Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Anything at All ❯ The Way You Looked Tonight ( Chapter 2 )

A/N: This is a short chapter, the last of the two I had written about seven years ago. It’s been rewritten since to be more congruent with what the story has now become. It’s just a little puff of fluff as the plot really picks up in about two chapters from now when the other pilots make an appearance. Please enjoy and thank you for reading.

Chapter Two – The Way You Looked That Night   The house was quiet. Not the peaceful, sleepy quiet. No, this was an unnatural quiet that had settled over the house Duo and Hilde shared. Duo sat in the living room, tossing a hacky sack into the air and catching it. Hilde was in her room getting ready for her date, which was in less than an hour. Matt was taking her to a company party, (which, in Duo's opinion, was just some swanky excuse for rich snobs to drink excessively and gossip). Not that there was anything wrong with that. He didn't know why, but he had this strange feeling in the pit of his stomach. He threw the cloth covered ball into the air and followed it with his eyes as it went up, hung for a moment, and fell back down into his waiting grasp. Hilde had never talked about having feelings for someone before. Up, down. Up, down. The rhythmic activity served as a distraction from the thoughts that drifted through his mind. It had been over two years since they had settled into the post-war status quo, as it were. Duo supposed it was reasonable to think that she hadn’t had time or energy to devote to a love interest between all it took to build the scrapyard business and prop Duo up financially while he got his shit together (and some semblance of an albeit fake I.D. and credentials that were just shabby enough to escape suspicion). Not that he hadn’t done his part once that was over, however. His sweepers connections alone had been quite useful. Who could it be? He tried to think of all the guys she knew, but most seemed a stretch at best. He caught the sack in his hand and held it. His mind briefly categorized himself into the group of applicants. The sudden thought stunned him and he felt a flush creeping to his face at the thought. No way. Hilde and I aren't like that. She’s like my little sister or something. That would be sick. He sighed, and tossed the ball into the air again. He heard footsteps on the carpet and turned around to greet his roommate, subconsciously trying to erase any evidence of what he had been pondering from his features. He stopped short and the welcoming smile he had prepared went slack as his eyes took in the sight before him. Hilde glared at the floor, her hair held back in an elegant barrette, her bangs framing her face. She wore an off-the-shoulder black cocktail dress with a pale grey butterfly design on the skirt. A simple rhinestone teardrop necklace dipped just below her collarbone. Her makeup was light and accented her dark eyes. She tried not to wobble in her high heels as she took a step forward and turned around slowly. "Is it…alright?" She peeked at him from under her bangs, and saw him staring at her with a puzzling expression on his face. It made her squirm uncomfortably. Shouldn't he have said something by now? Was it that bad? "I- uh...ye-uhm it’s really nice, kid." Maybe seeing someone everyday for a couple years makes you oblivious to some things after a while, but how could he not notice it before? It was probably because Hilde was almost always seen in jeans and a t-shirt, usually with some grease on her face from working in the shop. He couldn't remember the last time he'd seen her in a skirt. If he were somebody else, he would find her irresistible. If he hadn’t seen what he had, he would have seen her from a distance somewhere and asked for her number. But he wasn’t someone else, and it was just Hilde standing in front of him, seemingly unsure of the nature of his answer. He grinned then and said with an accent that betrayed any attempt to forget his streetrat upbringing, “You look bangin’!” Hilde scoffed at his verbage and a grin crept onto her face though she bit her lip, as if punishing it for revealing the delight and relief she felt from his reaction. An awkward silence fell over the two. He didn't say anything else, but sat in silence until the doorbell rang a minute later. Hilde walked (a little unsteadily) to the door and greeted Matt before saying goodbye to Duo. He gave Matt a miniature salute without letting his gaze slip from Hilde’s back as she walked toward the car. He got up to lock the door and stared unseeingly at his hand as it lingered. Duo's head was spinning. Something different had come over him and he was trying his best to figure out what it was. It was like some snoring beast in his chest had just come to life. Everything was normal right? He was the one who set her up on a date with Matt, his long time friend, and he was glad she was going out with him tonight. Right? There was nothing wrong with Matt and Duo was relatively confident that Hilde could handle herself in even the most improbable of situations. Was this the overprotectiveness felt by those who were born with little sisters, come to fruition from the closeness that had formed between them? Then… why did he wish so badly that she hadn't left?   She rolls the window down And she talks over the sound Of the cars that pass us by And I don't know why But she's changed my life