The Longest Kiss: Chapter 1
By: Archica
Gundam Wing doesn't belong to me.

Hilde flopped down into the sofa and reached for the remote. As usual, it was down in the cussions and she had to dig down into the couch to retrieve it. She silently cursed Duo for always leaving it there. The idiot never bothered to place it neatly back on the arm of the couch or on the coffee table or anywhere else that would grant easy access to channel surfing.
She sighed as she turned the telvision on, flipping through the channels, not really paying attention to anything she saw. She had her mind elsewhere. Duo and her had just had another argument. He had stormed out, saying something like: “If I don’t leave now, I just know I’ll kill you!” It was an exageration, of course, but it still struck a nerve. Hilde and Duo had been living together as friends for nearly two years now, and no developements had occured in their relationship at all. She had hoped that it would bloom into a beautiful romance, but that dream was shattered after only two months of living with Duo.
He had rejected all her efforts to get closer to him, and once, after she had finally broken over and bluntly asked him to be her boyfriend, he stopped speaking to her for days. After that, he just acted as if nothing had ever happened.
Hilde had stopped trying then. She realized that Duo’s heart would never and could never belong to her, although hers was laying in the palm of his hand, even if he didn’t know it. She was a little sad at first, but figured it wasn’t worth the pain and sorrow she didn’t allow herself to feel.
She had enjoyed living with him, noting his bad habbits (like leaving the toilet seat up and leaving his dirty laundry in strange areas all over the house) and his hobbies. She quickly learned to clean and do laundry while he just as swiftly learned to cook. They lived rather happily.
The only unhappy moments would be when Duo was going out with a girl. He would try his best to hide it from Hilde, but she always knew. Why did he hide it from her though? She always asked herself that question. Was it because he didn’t want his girlfriends to find out he was living with another girl? Because he was afraid Hilde would try to stir up trouble in his relationships? Or was it because he didn’t want Hilde’s feelings to be hurt? The last reason made the leaste sense to Hilde, so she quickly dismissed it.
She looked at her watch. Three am. He had been gone two hours. It was getting late. He had always before returned half an hour later, a bit pouty, but a tad more sensible. It was strange for him to be gone this long. He usually stopped at the end of the block and came right back. She knew because she usually watched him from the window. But this time, she was too mad and hurt to even look at him.
The had been arguing about the bills. Hilde worked in a department store, but Duo laid around the house and did basically nothing but make messes and cook. Hilde, having come home from a hard day’s work, had simply suggested that he get a job. He laughed, saying he didn’t need one, and she became angry. They began arguing about their financial situation and Duo flat-out refused to get a job and help with the bills. He was just too lazy, Hilde thought.
She looked at her watch again and decided that she was officially worried. She got up from the couch and walked over to the window. “Duo,” she whispered, “Where are you?”
A loud thump came at the door and Hilde jerked around. She practically ran to the door and opened it. There stood Duo, looking weak and sick. His hair was hanging down around his face in a tangled mess. She knew he hadn’t had time to braid his hair before he left, but it wasn’t like this. It was smooth and shiny. Now it looked horrible.
His baggy jeans were stained and had a hole in one of the knees. His button-up shirt was torn open and one sleeve was pretty much ripped off. “Duo! My God, what happened to you?!” Hilde screamed as he collapsed onto her.
She held him up and dragged him to the couch. He coughed. “I... was attacked, I think.”
“You think?!”
“I don’t know what it was. Some kind of... creature jumped out of the trees and grabbed me. I struggled with it for a little while, but it bit me. When I finally threw it off, it disappeared. I passed out and when I woke up, there was blood on my lips, and it wasn’t my blood.”
“What do you mean?”
“Someone fed me blood. Don’t ask why, I think it’s pretty gross myself. I just woke up a few minutes ago and found my way home.”
Hilde was shocked. Why was he being so calm? What had bitten him? “Duo, did it injure you?” she finally asked.
“No, I don’t think so. I just have a few scratches, that’s all. I’m fine. I’m just really hungry and thirsty. What do we have?” he called over his shoulder as he walked into the kitchen.
“Are you still mad?”
“About what?”
“About our argument tonight.”
“Why would I still be mad?” he asked, opening the refridgerator door.
“Because I am. You really do need to get a job, Duo.”
“Ok, I’ll look for one tomorrow. Do we have any meat?”
That did it. There was definately something wrong. Why was he so calm about everything? Why was he so concerned with food? She watched as he pulled a pack of raw meat from the freezer and tore it open. Blood leaked out as he pulled it out of it’s package. He crammed it into his mouth and chewed contently. Blood trickled down the corner of his lips and he sighed as if his life had just been completed.
“Duo! That’s gross! That meat was raw!”
“Sorry, Hilde. I was just too hungry to wait till it’s cooked. Do we have any more?” he aksed, rummaging through the freezer once more.
“No! And it’s a good thing too! You could get all kinds of diseases from eating raw meat!”
“Why are you so worried about me?”
She froze. She loved him, that’s why. “Duo....” her voice became very soft, “you know why...”
Duo stared at her for a moment before shutting the freezer door and walking toward his room. Just before he entered it, he turned back around. “Sorry.” he said quickly, and shut his door.
Hilde lowered her eyes and stood there for a minute, staring blankly at his closed door. She loved him so much that it hurt. She thought she had gotten over him, but she hadn’t. She had to know what was wrong with him. Why hadn’t he talked very much about it? Was he hiding something? She made up her mind to find out as soon as she could, and she walked into her bedroom, but took one last glance at his door before closing her own.

Wow! Freaky! Let me read some more! *Chap 2*
Oh Man, this is too much for me! *Back 2 Fics*