Trust in Me – Chapter Eight
By Kilmeny
Disclaimers:
Gundam Wing belongs to Sunrise. Any songs or quotes belong to their respective authors listed with them.Author’s Notes: Oh no, Kilmeny’s attempting to write an action scene! I hope it’s not too confusing or unbelievable, but come on, they’re Gundam pilots. Anyway, enjoy the action. And as always, suggestions would be appreciated.
//_-
Chapter Eight
Duo whistled merrily as he chopped up a pile of mushrooms for his rather large omelet. He smiled widely when he heard the front door shut—Hilde was here.
"Morning, Duo," she chirped as she dropped her purse on a chair and came to stand beside him at the stove.
"You keep on getting here earlier and earlier. It’s only eight A.M."
"Yeah, but I just can’t get enough of you," she laughed.
"Believe me, I know exactly how you feel," he replied, slipping an arm around her waist and kissing her soundly.
Afterwards, Hilde locked her arms around his neck. "I could really get used to this every morning."
He chuckled, "Ditto."
"So is there enough for me?" she asked, looking hungrily into the frying pan.
He grinned. "Of course, Hilde-babe."
"Good," she said, releasing him and plopping down in a chair. "Why are you up so early? I figured I’d have to wake you."
"Well, I just got a call from Quatre. It seems that Trowa and a friend of his need a hideout, so of course I’ll let them stay here."
"Of course," Hilde agreed. "What kind of trouble?"
"I don’t know yet. He said that he would leave Trowa’s secrets up to him to tell."
"Is it alright if I stick around until they get here? Otherwise, my curiosity might kill me."
"Yeah, I’m sure Trowa won’t mind . . . and I certainly won’t." He smiled shyly, still a little amazed at the new direction in their relationship.
Hilde beamed.
//_-
A few hours later, a motorcycle pulled up to Duo’s house. Duo and Hilde stepped out to greet Trowa and his mysterious companion. When Averil pulled off her helmet, Duo smiled inwardly, not surprised at all. Yep, trouble usually came in the form of a woman. "Hey my man!" he called, striding forward to clasp Trowa’s hand in a firm handshake.
"Thank you, Duo, for agreeing to take us in," said Trowa.
"No problem! Anything for my friends . . . so, who’s the lovely lady?" he asked, giving Averil a charming smile. She smiled back shyly.
"This is Averil O’Hare . . . and it’s a long story which would be better told inside."
"Then let’s get to it. Come on in." Once inside and seated in the living room, Duo motioned to Hilde. "Trowa, I know you and Hilde have met before, but Averil, this is my fiancée Hilde Schbeiker." He took her left hand and waved the ring around proudly. Hilde laughed and pulled away half-heartedly.
Averil sat forward on her seat. "Oh let me see!" she exclaimed, and Hilde showed no reluctance in displaying her ring. "It’s beautiful."
"I know," laughed Hilde.
"Congratulations, Duo," said Trowa, "Hilde . . . best of luck. You deserve a lot of respect for what you’re willingly getting into."
Hilde laughed again as Duo whined, "Why does everyone say that?! You’re the fifth person that’s said that already."
Trowa smiled slightly and gave him no answer, then he commented, "You guys are rather young to get married."
"Yeah, well, we haven’t been living together since our feelings changed," answered Duo, and the couple shared a mushy look, "and I gotta say that I really miss her around here. So we just don’t want to wait."
Trowa nodded, "Makes sense." Averil sighed . . . so romantic . . . warm fuzzies.
"Alright, let’s get down to business, man," said Duo, "What’s your story?"
//_-
An hour later, Duo leaned back on the couch and gave a low whistle. "Boy am I glad I’m not in your shoes. What’re you guys gonna do?"
"I’m not sure," answered Averil. "We have to save Catherine and my mother, but I don’t know how."
"That’s easy," said Duo eagerly, "You kick his a-"
"Duoooo," warned Hilde.
Duo smirked, "Well that’s what I’d do."
"Actually, I’m inclined to do just that," remarked Trowa suddenly. Averil bit her lip, immediately worried.
"Great!" exclaimed Duo, rubbing his hands together, "You’re going to let me in on the fun, too, aren’t you?"
"I think I could make you useful," said Trowa calmly.
