DISCLAIMER: SoumI think we already know the answer to this, don't you? But if we pool our
money, we might be able to buy the tip of Duo's braidso what do you say. Everyone pitch in five
dollars? ^_^

AUTHOR'S NOTE: okay, MAJOR cussing at the beginningsorry. Gomengomen ne*sigh* On a
further note, this is the last chapter I'll be doing for*looks at calendar* uma week and a half? More? Yeah, that's it*nods* I have finals and if I don't study, I flunk. If I flunk, I don't go to college. If I don't go to college*cringe* I'll be grounded for life by irate parents. And if I'm grounded for life, I'll never get to meet Heero Yuy. And if I never get to meet Heero Yuy, I'll never fulfill my life's dream! lol. So gomen again and wish me luck! ^_~ I think I'll need it. *takes a bite of chocolate* oh, btw this is good! Mmmmmm.chocolate^_~ thanks for the reviews!

Bittersweet Memories: Heartbreak and Betrayal. Part 7

Hilde swallowed, averting her eyes from the glare of the Shinigami. She knew what he was capable of. Under that façade of cheer and good will would always lie the heart of a Gundam pilotand that was what she was afraid of. People tended to forget he was dangerous. Who would take a man with a mile long braid and a wicked grin seriously? What they chose not to remember was that he had been trained a killer and he had killed many, as had she, in the name of peace, and probably would kill again if he was called upon to do so.

"Hilde?"

She winced, then raised her head defiantly, clenching her fist at her side. The steaming cup of tea
was held, forgotten, in her hand as she confronted Death with a furious gaze of her own. "So? What do you care about it?" She shot back, "It doesn't concern you!"

"Oh yeah it does!" Duo sputtered furious, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Why should I have? I don't answer to you anymore, Maxwell!"

"Why the fucking hell didn't you tell me!" A fist slammed into the kitchen counter, causing the dishes to rattle noisily. Wufei coughed nervously, backing away antagonists. He cringed slightly as he anticipated Sally's incensed reaction to his failed mission....Kuso....why me? He sighed mentally, then watched as Hilde's eyes go wide in surprise, then fury. Maybe I should call the onna.....

"Because it wasn't your fucking problem!" Hilde yelled back, "And don't hit the damn counter,
damnit!"

Wufei winced. Or perhaps this will work itself out. He scowled. Wufei prided himself on being a just man, always forthright and honest. But when courting the wrath of the brown-haired she-demonwellit was best to watch one's step. He had only seen Sally in a fury once in his life, and that was when a drunken stranger had swaggered up to her, kissing her full in the mouth. She
had immediately flipped him over her shoulder and slammed him to the groundin high-heels and a long evening dress. Then, calm as you please, she had told him to be "a good boy and sit" before continuing on her way to the Winter Ball, leaving her fellow Preventers open-mouthed and gawking. From then on, Wufei made sure not to get too far on her bad sideit would be humiliating if she actually was able to beat him.......But this didn't seem like it was going to resolve itself soon.
Especially with the onna almost ready to fly at the Deathscythe pilot in a rage. Why do onnas have to be so..so temperamental?

"I don't fucking care about the damn counter!"

"Well I do! I paid good money to live here, Duo, and I don't want it ending up like the apartment on L2! I don't want socks hanging from the chandelier, evening jackets tossed across the TV, and I especially don't want dents in the counter!"

"Like I said, babe" There was an almost insulting tone in his voice, even as he grinned mockingly,
"I don't give a damn about the counter!"

"Don't cuss in my goddamn flat!" Hilde slammed the mug of tea on the counter in emphasis, then bit back a curse (another one?) as the hot liquid splashed on her hand. Quickly, she shoved Duo aside, turning on the faucet to cool her burning skin, wincing at the sting of cold water on the wound, the skin turning a bright scarlet with the heat. "Oh da-that hurt." She cradled her injured hand, then wrapped it carefully in a dishtowel, as she turned towards the freezer, but Duo was already taking out the tray of ice.

Cracking the ice out of the tray first, he handed them to her. "Here." Hilde nodded, slightly wary,
before making an icepack for herself, aware of the amethyst eyes that were fixed on her face. "So
now that we've both cooled down," Duo smiled ironically at his own pun, "care to tell me exactly
what happened?"

