Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Fire after the Ice ❯ Fire After the Ice ( Chapter 1 )

Disclaimer: The characters of Gundam Wing are not mine, they belong to someone that has far more money and by writing this story, I am earning nothing but really pink cheeks and a lot of stuttering…

Author's Note: LEMON >.< Gomen nasai, kids below seventeen on my author's alert…GOMEN!! As to the quality of this lemon…uh…I don't know? Sorry if it sucks, but this is my first and uh…yeah…*blushes* I don't know!

Fire after the Ice

Hilde laughed, watching the exuberant Shinigami skate figure eights over the frozen lake, his unusually long braid flapping behind him like a banner. Suddenly, he skidded to a stop in front of her, and tilted his head to one side as a wicked grin spread across his face. Hilde, who knew that look all too well, cringed.

"Oh no…" Hilde shook her head, backing away, "Whatever you're thinking, the answer is definitely no, Duo! Don't you dare!" She tried to run, but she was wearing the hampering burden of skates, which tended to slip on the slush of the snow banks. "No more skating…let's go home! It's getting too cold! DUO!!" As usual, Duo didn't listen. Eyes sparkling devilishly, he picked her up in his arms before skating to the center of the ice-hardened lake and dropped her unceremoniously on her feet.

"Hey babe, you really don't expect me to skate all by my lonesome, do you?" Duo winked, grabbing Hilde's mittened hands as she tried to make tracks for the bank, "Come on, it takes two to tango! Don't you know, dancing alone is no fun?"

Hilde grinned and tried to squirm loose from his arms, shoving at his chest. "I don't think so buster. I don't dance!" She raised her head, breathing in the crisp mountain air with a sense of wonderment and satisfaction. The newly fallen snow had covered everything with silky blanche snowflakes; the crystalline slivers of ice formed on the tree boughs like icing on a cake. Silver light refracted off the ice-covered ground, throwing dazzling rainbows into the air that danced and shimmered as if born on the wings of a pixie. It was so beautiful out here…her own slice of heaven.

She smiled and Duo, who was watching her face closely, grinned in response. "Ah…ha! I saw that. Smile! That means that you like it, and that means you're stuck here 'til your butt freezes over and you're begging to go back into the house!"

"My bottom is already frozen over with frostbite," Hilde shot back, "and I'm already begging to go home! Duo, you're crazy. It's cold out here!"

Duo laughed as Hilde slipped again, awkwardly trying to stand on ice. "Oi oi oi…so uncultured." He teased, "You un-American barbarian. Just because you were born in a god-forsaken arid desert-"

"Colony!" Hilde retorted, wobbling unsteadily, "Without ice!"

"Whatever. That means you think you get off scot-free with not learning how to skate?" Duo smirked, blades pushing against the ice so he slowly slid away from her. "I don't think so babe."

"Duo, this isn't funny! And I can so skate if I wanted to!" Hilde tried to maneuver her skates to push off the frictionless ice, landing instead in an ignominious heap on the ground while Duo convulsed in laughter a few steps away.

"Sure babe." He teased, gliding around her with appalling ease. Annoyed, Hilde got back to her feet, cerulean blue eyes sparkling in determination as she glared at him.

"I can!"

"Uh huh…that's why you're falling on your butt every five steps right?" He tipped his head to one side in a cheerfully mocking manner, his braid trailing down his back. "Sure you don't need help babe?"

"I don't!" Hilde said firmly, plunking her hands on her hips. "I'll prove it to you. If I skate once around the lake without falling, then we have to go home, and…and no more teasing about falling anymore!"

Oi, that's a large price to pay, Hilde-babe." Duo grinned, still circling around her, "I'm not sure if you can do it. But hey, what happens if I win?"

"Then we still go home, but I'll do the cooking for the rest of the week." Hilde replied, trying to balance herself. Whoever made these things should be crucified…skating… yuck. I can't believe I'm actually betting on this!

Duo's ears literally perked up and he slid to a halt in front of her, his grinning face only inches away from hers, "Food? You're on, babe. But you'll never do it…this is your first time skating, remember?"

