other hand, had taken to referring to her as 'Miss Hilde' and asking her opinion on things concerning Relena's wardrobe or the furniture or menus. Relena had the last word, but they all wanted to know what Hilde thought as well.

Duo would sit watching her at the breakfast table in amusement as she greeted Richard the butler and asked him to give her compliments to Mick on the excellent pancakes or whatever was in front of them that particular morning. Richard would break out in a huge grin and rush off to do just that. Duo could swear it only took the guy two seconds and he was back asking if there was anything else he could do for her, even though the kitchen was pretty far off.

But Duo had an uneasy feeling. He remembered how seriously Hilde had taken her mother's words and he often found himself wondering if she was only smiling on the outside.

"Duo?" Hilde's tearful whisper penetrated his thoughts and he groggily pulled himself out of his deep slumber. He rubbed at his eyes as he checked the watch next to his bed. 2:30 am. He was about to ask her what the hell she thought she was doing up at this hour, when he took notice of her tear-streaked face and fearful expression.

"Babe, what happened?" He was fully awake now and moved over a bit, making space for her to sit down.

"I'm so sorry to wake you up. I had a nightmare." Hilde whispered. "I didn't know what else to do. I can't fall asleep again. Every time I close my eyes, he's there, Duo. Why can't he just leave me alone?" Hilde put her face in her hands, her shoulders shaking.

Duo thought about it for maybe a millisecond before pulling back the covers. "Get in," he told her simply.

His suggestion seemed to shock her out of her thoughts and she looked up abruptly, her eyes wide. "What?!"

"You heard me," he answered. "You need to sleep and I'm gonna help you, now come on. Really, I'm not going to do anything, you know." Duo shook his head and made more room for her.

Hilde bit her lip and glanced at the door. "Well, ok..." She slowly laid down with her back to him and he snaked his arm around her stomach, holding her tight. He could still feel her shaking from her nightmare. He moved his hand towards her arm and moved his fingers up and down it until she sighed and her trembling seemed to stop.

"Better?" he mumbled into her neck, already finding himself drifting off back to sleep.

"Yeah..." came the reply. Hilde sounded half asleep as well.

"Good. G'night."

"Good night, Duo. Thanks."

"Any time, babe," he whispered before falling asleep.

He didn't notice how Hilde had shivered at his breath on her neck, or how perfectly their bodies seemed to fit together.

From that night on, whenever Hilde had had a nightmare, or couldn't sleep, she'd tiptoed into Duo's room. No words were ever exchanged as she'd climb in with him. Sometimes, Duo didn't even know she'd come until he woke up to find her snuggled up close. It was an oddly reassuring feeling having her there nearby, with him. It provided him with a sense of completion he'd never felt before.

Hilde wasn't the only one soothed by it, though. They both had their demons and Hilde wasn't the only one with bad dreams, either. Duo never told her about his but he'd noticed he had less nightmares when she was there.

Mrs. Corman had been calling regularly, updating him on their search for Hilde's mother. They hadn't had very much luck and every lead they'd been able to find had turned out to be a dead end.

Hilde had got her restraining order about a week after Duo's and Mrs. Corman's little "chat". When she'd opened the envelope and read what it said inside, she'd given a sigh of relief and nearly collapsed. Duo had been standing right next to her so he held her steady. He hadn't been expecting her to nearly choke him to death a second later when she'd turned around and hugged him as tightly as she could (which was pretty tight...)

Duo still remembered every detail of the day everything blew up. He could picture it as though it had only happened moments ago.

He'd received a call from Mrs. Corman a short time after Relena had returned from Earth and Hilde had received the restraining order. Duo hadn't really been expecting anything, after all, so far everything had come up blank.

He definitely hadn't been expecting what Mrs. Corman told him.

"Hello Mr. Maxwell," Mrs. Corman's voice came from the other end of the line.

"Hey! And I've told you, call me Duo," Duo replied.

"Yes, of course, Mr. Maxwell."

Duo rolled his eyes, sighed and sat down on the living room sofa. "So, anything new?"

There was a pause on the other end that Duo didn't like at all.

"Actually, yes, there is some news."

Duo felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up in apprehension at the social worker's quiet and nervous tone. "Oh?"

"Yes, we've successfully located Mrs. Gwendolyn Schbeiker."

"What?!" Duo sat up straight, excitement coursing through him. "Well, that's great! Where is she? Have you contacted her yet?"

"Mr. Maxwell, Gwendolyn Schbeiker is buried in a cemetery on colony T-4677. She died three and a half years ago."

Duo had been in shock and that moment had been one of the few times in his life when he hadn't had anything to say.

Mrs. Corman had gone on to explain that after having had no success in finding Hilde's mother anywhere on the Earth or on the colonies, they'd begun checking hospitals, morgues and cemeteries. They'd found her a short time later.

Duo had wandered the manor that day barely realizing what he'd been doing. Hilde's mother was dead. Not only that, but she'd been dead since Hilde had been thirteen.

Duo just couldn't get it to sink in. The main problem was that he no longer knew quite what to believe.

Hilde had said she knew where her mother was. Had Hilde been lying? But what reason did Hilde have to keep her mother's death a secret?