"No." She replied immediately but Duo blocked her from retreating into the bedroom.

"The cat is definitely out of the bag, babe, sotell me. Who's the dad?" Hilde stiffened, almost
imperceptibly, her already frayed nerves unraveling further at this new insult

"What's that supposed to mean, Duo?"

Wufei coughed again not liking the dangerous tone of her voice. He sensed another break in the
newly restored psuedo-peace, and didn't like it, so raising an authoritative hand, he snapped,
"Maxwell, onna-"

"WHAT!?" Two pairs of irate orbs of fire glared at him, one violet, one azure, both doing a fairly good job of imitating, if not surpassing, the heat of Heero's Death Glare.

Wufei sweatdropped. "I said nothing" He fought the urge to crawl under the couch, going instead
to the phone and dialing up Sally Po's office. It rang for a while before a distinctly feminine voice
answered the phone. <Hello?>

"Sally?"

<Uh ohChang Wufei, whenever you say 'Sally?' I know you did something wrong. What, wasn't
Hilde there?> Sally's voice was faintly amused and Wufei wondered if she would still sound so
cheerful when she found out what happened.

"Uhyes. The onna was home"

<So mission complete, huh?>

"Not exactly" That onna will never let me live this down......

Duo grinned, but the usual twinkle was sorely lacking in his hooded eyes. "You heard me babe.
Who's the dad? Or don't you know?" The last was injected to hurt, and it did, bringing old wounds
flaring back to life.

Hilde stood up straight, her eyes proud, tears of humiliation sparkling in her eyes. "Duo Maxwell I'll never forgive you for that statement."

"Hey, you left me babe." Duo leaned against counter, smirking slightly, but there was pain in
every line of his body, and suddenly, he seemed much older and much wearier. "What else am I
supposed to think, huh?"

"You were supposed to trust me." Hilde said quietly, her fists clenched. "You know, Duo? It was
actually within my prerogative to sleep around you wouldn't give me a ring. You wouldn't give me much of anything except a few nights of love. I was willing to give you everything, but you turned me down, Duo. You turned me down. So why shouldn't I have slept around, huh? You tell me that much!"

"Because you were my girlfriend!"

"For four years, Duo! And a girlfriend does not actually live in the same house for four years, sleep in the same bed for one, and do what we did at all!" Hilde took a calming breath, "Duo do you know what they call people that do that? Married. And do you know what we are? Not." She smile bitterly. "So technically, in the broadest sense of the word, I could have slept aroundand still
would have been morally within my rights."

"Is it mine!" Duo yelled, fists clenched at his side. "If you've never told me the truth not even once, tell me the truth right now. Is the baby mine?!"

"Yes!" She screamed back. "Yes, it is yours! So what about it?"

The silence was broken only by their heavy breathing and loud shouts coming from the telephone,
but they ignored it, their focus centered solely on each other, Hilde, her arms wrapped around her
waist, while Duo leaned heavily on the counter, eyes half lidded as if he were physically hurt. Damn it....Duo how could you? Is that what you think of me? I'm a whore? Hilde felt as if her gut was being ripped out by his ruthless accusation but she refused to show him how much she was hurting from his attack. She stepped back from him, one pace, then another, her eyes locked, as if with morbid fascination, on his face.

"I want to believe you babe I want to but-"

"You need proof." Hilde finished bitingly, "because my word isn't good enough standing alone.
Right?" He didn't say anything. "Get out."

"Babe-"

"I said get out, Duo and I mean it this time! You obviously have issues that you have to deal with,
and I'm tired of crying over a jerk like you. But when you leave, when you walk out that doorI want you to remember something. You aren't gonna get back in so easily not in here-" Hilde touched her chest where her heart beat, "Or through there." She pointed at the door. "So don't even think of coming back to see me anytime between now and forever."

"You don't mean that." What was that hoarseness in his voice? Hilde blocked it out, stuffing it into a corner of her mind along with her aching heart. They had no places in her life nowshe was tired of crying.