"Shut up." She grumbled, swiping at his face. He ducked, still laughing, then came up behind her and gave her a slight nudge in the right direction.

"Go on babe. The floor's yours…or your butt's. Whichever comes first." Duo snickered but Hilde, frowning obstinately, ignored him.

Awkwardly, she positioned her feet in parallel lines, pushing off the ice in hesitant, wobbling steps. Come on Hilde…if you could learn to pilot an Aries, you can definitely learn a little thing like this right? Besides, do you REALLY want to spend the rest of the week cooking for that bottomless pit? You'll be in the kitchen twenty-four hours a day! He'll never let you live it down!

Slowly, the blades of the skates dug into the ice, propelling her forward, and after a time, Hilde paused long enough to flash Duo a triumphant grin. Sticking her nose haughtily up in the air, she winked and challenged, "See? I told you I could-" The rest of her sentence was lost in a roar of ice as the fragile layer groaned, then cracked beneath her weight, plunging her into the freezing waters that waited below.

It rushed up to submerge her, like an eager maw, engulfing first her calves, her waist and then…She opened her mouth to scream, but only frostbitten liquid filled her mouth. She gagged, then choked, even as she clawed desperately for the surface. But as her heavy ski jacket saturated with water, it dragged her down with it, the heavy metal of her skates contributing unhelpfully to the cause. She tried to force her mind to think rationally, but her benumbed brain refused to cooperate, chanting over and over You're going to die, you're going to die, you're going to…

Suddenly, a rough hand grabbed onto her arm, hauling her upwards into the mountain-sharp air and she sucked in oxygen frantically. But the water in her throat crystallized into needlepoints, making her cough and gag, even as Duo pounded the water from her lungs. Dimly, Hilde felt him divest her of her sodden jacket, throwing it viciously across the ice and she glanced at him weakly.

"Tha's my only one," She mumbled. She was so cold…pin pricks of ice and pain flared across her chest and she closed her eyes…only for a moment…she was so tired though, she just needed a moment…

"First of all, damn the jacket. Second of all, if you go to sleep, I'll damn well spank the hell outta you." Duo snapped, cradling Hilde against his chest. He ran towards the cabin at a ground-eating pace, each jolt sending cascades of agony through her. I just want to sleep…

"Stay awake." Duo ordered angrily, but there was a knife-edge of dread in his voice. "Hilde, you're suffering from hypothermia. You sleep, you're gone, babe, so stay awake. We need to get you warm, first. Understand?" He glanced down at her, her head drooping against his chest and shook her furiously. "Damnit, listen to me!"

"Stop…jouncing…." Hilde whimpered feebly. She could hardly feel the cold anymore she was so numb. In the back of her mind, the rational part of her brain calmly informed her that her body temperature was dropping too drastically and sleeping would only compound that problem. But she didn't care. She was just tired…why could that voice, why couldn't Duo just leave her alone?

Duo fumbled for the key, then flung the front door open wide and Hilde roused briefly at the gust of heated air that washed across her face, especially sensitive to heat after too much cold. She roused slightly, drawing herself into a smaller ball. "Hot shower…" she muttered.

"Forget it." Duo retorted, carrying her to her bedroom. "Warm up slowly or the ice won't melt right and you're gonna get some serious ruptures in your veins. You gotta warm up slowly, babe, so just listen to me, and you can't go wrong…" His hands stripped the rest of the ice-packed clothes from her body, leaving her in a sheer sports bra and silken panties. He set her down long enough to yank the covers to the bed back before picking her up to lay her in the cocoon of comforters. Then he went to his own room and grabbed more, piling them on her still form and packing them in tightly so no heat could escape.

Presently, he asked, "Getting warm?" Hilde barely opened her eyes, then shook her head numbly.

"No." She whispered, and her lids covered her dull blue orbs again, as Duo fought the urge to panic. The snow had jammed all the roads leading in and out of the mountains, leaving them stranded without emergency help. He could always trek to the neighboring houses for help, but those were miles away…He brushed her spiky hair back from her forehead, his hand warm against her ashen cheek. She was so cold…

Hilde murmured softly, unconsciously reaching towards his heat, chilly fingers emerging from the twist of sheets to keep his hand where it was, and Duo's eyes widened at a new thought. You can't possibly…HELL NO! This is HILDE!

