Hey! This is Silvergirl again with my second fic. It’s dedicated to my favorite couple: Duo and Hilde. Don’t ask me why they’re my fave because I’m not really sure myself. I guess it’s cause it’s easier to write about them than Heero and Relena or anyone else. Anyway, this takes place after the series and the movie Endless Waltz (even though I’ve never seen Endless Waltz, if someone wants to write me and tell me about it I’d be very happy = P) So here it is, my second fic, hope you like it!

Luv and luck to ya’ll ~ ^

Silvergirl

*Indicates thought

Duo had fallen off the couch and rolled on the floor of the living room laughing so hard he thought he might pop. Hilde, who sat on the couch above him, was as well slumped over and rocking in laughter though most was just from the sheer sight of him than the movie they just watched. She treasured all the little moments like this when she could have a (very) good laugh with her childhood friend. Duo stood up, stretched, then wiped a tear from his eye,

"Man, that was a good one," he commented about the movie. She nodded in agreement and then followed him upstairs to her bedroom after bidding him good night. As soon as she sat down bed, her phone rang. She groaned under her breath and picked up the receiver.

"Hello," she mumbled. Then her face brightened as she recognized the voice. "Hi Rich!" Rich was her current boyfriend, she had been dating him for five months now. She chatted with him for a while, before making plans for dinner the next night and then hanging up.

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The next morning, when she got up, Duo was already awake much to her surprise. She usually had to drag him out of bed in the morning. She started to make herself some breakfast. She didn’t bother making Duo anything noting that he already made himself something like a breakfast. Although it didn’t really look edible, he was nevertheless chomping happily on it. She slid in a seat across from him. "Well, your up early," she commented. He shrugged it off as if it were something that he did regularly and started droning on about all that he planned to do that day. Hilde merely nodded at everything he said though her mind was somewhere else. She blinked back to reality as Duo started waving a hand in front of her face.

"Hello…. Hildey…Earth to Hildey…" he said. She hadn’t realized she zoned out.

"I’m sorry, what did you want?" she asked.

Rich tonight."

"Well, you’ll just have to cancel it. It’s my birthday, I call the shots." Hilde could’ve slapped herself *Oh man, I completely forgot it was his birthday*.

"Sorry Duo, but tonight’s important. I think he’s going to ask tonight," she told him.

"Oh, that’s okay, we can do it some other time…" his disappointed eyes suddenly took a sharp turn into surprised.

"You mean he’s gonna pop the big question on ya?"

"Yup, I have a feeling it’ll be tonight," she said recalling all the countless times Rich had tried to steer them into a conversation about marriage.

"Well…what’re going to say?" he asked a bit nervous.

"I’m going to say yes," she snapped.

"Do you love him?" Duo asked her seriously.

"He makes me happy Duo, and I make him happy," she responded quietly. Duo’s eyes suddenly took on a new emotion that Hilde couldn’t really identify. She thought she caught a glimpse of was it, defeat?

Putting on one of his infamous happy-go-lucky grins, he stood up and said, " Well, gotta go. See ya around!" then left. Hilde couldn’t help but feel angry and dissappointed. That wasn’t the reaction she expected from him. She knew she felt something for him, but she wasn’t sure if it was actual love or some type of a brotherly love. And for some reason, she expected Duo to feel the same way. *Guess that’s what you get for relying on Duo to feel something like that* she thought bitterly towards herself and stood up to leave. She decided to have an unexpected appointment with Ms. Relena Peacecraft.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Hilde walked through the maze of halls and corridors of the Peacecraft mansion until she came to the giant office that was Relena’s. She walked without being noted by the secretary, a sign that she had been there one time too many. Relena looked up when Hilde entered and got up.

"Hilde! What a surprise, how can I help you?" Relena gestured for Hilde to sit in a chair across from her desk. Perceiving the sullen look on her friend’s face she said, "What’s the matter?"

"I told him about Rich. But he blew it off like it was nothing. And now I want to feel angry with him, but I can’t. I mean I did this to myself, right?" Hilde looked franticly and confusingly at Relena.

"I’m sorry, but you’ll have to back up to the beginning. I lost you at Rich. What about him?"

Hilde took a big sigh and said, "I have a feeling that he’s going to ask me tonight." Relena’s eyes bulged.

"Really? Why do you think that?" she asked trying to regain a calmer stance.

Hilde told her about all the times that Rich had tried to talk about marriage with her. "But I kept blowing him off, thinking that he was just joking."

"So how do you know he was not just joking?"

"His sister kept dropping some very obvious hints about it when I joined him at his family reunion. I mean everything started coming to me once I realized that he was trying to introduce me to his parents. And once he did, his mom kept smiling and winking at me." Hilde put her arms around her head and leaned forward. "I really don’t know what to do."

Relena smiled sadly at her friend. "What are you going to say?" she asked.

"I’m going to say yes."

"WHAT? I mean I didn’t know that you where serious about him!…" Relena tried to make sense of the situation.