"Now Duo." There was a finality in her voice that made him stiffen. Without a word, he turned with fluid grace towards the door, then paused, smiling a trifle crookedly at Hilde as his hand touched the knob.

"Wait for me, babe?"

Hilde smiled back sadly, but she shook her head, still holding the pack of forgotten ice cubes. "No." He winced then the door closed behind him, leaving the room eerily silent besides the continued shouting emitting from the phone.

Wufei was holding it away from his ear at arm's length, but that didn't stop the abusive diatribe that was coming from the speaker. For the first time in his life, Wufei cursed his excellent hearing, wishing instead for deafness as Sally's furious voice kept on yelling. <I thought you could handle it. Do you know how much trouble you probably just caused?? And furthermore, Chang, you are a complete idiot!> Wufei winced at the sound of something breaking in his partner's office. This wasn't going well.

"I didn't-"

<You, I'll deal with later! I'm coming over there right nowafter I tell Lady Une that I have to
postpone the meetingagain> Sally's voice was exasperated and tinged with controlled anger.
<You stay right there!> There was a click, then the dial tone hummed, and he sighed with barely
concealed relief, hanging the phone to its cradle before he turned aroundto meet the ire of a
cerulean-eyed dragon.

"Onnadon't do anything foolish." He cautioned warily, watching her dump the tepid tea from the
mug. "Sally is coming here right now and-"

"What do you mean by foolish?" Hilde asked, her voice still quiet, even amused. "You mean this?" She hefted the mug in her hand, then threw it with amazing accuracy near his head. He ducked, and the clay cup shattered on the far wall, ceramic shards spraying across the carpet. "Or maybe this?" She opened a drawer, a butter knife appearing in her hand. For a second she stared at it, then shifted her eyes back to Wufei, who groaned mentally, inching towards the door. Pregnant onnas and their hormones "Catherine taught me how to use this, Fei you'd better hope I'm a good student!"

***

Duo leaned his head against the wall, barely noticing the loud curses that were coming from Hilde's apartment before the door was flung open, then slammed shut, a wild-eyed Chinese Preventer stumbling out, brushing clay dust out of his clothes. Wufei shook his head muzzily, still a little unsteady from his close encounter with the razor edged projectile before he glanced at Duo, whose eyes were open as he stared vacantly at nothing in particular.

"What are you doing standing here like an idiot, Maxwell?"

"Nothing much." There was a thoughtful tone in his voice, even though his face was
uncharacteristically grim and unsmiling.

"If you were smart, you would go in there and apologize to the onna." Wufei advised, "And stop her before she tears apart the room with her flying butcher knives."

A shadow of Duo's normally merry smile crossed his face. "You're only saying that because you're afraid Sally's gonna kick your ass for letting the secret out." Wufei snorted, but didn't deny th allegations as Duo straightened, brushing his bangs away from his face. "Yeahwell, see ya 'round, Fei. I've got some things I need to think about."

"Maxwell." Wufei's voice was serious as Duo glanced back at him. "Think carefully what you wish to do before you act. Trust betrayed is rarely regained, and you have betrayed her trust deeply." He regarded the American pilot seriously before a ghost of a smile lit his face. "Not that I care whether you two make up or anything so foolish, of course."

Duo laughed, his voice shaky, but it was a laugh nonetheless. "Yeahof course. You wouldn't want
us to mistaken you for having a heart, now would you, Fei?"

Wufei snorted, crossing his arms. "Don't push your luck." Duo nodded once and left, his footsteps echoing emptily down the hallway. He had some thinking he had to do and now was the best time to do it, before he forfeited more than he had already lost.

t b c (Aren't I a stinker? ^_^)

Sorry, but I really didn't have enough time to write anything elseIt's called homework, I know you
have it too! Or at least take off the "home" part of it and make it only "work". N'wayz, that's it 'til
next, next week, or maybe Friday of next week if I'm lucky and not dog-tired after Comps (comprehensive exams). Gomengomen nebut HW calls and it is a master must be obeyed lest my
fragile grade suffer a horrendous blow. And with the dropping of the grade will come the dropping of the productivity in writing ficslol.

*_\\\ (Trowa*sigh* he's such a hottie! O.o *smacks self on head* okay, okay baad Sable I'm calm now)