Yeah, well HILDE's sorta dying here…you want to live the life of a Shinigami again, Maxwell? He hesitated a moment longer, then stripped to his boxers. Taking a deep breath, he slid between the heavy sheets, finding her body curled into a fetal position, head almost touching her knees. She was freezing; the blasting heater and the blankets didn't seem to have an affect on her…but he couldn't give up now. The first order of business was to get the warmth flowing back into her body.

Gently, he brought her against him, fitting himself to her, chest to back, leg curling under hers. He gave her his heat and his strength, hands chafing gently at her arms and legs before twining tightly around her waist. "Look babe, I feel like damn well demanding that you don't die right now, but you'd probably say that's unreasonable. So how about this: we'll take it on an hour to hour basis, okay? Every hour you stay with me, I'll do a day of whatever you want me to. Cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping," Duo swallowed hard, "watching those stupid soap operas with you…you name it. You want it, I'll do it, the only catch is you have to stay here to collect, hear me Hilde? No big deal, all you have to do is stay and you get instant slave…if you don't want to, we'll never set foot on the ice again. Hell, I'd feel better if we didn't even see ice cubes after this, but you were always picky about what you drank and how you made it…"

He kept on talking to her, sometimes making inane comments, sometimes rambling on about nothing in particular; sometimes he despaired of her making it, she was so totally unresponsive to his overtures, but as the hours ticked by, she lived. Her body temperature rose slowly, and she snuggled into him, wrapping her arms around his; sometimes, Duo could hear her mumbling peevishly to herself. And she continued to live throughout the night…

***

A warm golden glow penetrated her eyelids and Hilde squeezed her eyes shut, grumbling in protest. She wanted to sleep; she wanted to go back to that delicious, half-formed dream. Not that she would ever tell him, but Duo was as fine as any guy that she had ever wanted to date, and he was definitely…wait…he was…not a dream. A warm body was pressed against her back and even as she realized that, her other thoughts began clamoring for attention, warning bells ringing incessantly in her ears. That body was naked and very well muscled, the arms that around her were tanned; the finger pads slightly rough with calluses.

This has to be a dream…but if it is…PLEASE let it not end just yet! She closed her eyes again as if clinging to this woven dream: a silken fantasy of ephemeral love and flushed skin upon skin. Perhaps if she could clutch this dream close enough, she might never wake up…

"Hilde?" A hoarse voice that was somehow Duo's, but not quite, rasped in her ear, quiet yet urgent…or perhaps desperate. "Hilde, don't you dare close your eyes again, babe, or I swear-"

This isn't a dream…open your eyes and he'll still be there…

"Babe, listen to me-"

Open your eyes Hilde…don't you want to know for sure?

"Hilde dammit, if you don't open your eyes right now, I'm going to…" Beneath the anger, there were undertones of exhaustion and helplessness that ripped at her heart, and Hilde leaned against him reassuringly, fingers tightening around the arms that held her captive against his chest.

Twisting slightly, she began to say, "I'm fine, Duo." But the words died on her lips as she looked up into intense amethyst eyes that seemed to sear her soul with their fire. Lines of anxiety and weariness fanned from the corner of his eyes, making him look older than his nineteen years…and all the more beautiful in her eyes. The young boy of flashing good looks and wicked charm had grown in the course of a single night, shedding his façade of youth and letting her gaze into the heart of the man that lay beside her.

"Duo?" She murmured softly, questioningly, and with a silent groan, he leaned down, covering her lips with his own in an almost savage kiss. His arms, already folded against her slender form, pressed her to him more tightly before he started to caress her possessively, his mouth never leaving hers. She closed her eyes, letting the sensations his hands were evoking overwhelm her; wordlessly yielding to the pleasure of his touch…and he was merciless.