"Relena, I’m ready to move on. It’s like Duo just likes this chapter of the book too much to go any further. I don’t want to be alone for the rest of my life, and besides, Rich is a nice guy…"

"Hilde do you love Rich?" Relena cut her off.

"That’s the exact same thing Duo asked me," Hilde replied.

"What did you tell him?"

"I told him that Rich makes me happy, and I make him happy."

"That’s not the answer to my question," Relena pushed.

"I…I…don’t know I guess but…" Hilde felt like crying, but staying strong, she pushed back her tears.

Relena smiled then said, "I’m sure you’ll make the right choice."

"Thank you Relena," Hilde said as she got up and walked out the door. Relena looked after her as she walked out, sighed then thought *Good luck my friend*.

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Hilde entered the house quietly and saw Duo sitting on the couch watching the T.V.

"Hey Duo, it’s me," she said walking in and looking at the clock wondering when Rich would arrive.

"Don’t worry, I was just leaving," Duo said as if reading her mind. He grabbed his coat managed a weak "Good luck!", then left. Hilde stared at the door gloomily. She knew she didn’t want him to leave. But making up her mind, she went up to her room to get ready. She didn’t want to be late either.

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Hilde answered the door whose doorbell had rung a few seconds ago. "Rich!" she exclaimed and gave him a quick hug. And led him to the kitchen where she left her purse.

"Are you ready to go?" he asked her. As soon as she nodded Rich’s face became serious as he said, "Hilde, I have something important to ask you." He pulled out small velvet box out of his pocket. She stared at it almost horrified. She had kind of hoped that she was just imagining that he was going to ask her. She was so dazed, that she barely heard him ask, "Hilde, will you marry me?" Hilde, who was mustering up all the courage she could find, was about to say yes, when the front door suddenly opened and then slammed closed. Duo strode into the kitchen where Hilde and her boyfriend were. He looked bewilderingly at the small open box portraying a ring.

He made once last look at Hilde before saying bitterly, "Sorry if I interrupted anything."

Rich saw everything. He saw the eye contact between his soon-to-be fiancé and her housemate. He sighed because he knew that look. He knew the emotion that both their eyes sustained. He saw the longing between both of them.

"You love him don’t you?" he asked her softly. She looked up at him guiltily.

"No of course not," she said flatly. "That’s why I’m marrying you."

"Hilde, I know what I saw. You do love him. Anyone can see that." He put a comforting hand on her shoulders as some tears managed to make their way down her face. He closed the box and put it back into his pocket. "I won’t stand in your way Hilde. If he makes

you happier than I could ever, I want you to go to him." He smiled down at her.

"Thank you Rich," she mumbled. He turned and left. Hilde sat down at the table trying to sort through her mind. *It’s true* she thought sadly *I do love him*.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Duo lay on his bed. He had been lying there for three hours now trying to sleep. *A lot of luck to that* he thought smugly standing up. *I’ll just watch a little T.V.* he thought. *Then I can go back upstairs before she sees me*. He felt really bad, especially after being stupid and realized that he loved after her boyfriend proposed. He walked down the stairs toward the living room. *I guess I’m gonna hafta leave* he thought sadly. He walked over toward the couch and nearly jumped out of his skin when he realized someone was sitting there watching the T.V. that no one ever bothered turning off. "Oh, it’s you Hilde," he said sighing in relief. Then he thought *Oh, it’s Hilde. Yikes, can’t run away from this one*. So, instead of running away, he sat casually next to her. She was staring blankly at the T.V. He wasn’t even sure if she heard him. "Hilde?" he asked.

She turned to look at him, her eyes not quite being able to focus (three straight hours of watching a T.V. in the dark will do that to you) saw that it was just Duo. She sighed, then reverted her attention to the T.V.

"So…where’s Rich?" Duo asked her trying to keep his voice neutral. She looked confusedly at him.

"Why would Rich be here?" she asked him thinking he had heard them when they broke it off.

"I don’t know, I would guess to be making plans for your <clears his throat> wedding."

Again she looked confusedly at him. "What wedding? Didn’t you hear us talking? We broke it off." Duo looked at her stunned.

"Really? Why’d ya do that?" he asked curiously.

She looked at him again and said, "I couldn’t go through with it."

"Oh yeah? Why not?"

"I think you know why," she replied giving him a slight smile.

They both sat in silence for a while before Duo said, "Hey Hildey, wanna get married?"

"Sure."

"Ya mean it? I was just joking I thought you’d say no…"

"Well, why not? I mean, I love you, and you love me don’t cha Duo?" Duo didn’t say anything, but was grinning wildly.

"Yeah, I guess it makes sense," he said before putting his arms around her, pulling her closer and kissing her.

"Happy birthday Duo Maxwell," she managed between kisses.

"I love you too Hildey."

Comments? Flames? E-mail me at: slvrgirl@pacbell.net

Disclaimer: I don’t own the characters, only the story and Rich so please don’t copy kay? ^^