THE BOX: part two
by Caliko
LIMEish
Disclaimer: All Characters belong to Sunrise and Bandai. I don't own them, either...
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Hilde glared across the garage at Duo. For the second time this week, he forgot to clean the living room. It had been building up steadily since Monday, and she could not even walk in from the front door. She hated to see what Wednesday would bring.

"Duo, I think I'm going to move out."

"What? Hilde, don't be stupid."

"You did not just say that, did you?"

"Yeah, I did! Why would you move out? I'm not a bad room mate, am I?"

"Yes, you are! Duo, I can't even see the carpet anymore! Damn it! I do all the other housework, and all I ask is that you keep the living room clean! Is that too much to ask?"

"I'm sorry, Hilde. You're right. I'll cl...."

Just then, a beige CPS truck pulled in and the driver hopped out. Saying only, "Delivery" , he went to the back of the truck and opened the door. There lay a huge metal crate. It was about five by four feet wide, and four feet deep. Hitting a button, a robotic crane lifted the box and dropped it on the ground.

"Sign here, sir." The driver tonelessly said, handing Duo the clipboard.

He left, leaving Hilde and Duo staring at the crate.

"What toy did you order now, Duo?"

"Why is it always me? Sheesh! Ya know, I could ask you the same thing!"

"Heh...well, there's only one way to settle this. Open it up."

"Er.. how?" Duo looked at Hilde, and she shrugged.

Both walked around the dull metal crate, looking for seams. Finding none, Duo climbed on top.

Puzzled, he noticed three things. One, the lid of the box had about two hundred coin sized holes. He peered through one, thinking that there might be something alive in there. Unfortunately, all he saw was bulky looking gray matter. Nothing moved, and he couldn't hear anything breathing.

:::Oh well.. I was kinda hoping for a dog.::: he mentally shrugged.

The second thing he noticed was a seam that cut the lid exactly in half.

::::Hmm...At least we know where it will open...::::

The third thing was a lever. It was a perfectly ordinary metal lever recessed into the lid. You couldn't see it from below, but it took up a large portion of the right side of the box. He bent to pull the handle towards him, but it didn't move.

"Hilde, can you come up here? I need help."

"You can't even open up a crate? Duo, what is wrong with you today?

"Why are you yelling at me? Hilde, is it that time of the month, or something?"

Ooops....he really shouldn't have said that....

"I'm sorry, babe. It's just.. your so... mean today! It's not like you!"

::::Ok, Maxwell...that's a start. You CAN dig your way out of this one....:::: He threw her the puppy dog eyes for good measure. Slowly...her body eased up a bit. Sighing, she reached up for his hand and waited for him to pull her up.

She stood on top of the box next to him, staring for a few moments. Looking a little confused, she shrugged and knelt down next to her partner.

"You pull with me, k, Babe?"

"I think I understand, Duo..." The annoyed edge was returning to her voice.

::::::Sigh:::::::

"ok, on three...1,2,3!" They pulled and pulled the lever, and slowly it started to budge. Suddenly, it swung open, and the lid fell out from under thier feet. They fell down into the crate, onto something soft, while the lid closed above them.

Outside, they heard a stranger chuckle. Not recognizing the voice, they looked at each other and groaned. Someone had them trapped!

"Duo?" Hilde called into the dark....

"Yeah, Babe..."

"Did you piss off a customer this week?"

"No. You?"

"Ditto."

"Hey! You out there! Let us out!"

"Oh, like that will help! Haven't you guessed that HE might have been the one to lock us in here?"

"Maybe not! He might just think it's funny!"

"Whatever! Hey, I hear footsteps!" she placed her hand over his mouth to shut him up.

"It won't do you any good to scream! You two are stuck in there until I let you out! If your REALLY careful, you might find the water jug and cups without spilling it. There's a cooler in the corner. "

The voice was unfamiliar, and disturbing in it's normalness.

"What do you want?" Duo demanded through the metal wall.

"Want? What makes you think I want anything? Be good, now!"

The footsteps retreated, and what little light there was disappeared.

"Duo...Now I'm scared."

"Don't worry, Hilde. I'm sure that he wouldn't have left food and water if he didn't mean to let us go....eventually."

"Oh, that's really comforting!"

"Look, Babe...I'm the God of Death! Comforting is NOT in my job description!"

"Hmm...Some god. You got trapped in a box. I mean, this whole thing has 'set up' written all over it!"

"You know, I might not be able to see you, but I can feel you. I'm not the only one trapped in a box!"

"Fine! But could you PLEASE feel somewhere else! That is NOT my stomach."

Duo couldn't help it. Without thinking, his hand closed around the soft globe. OOOPS!

"DUO!" she smacked where she thought was his arm....

"OOWW!" he curled around himself, groaning.

"Serves you right!" Oblivious to the torment she had inflicted on her partner, Hilde continued to go off on him.. "You just can't go up to a girl and ...fondle her breasts! Now, what do you say?......Duo? "

"My balls...." came the weak moan from her left.