"Wait you guys!" Averil fretted, "You don’t know what you’re getting into."
"No, no, no," Duo shook his head, "they didn’t know what they were getting into when they decided to cross the Gundam pilots."
"Duo’s right, Averil," said Trowa, looking her in the eyes, "There’s nothing to worry about. No one will get hurt. You trust me, right?"
"Right."
"Then you’ll go along with whatever plan we come up with?"
"Yes," she nodded this time and made herself take a deep breath. Everything would be fine.
//_-
"So did you guys make it there safe and sound?" asked Quatre from the vidphone.
"Yes," Trowa affirmed, "Do you know yet whether or not the search party has landed on L4?"
"Not yet, but they could be here anytime now. Have you decided what you want me to tell them when they get here?"
"I trust that they won’t attack you since you’ll have the Maguanacs protecting you, but be cordial. Duo and I spent today creating a strategy to get Catherine back. What you can tell them is to meet us on the roof of the Cruze building there on L4."
"Is there anything else I should tell them?" asked Quatre.
"Yeah, there are a few other things. We’re gonna offer them a deal they can’t resist . . ."
//_-
"When are you going to get back, Duo?" Hilde asked, phone cradled against her shoulder so that she could properly file her nails.
Duo squinted up at the night sky on L4 in thought, then he casually stated, "This should only take an hour or so. Then there’s the three-hour shuttle ride back, so about four hours, honey."
"Okay, don’t get yourself killed."
Duo feigned hurt, "Moi? The God of Death? You wound my pride, Hilde."
She laughed, "Just threshing the wheat as usual, right?"
"All in a day’s work," he preened.
"Alright then. I’ll see you in four hours. Love ya."
"Love you, too. Bye."
Hilde gingerly set her phone down and continued to calmly file her nails. Duo slipped his cell-phone in his pocket and turned to the others. "Well where are they?"
"See for yourself," said Trowa.
Duo turned to face the group of men—he counted twelve—making their way to the middle of the roof. He refrained from cracking his knuckles. All in due time . . .
Averil involuntarily shrunk closer to Trowa, who was standing against her back. The wind whipped her hair into her face, and he reached up a hand to brush it away. She kept her own hands together behind her back.
Two men stepped forward from the burly bunch. One led a hand-tied Catherine into view. Trowa remained stolid, pushing Averil forward with him so that she appeared to also have her hands tied.
"Looks like we both have something the other wants," leered Morgan.
"Looks like it," Trowa remarked casually.
"So hand her over," demanded Boris, pushing Catherine forward roughly in exchange.
Trowa stepped up with Averil in front of him. Boris released Catherine so that he could pull Averil to him. Suddenly, Trowa lifted up Averil’s right hand, and Boris was looking down the barrel of a gun. Averil released her hold on the gun and spun around behind Trowa so that he could have a better grip. Boris stood stunned, and Morgan began to reach for his gun, but he stopped at the sound of cracking knuckles. Morgan turned around just in time to receive a solid blow from Duo. He collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
Averil had almost forgotten her duty in the excitement of the moment. Just in time, she remembered to grab Catherine by the arm and run with her over to the other side of the roof, where she produced a knife and cut her bonds. "Put this on," said Averil hurriedly, shakily handing Catherine a parachute that had been hidden under some boards.
Meanwhile, Trowa lowered the gun and gave Boris no time to react before kicking him down to the ground. He dropped to the ground as one of the men from the group attempted to strike him down, then he kicked the man’s legs out from under him, and the man bit the dust. As soon as Trowa rose, he kicked a gun out of the next man’s hand, grabbed him by the shoulders, and kneed him in the stomach. Three down, three to go. The fourth put up more of a fight. Trowa dodged and blocked his punches before sending him flying into the wall. The last two attacked him from both sides. Before they knew what was happening, he had jumped and flipped over their heads so that he was behind one of them, a gun to his back. The man stiffened and Trowa knocked him out with the butt of the gun. The last man charged him, but Trowa easily caught him and flipped him onto his back so hard that the man’s breath was knocked out of him.