On the other hand, it might be that she'd known where her mother had gone but that Gwendolyn Schbeiker had died a short time later and Hilde had never known. In that case, Duo didn't know how to tell her. Hilde had enough going on without suddenly learning of her mother's death.

But the more Duo thought about it, the more the second possibility seemed unlikely. Hilde had found her mother's jewels and money in that secret drawer. Why hadn't Mrs. Schbeiker taken it all with her? And he remembered Hilde's discomfort when he'd asked where her mother was. She'd told him that she'd promised not to tell, not to say anything. Why not? For fear that her father would find out? Who exactly was going to tell him?

No. Duo had realized that there'd been a lot more going on than anyone could say. Anyone, that was, except for Hilde.

"How was shopping with Relena?"

Hilde jumped in surprise and dropped the packages she was holding. She turned around and her expression relaxed when she saw who it was.

"Oh, Duo, you scared the hell out of me! What do you think you're doing, sneaking up on me like that?!"

Duo didn't say anything. He walked over to where she was standing, picked up her packages and carried them to the desk.

"Duo?"

Duo turned towards the glass door leading to the balcony and leaned his back against the wall, watching Hilde.

"Did you have a good time?"

Hilde furrowed her brow in confusion. "Yeah, it was great. Duo, what do you want?"

Duo sighed, but his gaze never left Hilde's face.

"Mrs. Corman called today. She found your mother."

Hilde's face went stark white. Duo saw panic in her eyes. She knew.

"Apparently, she's been living on a colony not far from here."

For a moment, Hilde looked utterly confused, but then understanding came over her features and she sighed with relief. "Oh, yes, of course. I knew that."

Duo felt the hurt well up inside him. She was lying and she knew it. She thought there had been some mistake and that social services had taken someone else for her mother. He sighed and looked down at the floor, shaking his head.

"Duo? Are you ok?"

Pushing off from the wall, Duo walked slowly to the door. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just... well- never mind." He'd reached the double oak doors by now. He turned one last time before leaving.

"Hilde, you can-"he paused, looking for a way to put it. "You can tell me things, you know. I'll listen. Just- just never lie to me, ok?"

Hilde bit her lip and nodded. "Hey, Duo?" she asked tentatively before he left.

Duo stopped abruptly in his tracks and turned around hopefully. "Yeah?"

Hilde seemed to be struggling with herself, uncertainty written all over her face. "I, well, we-"Hilde stopped and shook her head, looking at the floor. "We'll go and visit her soon, ok?"

Duo's shoulders slumped and he felt his anger begin to get the better of him. If she'd told him she didn't want to talk about it, he would have understood. If she'd said that there was a reason behind her hiding it from him, he wouldn't have asked any questions. But if there was one thing Duo prided himself on, it was his honesty. He'd expected more from Hilde.

"That's a bunch of BS and you know it," he said softly, his voice shaking slightly.

Hilde's eyes went wide for a moment as she realized that he knew the truth.

"Hilde, I never thought you'd lie to me. You're my best friend. I thought friendship was more important than that," Duo had turned back into the room and closed the doors behind him. He wasn't going to leave this alone. Even if friendship wasn't that important to her it sure as hell was important to him.

"Duo, I'm sorry, I-"

"I don't know why you lied to me. The reason isn't important. The fact is that you did, Hilde. I'm not saying that we shouldn't have any secrets, but this is big! All I'm trying to do is help you! I admit, I don't know anything about this, but how can I help you if you don't let me?!"

Hilde looked as though she were about to burst into tears. She kept control of herself, though. Duo hated hurting her feelings, but his were pretty hurt as well.

"Duo, listen to me-"

"No. You listen to me, Hilde. I asked Mrs. Corman to locate your mother so that maybe, just maybe she could help us out with this whole deal. I don't know about you, but I don't see how a flimsy restraining order is going to stop him from getting at you. He just showed up one day and destroyed everything! The whole time I was piloting Deathscythe, the thing I was looking forward to most was coming back to you and the garage. Just living the simple life with my best friend and our little place, what could be better?! I'll tell you. I've seen the world, Hilde, I've traveled space, I've met who knows how many people, and in all of it, I haven't found anything as worthwhile as that." Duo's voice had softened as he spoke and Hilde was looking at him now with shining eyes at the picture he'd painted. Duo shook his head. "Some people want money, some fame... Damn, most want both. Me, Hilde? I just wanna come home at the end of the day. Home. I've never had a home before." Duo felt his heart would break when he saw the tears streaming down Hilde's face. He walked over to where she was standing, and reached out a hand, brushing her tears away with his thumb.

"Come on, babe, don't cry. I'm sorry I yelled, I just..." Duo felt an odd lump in his throat.

"No, Duo. You're right, and I- I feel the same way. Only it doesn't matter to me if we never get the garage back because home, Duo, home is wherever you feel safe and no matter what's happened, I've always felt safe with you." Hilde gazed up at him, wonder in her eyes. "Home is wherever you are, Duo," she whispered at last. Her eyes went wide as she finished and she looked as though she'd just figured it out that instant.