He ran his fingers down the sides of her breasts, touching and caressing every inch of her he could reach, grazing the flat plane of her stomach with the rough pads of his fingers. She shivered, her moan of desire stolen by his lips.

"Oh God, Duo…" Reaching behind his head, she trailed her fingers along the corded plaits of his braided hair, winding her hand through the silky mass before untying the black band of his hair tie. Immediately, tumbling locks of chestnut and the darker overtones of mahogany spilled across his back and around her in silken waves. She sighed, sifting her fingers through the luxuriant mane as his mouth trailed lower to capture the peak of her breast, suckling and nipping it into a hard pebble before he turned his face to her other breast. She clasping him more tightly to her, but he was already moving back upwards to share the pleasurably hot kisses with her neck. His tongue traced the shell-like interior of her ear, sending tremors down Hilde's back as she turned her face slightly to glide her lips across his chest.

She was so caught up in the storm of sensations that when a wet drop of icy liquid hit her face she only blinked, opening azure eyes in surprise. It took her a moment to understand what was happening as she gazed into Duo's face with a sense of unreality, the fingers that traced across his cheekbones coming away wet. He was crying. Her Shinigami was crying. Tears ran in sun-touched streaks down his face, turning translucent liquid amber. As he touched his lips to hers, she could taste the salty sweet flavor of long held grief that had something to do with fear, something to do with relief…maybe more than that. She wrapped her arms around him, caressing his broad shoulders soothingly, lips pressed against taut muscles.

"Duo, I'm fine." She caught her breath as he ignored her, worshipping her body with hands and lips until she felt like a puddle of melting nerves. Torn between wanting to share the delight she was feeling in his arms and soothing his pain away with her words, she caught his face between her hands. "Listen to me, we have to talk-" He didn't. His lips merely silenced hers, exploring the cavern of her mouth with his tongue, but the taste of tears was there too. She reached up, brushing them from his face, marring the silver-gilded runnels that continued to slip down silently down his cheeks.

Reluctantly, she pushed against his chest, gasping out, "Duo…"

"No." The unequivocal refusal that was so unlike him, made her eyes fly up to lock with the amethyst jewels that were fixed firmly on her face. There was pain written there, an inner torment that was veiled as he closed his eyes, bending down to kiss her once more. His hand crept between her legs, gliding up her thighs to find her hidden jewel, flicking over the wet nub. She moaned, coherency fleeing as he continued his skillful assault on her willing person.

Every touch of his hands encouraged a new conflagration, enflaming skin which had been frozen, coaxing life and warmth back into her being. She moaned, twisting against him, desperately begging for fulfillment, but he was gentle, he was slow…and he was driving her insane with each slow stroke of his fingers. Imprisoning him with her legs, she arched upwards in an unspoken demand and his groan was music to her ears.

A new hardness nudged against her core, sliding into her and she molded herself willingly to him, letting him rock their bodies, allowing her to adjust to this new invasion, until he met a barrier. Without giving her time to catch her breath, he lunged, breaking the thin membrane. Tears sprang to Hilde's eyes and she smothered a cry, the sudden pain breaking through the euphoria of their lovemaking. Unwilling to diminish the intensity of the moment, she tried to hide her face in his shoulder, but he wouldn't let her, forcing her head to the pillow. A tongue lapped the silky wetness from her cheeks, lips offering silent compassion for the agony of loss with each brush against her dark lashes and pale skin.

Presently the ache subsided and he began to thrust slowly, as if testing the waters. A new tension replaced the ache; a throbbing that had nothing to do with pain. She tossed her head on the pillow frantically, nails biting into his back, leaving angry half moons on his skin.

Next to her ear, his breath was heavy, each breath tortured in a mixture of pleasure and almost painful agony. He pressed his mouth against the skin below her ear, then bit the lobe of her ear none too gently before his voice whispered fiercely, "Reach for it babe, I'll give it to you, if you just reach for it…"

She pressed him more tightly to her and suddenly, the world froze. Then a wave of undiluted ecstasy crashed around her and she gasped, throwing her head back, oblivious to everything but the pleasure, the heat, that roared through her veins, melting any residual ice with the fire that sprang between them. Vaguely, she heard his own cry as his seed spilled into her womb and she smiled weakly at the strength of his release as they rode the wave together, intertwining and melding into one in the moment that was both life and death.