At the same time, Duo eagerly took on the other six men. After knocking out Morgan, he twirled and readied a black wooden pole that he had been holding. The pole resembled a scythe in length and color, only without the blades on the end. He easily leveled the first man by knocking his feet out from under him. He jammed the pole into the stomach of the next man. The last three stayed clear of the pole and reached for their guns. Duo stooped down, picked up gravel, and threw it in one’s eyes. As the man clawed at the stinging sand, Duo brought down the pole with such force over his head that it shattered and splinters flew. "Oops!" he laughed, throwing down the remaining pieces and running around the other two to escape the path of their guns, not overly concerned. From his pocket he pulled a small bomb and released it with his teeth, sending it flying at the two left standing in the midst of the other fallen bodies. "Trowa, come on!" he shouted, running towards the two girls. Trowa had just finished with his last man and swiftly caught up with him.
"They won’t be down long. That type of bomb is really only meant to stun," cried Duo as he found his hidden "helicopter" where Catherine’s parachute had been. This device resembled an umbrella, only it had a propeller on the end instead that would allow him to float safely to the ground. "We’re splitting up, so Catherine you come with me."
Trowa and Duo had chosen to meet the search party on top of the Cruze building because of its strategic location. This was the tallest building on L4, meaning it would take a longer time for the search party to get down all the stories to catch them. It also had room on one side to parachute, or "helicopter," off of. The other side had a fire escape leading to a maze of alleyways. This is where Trowa and Averil would go. Duo and Catherine wasted no time in making their escape. They jumped off the ledge simultaneously.
The other two had no time to see if Duo and Catherine made it down safely. Trowa seized Averil’s hand and ran with her to the fire escape, pushing her down onto the ladder to go first. Once they had reached the eighth floor, some of the men had begun to follow them down the fire escape, firing shots at them randomly. Averil screamed. "Keep going!" shouted Trowa above her. On the fourth floor, Trowa flipped off the escape and caught the protruding balcony on the second floor. He then dropped safely to the ground, able to catch his fall perfectly because of his acrobatic training.
"Trowa!" screamed Averil, afraid of being left behind.
"Jump, I’ll catch you," he yelled.
She started to hesitate, but then a bullet whizzed past her ear and made a loud ping on the iron railing next to her arm. If I’m going to die, she thought morbidly, I’d rather die in Trowa’s arms after hitting the ground then up on this cold railing by myself from a bullet. Thus decided, she turned and made eye contact with Trowa.
Now, he mouthed, and, with only her trust taking her this far, she let go of the railing. Their eyes never left each other’s as she sailed gracefully down to him. To Trowa, it seemed to happen in slow motion. He could not wait to have her safe in his arms again. Oh, finally, finally, she slid into his arms. He caught her weight, breaking the impact, but he still stumbled and fell onto his back. Then he was feeling her for any blood or broken bones, and all he felt was incredible softness. "You’re alright," he said quietly, incredulously.
"Are you?" she asked, eyes wild.
"Yes," he answered, and her eyes filled with relief. She wanted to kiss him all over, but they had to keep running.
//_-
Falling Into You
By Billy Steinberg, Rick Nowels, & Marie Claire D’Ubaldo
Performed by Celine Dion
And in your eyes I see ribbons of color
I see us inside of each other
I feel my unconscious merge with yours
And I hear a voice say, "What's his is hers"
I'm falling into you
This dream could come true
And it feels so good falling into you
I was afraid to let you in here
Now I have learned love can't be made in fear
The walls begin to tumble down
And I can't even see the ground
I'm falling into you
This dream could come true
And it feels so good falling into you
Falling like a leaf, falling like a star
Finding a belief, falling where you are
Catch me, don't let me drop!
Love me, don't ever stop!
So close your eyes and let me kiss you
And while you sleep I will miss you
Oh I'm falling into you
This dream could come true
And it feels so good falling into you
Falling like a leaf, falling like a star
Finding a belief, falling where you are
Falling into you
Falling into you
Falling into you, yeah
//_-
. . . the one I trust is the one I love . . . the one she loves is definitely the one she can trust.
-Bill Cosby
Author’s Notes: I hope you’re enjoying the story so far. If you know of any Trowa sites or good Gundam Wing fanfiction sites where I can post this fic, then please email me with your ideas. If you have any comments or flames, review/email me. I can take criticism and I love compliments. Thanks for reading, and God bless!
To Be Continued