Duo was speechless, and he too, stood staring down at Hilde, wide-eyed. It was at that moment that something sparked in Duo; something came to life. He couldn't quite place it, but there was suddenly something there that hadn't been there before. His heartbeat quickened and his breathing shallowed and he suddenly felt light-headed.

But Duo didn't have time to analyze whatever it was he was feeling. Hilde's eyes had darkened and her lower lip quivered. She suddenly hugged him tightly as though afraid and he could feel her shivering.

"Duo, I'm sorry I didn't tell you. It's just, he made me promise never to tell anyone. He said if I ever did, he'd do the same to me."

"Hilde, what are you talking about?"

There was a short pause before Hilde broke down sobbing.

"He killed her, Duo. She didn't run away. He killed her..."

Duo felt his legs go numb and he sat down abruptly on the chair next to the desk, pulling Hilde with him. He suddenly had a flashback of their time out in the gardens when Hilde had told him about everything.

"Then Mama left. I don't know why she didn't take me with her."

Had she wished for death? She'd only been thirteen and he'd made her wish for death? That—that bastard!

"He's going to kill me, Duo... He's going to find me and kill me!" Hilde was looking up at him, fear and helplessness in her eyes.

Duo snapped, then. He didn't feel shock, he didn't feel fear, all he felt was hatred so deep, it went beyond anything he'd ever felt before. It rivaled the way he'd felt when he'd discovered Father Maxwell and Sister Helen, dead all those years ago. Up until now, anyone he'd dared to love had turned up dead. He wasn't about to let it happen again.

"No he's not. He promised you Death, Hilde. That's who you got." Duo's eyes were smoldering in anger, cobalt blue turned to dark navy and black as he spoke. "You're father's going to regret that threat, when Death comes knocking at his door."

It had taken a while for Duo to calm down after that. The only thing he'd wanted to do was strangle that pathetic excuse for a human being. While he'd held Hilde, his mind had been going over assassination plans, not caring that he was technically planning murder. When Hilde had finally fallen asleep, he'd carried her to her bed, tucked her in and gone off to find Heero.

"Heero, I need your help."

"Whatever it is, the answer is no. Go away."

Heero was sitting with his back to Duo, hunched over his desk, working on some kind of report. Duo lost his patience. He needed to take action! He needed to DO something, and Heero didn't give a damn!

Before he could stop himself, he flung himself forward, grabbed the back of Heero's shirt and pulled him around, intending to bang him against the wall until he had his attention. Heero, however, had no intentions of letting Duo fling him around. In a maneuver that only he would probably ever have been able to pull off, Heero elbowed Duo in the stomach, grabbed the hand on his shirt, twirled under it and smashed Duo against the wall, face first, his arm twisted out behind him.

Duo made a sound that sounded awfully close to a growl and flipped around, pulling Heero down, as his hand was still gripping Duo's arm and bringing his knee up to kick Heero in the chin.

The agile Gundam pilot, moved to the side just in time, dodging the knee. He let go of Duo's hand and ducked, swinging low and tripping him over backwards. In two seconds, Heero had pulled his gun and had it pointed down at Duo, who was lying on his back, completely winded, but still looking furious.

"Dammit, Heero!" he yelled, rolling over and pulling himself up, ignoring the gun pointed at him. "Dammit! Shit!" Duo stood up and rubbed the back of his head. He turned around and faced Heero, glaring for all he was worth, but he wasn't able to keep the pain he still felt from what Hilde had told him out of his eyes.

Heero must have seen it, because he lowered his gun. "What happened?"

Duo sneered. "Oh, excuse me for bothering you. You don't even try to sound like you care! It's probably too much trouble to have feelings. Could you teach me the trick?! Then maybe this wouldn't be driving me out of my mind!"

"What happened?"

Maybe it was Heero's ability to stay so cool, or maybe it was that his head hurt like hell, but some of the fight went out of Duo and he sagged into the chair next to Heero's desk. He rubbed his eyes, not quite sure how to tell him what had happened.

"I want to kill someone," he said simply.

"You can't."

"I don't care!" Duo yelled angrily, banging his fist on the desk.

Heero leaned calmly against the wall and tucked his gun neatly into his back pocket. "It doesn't matter if you care or not. We're not living during the war anymore."

Duo sighed, getting a hold of himself. "Yeah, I know," he finally agreed, grudgingly. "It's just that I don't know what else to do. That social worker that's been helping me out with Hilde called today. Hilde's mother's been dead for three years."

Heero nodded in comprehension. "He killed her?"

Duo felt nauseous. "He needs to die, Heero. He should be dead."

"That's not the way it goes."

Silence reigned in the room. Duo wondered at how Heero always managed to be so damned reasonable. He knew he couldn't do anything as rash as killing the guy, but he wished that he could play more of a part in bringing him to justice besides just calling the cops. After a minute of quiet, Duo got up.

"I hate you," he said as he walked out the door.

"I don't care," was Heero's answer as he sat back down at his desk.

Duo couldn't help smiling.

He walked down the hall to his room. Once inside he walked to the phone and stared at it a couple of seconds before picking it up and dialing.

"L4 Police Headquarters, may I help you?"