***

Slowly, Hilde came down from the stars, murmuring quietly as she stroked his back, kissing the side of his neck. He face was pressed into her shoulder, his back rising and falling with each slow, shuddering breath that came from deep inside of him.

His weight was still pressed against her, but not unpleasantly so, and she kissed his cheek softly, silently thanking him, before she whispered softly. "Duo?"

He stiffened at the sound of her voice, his whole body going rigid, unyielding as granite. "You're alive." The lack of emotion made Hilde's heart leap as if it had been shorn by a scythe; she couldn't control the hurt that flashed in her eyes. She pushed against him, hand grabbing for the scant protection of the comforters, but he refused to let her go. If anything, his arms tightened around her smaller form as he added harshly, "And if you ever pull another silly-ass stunt like that again, I'll kill you myself. Do you hear that, Hilde?" His head was still buried in her neck, and each word seemed as if it was torn from his mouth unwillingly. "You are not leaving me!"

"I-" Hilde's voice faltered before she returned the embrace, folding him as tightly as she could against her as sobs started wracking his body, wetness pooling in the hollow of her collarbone and seeping to wet the pillow. "I'm not leaving." Tears touched the corners of her own eyes as she whispered, "You're my God of Death, you wouldn't let me die, Duo…and if we've survived two wars together, Duo, then a little water's not going to kill me. Duo, it's okay…"

He lifted his head, turbid violet eyes studying her face minutely before he relaxed slightly, still not bothering to wipe the tear streaks from his face. He leaned down until his lips barely touched hers before he admitted quietly, "When you were…" A convulsive shudder shook his form, and she caressed his back soothingly.

"It's okay Duo…" His lips pressed down on hers to silence her before he lifted his face, hand against her mouth so she couldn't speak.

"No, listen to me, babe. When you went under and didn't come up, I knew when I went after you, that it didn't matter to me if I ever came up again…if you weren't with me. Because if you left, my life wouldn't be worth living. I can't…I won't let you leave me, babe. Ever. I…" He hesitated slightly, before rushing on, "I love you, babe. Have for a while. Just never had the opportunity to tell you, but last night, I told myself that if we got through this, I would tell you, because…" He shrugged almost helplessly, "Because I can't help the way I feel…"

Hilde lay there, stock-still in amazement when he finally lifted his hand, before a single crystalline tear trailed down her cheek.

Duo saw it and he turned away from her, muttering painfully, "I'm sorry babe-"

"Don't!" She whispered almost angrily, "Don't you dare ruin this by telling me you're sorry, Duo Maxwell, or I swear, I'll let you starve all week…" She sat up and glared at him from wet aquamarine eyes, "You are not sorry!"

He looked at her fierce face and a glimmer of a smile touched his eyes as he parroted obediently, "I'm not sorry…"

"And you're going to ask me to marry you."

His grin traveled down to widen his lips, returning the devilish twinkle, the life, back into his eyes "Babe, will you marry me?"

"Yes," Hilde answered primly, but her own eyes were alive with tender laughter as well as she continued, "And we'll have a house on the L2, and three kids-"

"Three?" Duo asked, "What if we decide we want more later?"

"Then we'll negotiate…and don't interrupt me while I'm laying down the laws." Taking his unrepentant laughter as assent, she continued softly, "And when our kids leave, you're going to be there with me in the twilight years. And even when I'm an old, wrinkled granny, you'll tell me how much you love me, and I'll tell you that you're the most handsome man in the world and you should never cut your hair. And we'll come up here every single year and one day, I'll learn to skate right, and you'll be there holding my hand the whole way…"

Tenderness stole the laughter from his eyes, making them glow quietly with love before he bent down and kissed her tenderly on the lips. "I love you, babe…"

"I know, and I love you too, but…would you mind showing me again?"

Owari…