Blushing, Hilde pushed herself against the wall of the crate, as far away from Duo as possible. Unfortunately, just as she was about to apologize...she knocked over the water.

"Duo?" She said in a little girl voice, hesitant to make him suffer anymore.

"What?" he attempted to pull himself together, attempted being the operative word.

"I found the water."

"Oh no. You spilled it, didn't you." It was not a question. He just knew, with the way thier luck was running, that she did.

"Yes..."

"_________________"

"Duo?"

"Later, Hilde. I'm trying to concentrate."

"On a way out?"

"No. I'm trying to remember that I don't WANT to kill you."

Two buildings over, Heero Yuy, Trowa Barton and Chang Wufei sat around a small round table ginning. They were watching a small video receiver that was transmitting every word that Hilde and Duo said. They all felt bad getting Hilde involved in thier little revenge...but innocents got hurt all the time in war.

They left Quatre home. His heart was too soft, and he would have let them out. The three pilots felt that it was payback time for every practical joke the Shinigami had EVER played on them. More to the point....If they could get him with Hilde, all the better. SHE could control him. It never occurred to them just where Duo got the ideas for his jokes. It might have horrified them to realize that the petite woman was his inspiration.

They waited for the two to fall asleep before refilling the water. They used one of Duo's infamous toys (a mini camera that could see in the dark), and a long wired hose. It took Trowa fifteen minutes to find the pitcher, but he managed to fill it up without waking the two.
Seconds after he pulled up the hose, Heero and Wufei took two frying pans and beat the sides of the metal crate. Smirking at the screams from inside, they nodded to each other and retreated back to headquarters. It wouldn't do if They slept through it all.

Hilde woke up, screaming. Besides her, laying on a thick pillow with his arms around her waist, Duo opened his eyes.

"How can you be so calm?" she demanded.

"I don't feel like screaming yet, that's all."

(Heero, his voice disguised, called out from a speaker in the corner.) "I just wanted to tell you that your water has been refilled. I also want to give you the opportunity to get out of the box."

"That voice is familiar..." He murmured...

"I don't recognize it." Hilde stated.

"Naaa....something in the tone.."

"I'm WAITING..." Heero was getting impatient.

"Well, I dunno." Duo, betting on night vision camera's being installed, pulled Hilde into his arms and played to an audience. "I kinda like being locked up in here."

"Duo! What are you doing?" She demanded softly.

"Play with me, Hilde...I don't want him to know we're desperate!" he murmured in her ear.

"Well, then you will like this. If you want to get out of the box, kiss her." Heero couldn't quite hide the smug tone in his voice. Duo and Hilde would NEVER kiss if they could help it. Wufei looked at him as if he was nuts, and Trowa was choking on his coffee. Heero gave them a look and motioned for them to relax.

"What?" the prisoners chorused, horrified.

"Kiss. That's all. You kiss, I unlock the box."

They looked at each other and swallowed.

"Hilde...we have to get out of here."

"I know..."

"It's just.. a kiss.."

"Just.. get it over with, Duo."

He hesitantly reached over and gave her a small peck on the lips.

"You call that a kiss, Maxwell? Here I thought that the great Shinigami was every babe's favorite god."

Duo blushed, suddenly realizing exactly who his tormentor was. He remembered that night at that school, giving Heero advice on girls. It was WAY before he met Hilde, and he had to admit...he was all talk. He used almost those exact words, too. Revenge was in his corner...Until then....He now had a shot at kissing Hilde like he always wanted to.

Smiling slightly, he graced her lips again, teasing them open. He put ever ounce of pent up passion for the woman in his kiss. His tounge dueled for dominance in a timeless power struggle between male and female. Gone was the ability for them to think straight. Each fought, determined to master the other.

Sinking down onto the cushions, Duo lay down on top of Hilde. His weight was held up by his forearms, and his eyes blazed into hers as they both fought for breath.

Not knowing exactly what happened, she stared at the crazed, grinning look that he had on his face. She tried to sink further back into the cushions, confused, but Duo would have none of it. He gathered her up into his arms and stole her lips again.

Heero stared at the screen. He couldn't believe that they did it! Both Duo and Hilde had been dancing around each other for so long, none of them quite expected this. Still....five minutes passed into ten, and they didn't look as if they were going to end it anytime soon.

Wufei and Trowa were standing behind him, thier eyes as wide as his.

"I think you better break this up, Heero. We really don't want to be responsible for any little Maxwell's running around."

All three men shuddered at the idea.

Heero picked up the microphone and turned the volume up to max. "I'm sorry, but I seem to have lost the key. You'll have to wait until my associate comes with it tomorrow. Good night."
The couple hesitated, gaining thier breath. Then, as if they hadn't heard him, Hilde reached for Duo, and they were off again. Heero turned off the screen when he saw Duo's hand reaching into Hilde's pants....