"Yes, I'd like to report a murder."

After that, it had been out of Duo's hands and events passed more quickly than either Duo or Hilde could process them. It seemed no time before Hilde's father was arrested after a short but thorough investigation. The police had discovered enough evidence to form a substantial case against him in court. Apparently, Hilde's father hadn't been smart enough to cover his tracks. He'd also been extremely lucky up until then.

On top of Hilde's testimony to her father's violence, there was also the man that had buried Gwendolyn Schbeiker. He'd been a friend of Hilde's father and had helped him out. However, when the police had discovered this and given him the choice of either testifying or being imprisoned as well, he'd had no qualms about betraying that friendship. There may have been honor among thieves, but murderers were a different story altogether.

The day Hilde had testified had been beyond difficult. Duo had awoken that morning to find Hilde had crept into his room during the night. She had told him the day before how scared she was to testify. Her father knew who had betrayed him and she couldn't get his threat out of her head.

Duo had sat in bed, watching her sleep, as the morning sun filtered through the windows onto her face, and he'd suddenly felt something fierce and protective well up inside him. He'd also felt incredibly proud of her. Hilde was so strong. She'd been through more than he could imagine, but she kept going every day, making the world around her happy. She projected a joyfulness that caught everyone else up in it as well. He'd leaned over and brushed a soft kiss across her forehead, before getting out of bed to take a shower.

That day in the courtroom had been a nightmare. Hilde had done just fine until the cross-examination. She'd been nervous enough as it was with her father sitting across from her and glaring as she told the court all of the terrible things he'd ever done to her. Duo had caught Hilde glancing nervously at her father once every so often.

Duo didn't know how, but Hilde's father had managed to get a very good lawyer, good meaning he played dirty. His questions had Hilde near tears towards the end and he pretty much discredited all of her previous answers and statements, making them out to be the ramblings of a child who didn't know what was going on around her or what was good for her.

"Let me testify!" Duo practically growled at Sean Brogan, one of Quatre's best lawyers. He was a nice guy too and had given Hilde a lot of emotional support every step of the way. However, at the moment Duo wanted to kill him.

Sean sighed. "What would be the point?" he asked, shaking his head. "Give me a good enough reason and I'll do it. We were flattened today. I'm doing everything I can for Hilde, but Devlin is known for playing dirty. He manages to weasel in questions without giving me any way to object. He made Hilde look like a fool on the stand today. His questions coupled with her father sitting right across from her made her too nervous to sound credible."

Duo punched at the wall, making a dent. "Dammit, I know that!" he yelled. "That's why I want you to put me up there!"

"And how will that help, Duo?" Sean asked. He spent too much time with Quatre Winner to be surprised at Duo's outburst. He knew how frustrated the Gundam pilots could get when they got caught in a seemingly helpless situation. Quatre obviously didn't punch walls when he was upset, but he wasn't always the peaceful boy everyone thought him to be. Sean continued. "You're not related to her, you weren't connected in any way to any of the occurrences between Hilde, her father and her mother three years ago. What exactly do you want to do?"

"I'll make her look credible!" Duo replied furiously. "I'll tell them about what she did in the war! I'll make them see sense! Don't tell me that wouldn't help. I know everything she did after she was abandoned and look what she did by herself! Damn it, she went on living as though nothing happened. She's brilliant and if as a thirteen year-old she managed to keep living on her own then she's bloody well credible! Hilde just won't tell them on her own. She's too scared and to be honest, she deserves to be scared after everything she's been through. Hilde's gone too long putting on a brave face for everyone else. She fought for the colonies, she fought for the Gundam pilots and she fought for me. It's about time someone else fought for her for a change! I don't care how low it is. I don't care playing on the jury's sense of gratification to get that man in jail. I don't care if they do it out of some sense of obligation for the peace we gave them as long as they do it. So far Hilde's been portrayed as a deserter to OZ, a little girl who didn't know any better. This trial seems to have turned into an argument over the objectives behind Hilde's actions instead of a murder trial! Shit, the guy killed her mother!"

"I know Duo," Sean said quietly. He then stood from behind his desk and walked over to the small table at the side of his office. "I could get in trouble for asking you this, but would you like a drink?" he asked as he poured himself some brandy into a glass.

"Yeah, a beer if you have one would be great."

Sean handed him the beverage and gave him a calculating glance as Duo opened the bottle.

"What you're saying really doesn't have a bearing on the case itself, but then again as you said this trial seems to have become an argument over Hilde's credibility which is exactly what Devlin wanted to do to begin with. He'll probably claim a lack of evidence in the case as well. I mean, no one actually saw Frank Schbeiker kill Hilde's mother and we don't have a weapon either. But if we play dirty like Devlin and get the jury to feel obligated to do this somehow... I hate doing this. I pride myself on being one of the few honest lawyers out there, you know."

Duo nodded. "Quatre wouldn't have hired you otherwise, man."

Sean sighed. "All right. I'll put you on the stand. Make them feel guilty as hell Duo," Sean said as he drained the glass.

Duo nodded. "That's part of Shinigami's job," he replied seriously.

"Please state your full name for the court."

"Duo Maxwell."

"Mr. Maxwell, do you swear to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you God?"

Duo almost laughed. "I do."

Sean stood up from behind the desk he was sitting at. Hilde gave him a weak smile from where she sat and Duo could see Heero, Relena and Quatre in the audience.

"Mr. Maxwell," Sean began, "how long have you known Miss Hilde Schbeiker?"

"One and a half years."

"And how did you first meet?"

This time Duo did laugh. "She tried to get me to join OZ."

Sean glanced over the folder in his hand. Duo knew it was all an act. "I see," he stated. "Miss Schbeiker was, at the time, an officer in OZ, am I correct?"

"Yes."

"And what was your part in the war, Mr. Maxwell?"

Duo paused for effect before answering. "I was a Gundam pilot."

The audience and jury broke into amazed whispers and Duo couldn't help the extreme sense of satisfaction he felt at letting everyone know it was him. It took several knocks from the judge's hammer before everyone fell silent again. Devlin looked a bit green, Duo noted with further satisfaction and Hilde's father's eyes were wide in horror.

Sean gave Duo a small grin that only he could see before he continued. "The Gundams fought for the sake of the colonies and discovered that OZ had indeed been building weapons in secret while claiming they were the colonies' protectors, am I correct?"

Devlin stood up. "I object! Your honor, what does any of this have to do with the trial at hand?"

The judge turned to Sean. "Is there a point in this information relevant to this murder trial?"

"Yes, your honor," Sean replied smoothly. "We are trying to prove Miss Schbeiker's credibility. Her testimony should not be discredited because of a small misunderstanding concerning her abandonment of OZ and her injuries on Peace Million."

The judge seemed undecided for a moment but then she sighed. "Very well, objection overruled. You will answer the question Mr. Maxwell."

Duo smiled and turned to Sean. "Right on the money, sir."

"So, when Miss Schbeiker took you prisoner after discovering your secret, what happened?"

Duo took a deep breath. "I told her everything. That we were both fighting for the same thing, the colonies. That OZ had been lying to her and that she wouldn't be going anywhere if she stuck around with them. Afterwards I escaped and when I was nearly killed by the mobile dolls that OZ had protecting the lunar base she showed up and saved my life."

Sean nodded. "And afterwards?"

"Well, she knew the truth then and she left," Duo stated matter-of-factly. "Wouldn't anyone who loved the colonies as much as she did do the same?" He looked around at everyone in the courtroom, innocently, as though it should be obvious that this was the required course of action. Inside he was grinning evilly.

Sean turned to the judge. "Your honor, I believe we have concluded that Miss Schbeiker left OZ for an honorable cause."

The judge nodded her agreement.

Sean looked over at Duo again. "And afterwards, in the battle between Peace Million and the White Fang, Miss Schbeiker was injured. Tell us about that please."

Duo's eyes clouded over as he remembered. He still had nightmares about what had happened that day. "Hilde knew we barely had a chance. I'd made her promise not to do anything stupid, but she snuck onto Libra and downloaded information that proved to tilt the battle in our favor. On her way back to Peace Million, she was ambushed by two mobile dolls that had been programmed with some of the other Gundam pilots' data. She suffered near fatal injuries and would have died if I hadn't shown up in time. She's one of the main reason's we have peace today."

Not a sound was heard in the room as Duo finished his extraordinary speech. He looked around the room and his eyes fell on Hilde. Her eyes were shining with tears and something else that Duo had never seen before and something in that look made him feel a step above everyone else.

Sean spoke up softly. "Thank you Mr. Maxwell. I have no more questions for the witness, Your Honor."

The judge nodded as Sean sat down next to Hilde, smiling at her. The she turned to Devlin. "Would you like to cross-examine, Mr. Devlin?"

Devlin nodded and stood up. He walked forward and was silent for a few seconds before he began clapping his hands as though some great performance had just come to an end. Duo narrowed his eyes. This could not bode well.

"Bravo, bravo, Mr. Maxwell!" he exclaimed, still clapping. The room was silent, not knowing quite what to make of him. When he finally finished he smiled. "Very touching, really." Devlin placed a hand on his heart in a mocking gesture. Duo almost growled at him.

Devlin looked down at his notes for much longer than was necessary, obviously trying to make Duo nervous. The only thing it did was piss him off.

When Devlin finally looked up, he sighed and spoke in a voice as though dealing with a child. "So, Mr. Maxwell, you say you were a Gundam pilot in the war..."

Duo glared at Devlin. "I was one."

Devlin looked surprised. "Really? But, surely a Gundam pilot would have been someone with experience and maturity, not a teenage boy. You were fifteen at the time of the war, am I right?"

"Yeah, so?! What's your point?!" Duo burst out.

Devlin shook his head. "I'm going to have to ask you to watch your temper, Mr. Maxwell, we are, after all, in a court of law. There is no room for your childish outbursts and fancies here." Devlin laughed. Duo wanted to strangle him. Instead, he clenched his fists until he could feel his fingernails cutting into his skin.

Devlin continued. "So, you claim you were a Gundam pilot during the war and that Miss Schbeiker played a great part in bringing the ESUN to peace."

"I don't claim anything," Duo snarled, "I'm stating a fact."

Devlin turned to the judge. "I find it very hard to believe that anyone would place the responsibility of bringing peace on a fifteen year old boy." He turned back to Duo. "Next thing you'll tell me is that all the rest of the Gundams were your age as well."

Duo did growl this time. "They were."

Devlin laughed. He just outright laughed. Several of the people in the audience chuckled as well.

Duo's anger left him then and he felt the beginnings of panic. Was Devlin going to discredit him now as well? He needed proof...

"OZ!" he exclaimed suddenly and Devlin looked at him in confusion. "OZ imprisoned me during the war. They'll have recor-"

"Imprisoned?!" Devlin exclaimed. "My, my Mr. Maxwell. You admit to having been imprisoned. For what crimes? I think this court would like to know exactly what type of person we are dealing with here! And you expect us to believe you were a Gundam pilot?"

"No, that's not what I mea-"

"What heinous act did you commit? Why should we believe what you have told us about Miss Schbeiker if you are obviously a delinquent?"

"Would you just-"

"It's obvious to me and I think to everyone present that every word out of your mouth has been an utter lie!"

"Shut up you son of a bi-"

"Mr. Maxwell!" the judge cut in at last. "I will not tolerate such language in my court!"

"Objection, Your Honor!" Sean exclaimed. "I request Mr. Maxwell's last statement be scratched from the record. Mr. Devlin was badgering the witness."

The judge nodded. "Very well, sustained. Mr. Devlin, I will request that you continue in a calm fashion and allow the witness to explain himself."

Devlin looked chagrined, but Duo could see through him. "Yes, of course, Your Honor." He turned to Duo. "Well? What do you have to say for yourself Mr. Maxwell?"

Duo took several deep breaths. He couldn't lose it like that again.

"OZ will have records of my being a Gundam pilot," he said, after regaining his calm. "And if you really wanted," he said, a sudden idea sprouting in his head, "you could test my mechanical and engineering skills."

The judge waved her hand to Duo's right. "No need, Mr. Maxwell. I'm sure OZ's records will be enough."

Someone in the audience cleared their throat. Duo looked and saw Relena standing up. Next to her, Heero looked like he was going to murder someone and was shooting his death-glare in every direction. The seats that had previously been occupied next to him were now oddly empty. Even Quatre looked annoyed by Devlin's questions.

The judge huffed in annoyance. "Excuse me young lady but wha-"it was then that the judge took a better look at exactly who she was talking to.

"Why, Miss Vice Foreign Minister!" she exclaimed, sounding rather flattered that Relena Dorlian was in her courtroom.

Relena nodded. "Yes. I'm sorry to interrupt and I'm sure it's not allowed but I can vouch for Mr. Maxwell. He was indeed a Gundam pilot during the war and saved my life on several occasions. I'll swear to it on the stand if you require me to do so."

Duo grinned and looked at Devlin. The lawyer looked severely rumpled. His argument had been discredited instead of Duo, making him look like an idiot.

"Thank you, Miss Dorlian, that won't be necessary," the judge stated. "You may be seated." Relena sat down, suddenly realizing there was no one else sitting in their vicinity anymore. She rolled her eyes at Heero.

"Any more questions, Mr. Devlin?" the judge asked.

"No, Your Honor," Devlin grumbled as he took his seat.

"Very well, court will adjourn until tomorrow at 10 am. Dismissed."

They'd gone out to celebrate, even though there hadn't really been anything to celebrate just yet. However, both Duo and Hilde felt that they had accomplished something great.

That night, after Hilde had crawled into bed with Duo, she told him that she wasn't afraid to stand up to her father anymore, that she could take anything Devlin threw at her, because she knew Duo was looking out for her.

Duo fell asleep feeling more complete than he ever had, the same feeling that had possessed him earlier in court singing through every fiber of his being.

"Miss Schbeiker, you claim that Frank Schbeiker murdered your mother, Gwendolyn Schbeiker."

It was the following day and Hilde was once again being grilled by Devlin, however, this time, Devlin was actually asking questions that had bearing on the case and Hilde was answering every one in a clear, calm, collected voice.

"Yes. He did."

"Yet, there is no weapon to prove that theory."

"Yes there is. He hid it, though."

For a moment Devlin seemed at a loss for words. He hadn't been expecting this answer. Neither had Duo and he could tell that Hilde knew something else she hadn't told him yet.

"Oh, really? How would you know?"

Hilde looked straight at her father as she answered. "I saw him hide it. It was a knife. It's under the floorboards in the living room of our old house."

Devlin narrowed his eyes. "And why are you so sure that this was indeed the murder weapon?"

"Because it was covered in blood. Because I'd heard my mother scream a minute before. Because I saw my father carrying something heavy out to the car through the rain and because my mother wasn't there the next day."

Devlin was caught in a corner now. "And your father didn't see you watching all this? I find that hard to believe unless he was, perhaps, drunk, in which case, Frank Schbeiker cannot account for his actions."

Hilde laughed mirthlessly. "As you can see, I'm very small for my age. I was then as well. I could hide just fine without being seen. And strangely enough, my father was completely sober that night. Had he been drunk, he would have just beaten us." Hilde's face was a mask as she spoke and there wasn't even a hint of emotion in her voice. Duo found it unnerving.

Devlin was silent, eyeing Hilde, sizing her up as it seemed. Then he frowned. "No more questions, Your Honor."

The judge nodded. "Very well. It seems also that some new evidence has been discovered. Therefore court is adjourned until it is evaluated."

They waited. It seemed like forever that they waited. The police performed a thorough search of Hilde's old house and found the knife right where Hilde said it was. The weapon was taken to forensiecs and tested for a match of Hilde's mother's DNA. It seemed Hilde's father hadn't had enough brains to clean it well enough or to destroy it in the first place. Amazingly stupid... Duo couldn't believe the idiot was related to his best friend.

Needless to say, the DNA matched. The case didn't seem as crazy as it had before and no one was questioning Hilde or Duo anymore. It took very little time for the jury to come to a verdict...

"Will the defendant please rise?"

Hilde's grip was like a vice as silence fell over the courtroom. Duo himself couldn't stop the churning feeling in his stomach as he watched Frank Schbeiker stand up, as one of the jurors g;anced down onto a piece of white paper.

"On the charge of child abuse we find the defendant guilty."

Hilde was shaking next to him and Duo heard her sigh out in relief.

"On the charges of battery and assault we find the defendant guilty."

Murmurs of excitement swept through the courtroom and Duo thought his heart would beat out of his chest. Only one thing left now...

The room quieted down and the juror seemed to pause for drama before finishing.

"On the charge of murder in the first degree, we find the defendant-"

Please, please, please...

"Guilty."

There was silence as the verdict sank in and then everything was a blur. Hilde had flung herself into his arms and was sobbing unrestrainedly, though Duo barely noticed over his own tears. He could hear Quatre whooping somewhere in the background and Quatre never "whooped". Sean was shaking his hand vigorously, grinning like a madman and Relena had Heero caught in a hug that Duo was sure the perfect soldier didn't mind at all even though he was death-glaring everyone in sight.

The judge's gavel was heard over the din as she called for order. It took a while, but finally everyone was quiet once again.

"Mr. Frank Schbeiker, you are hereby sentenced to ten years of imprisonment for the charge of child abuse, five years imprisonment for the charges of battery and assault and for the murder of Gwendolyn Schbeiker, I hereby sentence you to two consecutive life sentences to be carried out immediately with no possibility of parole. As of now, all of your assets will be placed under the care of the ESUN government to be passed on to Hilde Schbeiker at the age of eighteen. Court adjourned. This trial is over."

And so it had ended. Hilde's father had gone to jail and they were both promised a home. They were allowed to return to the garage, even though it wouldn't legally belong to Hilde for another year or so.

It had been awkward at first coming back there. It had been so long. Three months had passed since they'd been so cruelly shaken from their security, their comfort. In those three months so much had seemed to happen. Duo and Hilde had grown closer than they'd ever been and if Duo had thought he couldn't live without her before, he now knew without a doubt that no Hilde meant certain death.

The first night back, Duo had been restless in his sleep. Since the trial had begun, Hilde had slept in his bed every single night, and though he hadn't noticed it at the time, he'd become used to having her around. Hilde claimed he helped keep her bad dreams away, but she'd been doing the same for him. Hilde was like balm to his tortured spirit. The demons that haunted him in the night had been kept at bay when she'd snuggle under the covers and fall asleep not a second later.

But now that there was no excuse for it, could they continue on the way they'd been doing? Duo didn't want to ask her. He'd gone to sleep, not mentioning it even once, leaving it up to her. He wished, with everything he had, that he'd hear the creak of his door opening followed by her soft tiptoeing across the floor, the rustling of the covers, the sinking of the mattress as she sat down... Even her cold feet were a comfort. An hour had gone by, two hours... He'd tossed and turned restlessly, nary shutting his eyes before opening them to stare at the ceiling once more in frustration. Throwing off the covers, pulling them back on, punching his pillow, tossing the pillow away completely. It was useless.

He'd just given himself up to insomnia when he heard footsteps coming down the corridor, followed by the unmistakable noise of his door opening.

Sighing in relief, he'd sat up. Hilde had looked a mess, her clothes and hair looking much the same as his did, probably. Then at the same time, they'd spoken the same words.

"I can't sleep."

Hilde had burst out laughing, and Duo had joined her and Hilde had then climbed in without another word. From then on, it became natural. Neither could sleep without the other. They didn't really talk about it, but Hilde moved her things into Duo's room the following morning. Neither really gave it that much thought, it seemed the only thing to do if they ever wanted to get any sleep.

Little by little, they'd gotten their life organized. They got the shop going and hired workers for the scrap-yard. Duo was in charge of the garage and mechanics and hired the engineers himself. He'd been very picky about who he had to work with and with him it was always, "No, he's not smart enough..." "No, he doesn't have the feel for it..." "No, he looks like he might hit himself with the wrench..."

Hilde had put up with it; she hadn't really had a choice. Duo knew she thought he was crazy, but that just made him want to annoy her more, so he'd become even more selective just to see her get angry. He found it so enjoyable, watching his petite little friend blow up and start hitting him with every type of insult she could think of. Duo supposed it was just the amazement that anything so immense and loud could come from someone so tiny.

Hilde was, of course, in charge of finances and records. The computers, arranging the orders, everything administrative to do with the business. She was the responsible one and Duo knew if he'd been left with the paperwork, they'd go bankrupt in no time.

It was a shame, really. Hilde was one of the only mechanics Duo considered worth a cent, but she didn't really have time to help him out, running the shop.

And that had been it. Schbeiker and Maxwell Auto Parts and Repair had opened and business was booming. When you couldn't find it anywhere else, Schbeiker and Maxwell had it ready and waiting and no one else fixed anything as fast as Duo did, nor as well. People brought in old junk and left with polished antiques.

That's how it had been since, and now Duo stood facing his and Hilde's house, an envelope clutched in his fist. Weather had been shit the past couple of days, all foggy and humid. He hated when it got like that. The garage was air-conditioned, but the place was big so the cold air didn't circulate all that well. It was hell working in that atmosphere. He envied Hilde on those days. The shop was always as cool as a refrigerator in the summer and nice and toasty in the winter. Duo didn't even like to think about how cold the garage had been in the winter. Freezing cold and metal car parts did not mix well...

Even though it was autumn now, the heat felt just like summer to Duo. He kept wishing for a nice cool breeze to blow by, but the weather was not being cooperative. Well, at least it looked like it would rain soon, so it should cool down then.

The weather today didn't really have anything whatsoever to do with how he was feeling, however, and grinning, Duo walked to the front door and let himself in.

"Babe?"

"In here, Duo!" Hilde called from the kitchen.

Duo found Hilde stirring something that smelled like heaven on the stove. The smell of biscuits was coming from the oven and another pot had boiling hot water.

"Damn, I knew there was a reason you're my best friend. Watcha making?" He asked, grinning like a five-year-old as he jumped up and sat on the counter.

Hilde shook her head. "Off the counter, Maxwell!" she said in annoyance, poking him with a wooden spoon.

"Argh! No, you've mortally wounded me!" Duo exclaimed, clutching at the spot she'd poked, though nonetheless hopping back down.

Hilde rolled her eyes, but laughed anyway. "I'm making spaghetti. Go set the table and make yourself useful, won't you?"

Duo looked down at the letter in his hand, unsure of whether to tell Hilde now or after dinner. He couldn't really wait that long, he knew, or he'd explode.

Turning, he got out the plates and glasses and set the kitchen table, while Hilde put the spaghetti to boil. As a last minute thought, Duo slipped the envelope underneath Hilde's plate, with a corner of it showing, so that she'd notice when she sat down.

At last everything was ready and they sat facing eachother, Duo watching anxiously for Hilde to notice the corner of paper sticking out from under her plate. She didn't, however, and Duo had to bite his tongue to keep from growling in frustration.

Dinner commenced, but Duo was so caught up watching and waiting that he didn't eat anything, choosing instead, to maneuver pasta across his plate with his fork. Little trails of marinara sauce appeared across the white porcelain and his biscuits sat steaming as though in protest to remaining uneaten.

"Duo, what's wrong?" Hilde asked at last in exasperation, setting down her fork, when several minutes had gone by and Duo had done nothing more than pick at his food half-heartedly.

"What?" Duo asked, starting in surprise.

"You've been sitting there staring at me and you've barely touched your food. Now talk, Maxwell. You never pass up on a good meal." Hilde folded her arms over her chest and raised an eyebrow at him, waiting for his answer.

Duo sighed and reached across the table, where he pulled the letter out from its hiding spot.

"Here," he said, handing it to her. "I thought you might like to see this. Sheesh Hilde," he exclaimed, shaking his head, "you'd think working for OZ for a year would have made you more perceptive..."

Hilde took the envelope questioningly, though her eyes widened when she saw the address printed there.

"Is this-?" she began to ask before trailing off.

Duo's eyes twinkled and he couldn't help the manic grin that spread across his face. "Sean called me today and said I should come over. He wanted to give me something. Go on," he nodded in encouragement, "open it."

With shaking hands, Hilde did just that. She took a moment reading the document inside and then she placed the letter almost reverently on the table and looked up. Her eyes were shining with unshed tears.

Duo stood up and went to stand next to her. Pulling her up into an embrace, he lifted her chin so that she was looking straight at him. She seemed unable to form words but Duo found that her eyes said enough.

"It's all yours, babe," he whispered at last, hugging her again. "Every door, every window, the kitchen, the living room, the garage, the shop, the yard, everything."

"For real? No joke?"

Duo shook his head, braid swinging gently behind him. "No joke, Hilde. It's all over. He'll never be able to touch you or this place again. Happy birthday."

Hilde did cry then, though this time, out of sheer joy and relief, laughing through her tears. Duo laughed with her and it wasn't long before they decided that spaghetti was nowhere near enough to celebrate so they ordered pizza and had an all-night scary movie marathon, calling all of their employees and canceling work the following day.

TBC