Destination Eden (revised)
Chapter 2
xmlns=\"http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40\">
style=\'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt\'>Aah, let’s go on with the
story *rubs hands*. Ehm… Hilde dies in this chapter. Reason to cheer for die
hard yaoi fans probably *grin* Duo ends up in the hospital, you’ll see why.
Less reason to cheer, is that Hilde’s father will completely put him down. He
hates Duo. Oh, let’s go console the poor boy, shall we ^_^ Not much NC17-stuff
in this chappie, but for those who have the patience to keep reading, I promise
it will be worth it. Honest, cross my heart, bite my fingers. Now I’m gonna
shut my mouth before I tell completely everything.
style=\'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt\'>
normal\'>Chapter
2
style=\'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt\'>
style=\'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt\'>“See, that was a mission
that wasn’t worth my time,” Duo muttered. “Boooring!”
style=\'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt\'>“Duo, you think everything
is boring, unless it has something to do with sex or food,” Wufei said with a
stiff smile. “But I must say, it wasn’t really all that bad.”
style=\'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt\'>“Very funny. By the way, have I already shown you this little thingie?” He pulled out a little velvet box and opened it to show to Wufei what was hiding inside. Splendor inside of a few square centimeters.
style=\'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt\'>“Wow, Duo. That must’ve cost
you a fortune,” the Chinese said, bowing over it.
style=\'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt\'>“Well, cheap it wasn’t.”
-US
style=\'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt\'>“Hey guys! Come over here!
You gotta see this!” Wufei yelled to his friends.
style=\'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt\'>Wondering what could’ve been
so important that Wufei was actually enthusiastic, the three other men sprinted
towards them.
style=\'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt\'>“Hey, check this out,”
Quatre said.
style=\'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt\'>“Now, that’s what I call an
engagement ring,” Wufei grinned.
style=\'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt\'>“So you’re really gonna do
it, huh?” Trowa said in his quiet voice. “You’re really gonna marry her.”
style=\'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt\'>“You bet I am,” Duo beamed,
snapping the little box shut and tucking it back in his pocket.
style=\'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.>“We>“Well, I’ll be damned. Duo
Maxwell, aka “Flirtatious scumbag” is getting married. This calls for a
celebration,” Quatre smiled. The both of them looked at each other for a
moment, the American and the Arabian thinking exactly the same thing. “Bachelor
party!!” they cried in unison. Wufei and Trowa gave them an agreeing nod, but
not Heero. He was the only one who didn’t feel any mirth, the only one who
looked at the sparkling gem in Duo’s hand with a jealous glint in his eyes.
style=\'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt\'>“I’m going home, see you
guys tomorrow,” he mumbled, turning his back to the group, so they couldn’t see
his anger.
style=\'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt\'>“Oh, you’re going home?” Duo
asked, confused.
style=\'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt\'>“It’s five o’clock. You can
stay if you want to, but I’m going.”
style=\'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt\'>“Yeah, I’m off as well,”
Wufei said. “See ya.”
style=\'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt\'>“Is it five o’clock already?
Man, time flies,” Duo said and all of a sudden a wide grin appeared on his face
as he remembered Hilde’s promises. “Right, home! Till tomorrow, guys!”
style=\'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt\'>The other two watched him go
to the elevator and moments later, he drove his car off the parking lot.
style=\'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt\'>“Well, there’s one who’s
gonna get laid tonight,” Quatre said, putting his arm around Trowa’s shoulder.
style=\'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt\'>“Sounds like a good
prospect, ne?” Trowa said, nuzzling his nose in the blond hair.
style=\'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt\'>“It sure does,” Quatre
replied and he cupped the brunette’s jaw in his hand and displayed for anyone
who wished to see it, that he loved him by giving him a sweet kiss on his soft
lips.
style=\'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt\'>~*~*~*~
style=\'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt\'>Duo maneuvered his way
through the traffic, humming happily. A tram went merrily rolling by. He
thought about Hilde. A beautiful woman in sparse red lace, sitting on a bed of
black satin sheets, her eyes reflecting his deepest desires.
style=\'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt\'>It wouldn’t be long now
before he\'d be home. The traffic started to lessen, along with the numerous
skyscrapers and supermarkets. The peace of nature he lived is a s a welcome
relief after the busy life in the city. Still another few traffic lights to go
through now.
style=\'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt\'>Two cars of the fire brigade
flew by with wailing sirens. “Man, they’re in a hurry,” Duo said. The fact that
they blazed through the red light just like that showed that it was urgent.
Very urgent. And somewhere in the distance he could indeed see an enormous
cloud of smoke hanging in the air.
style=\'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt\'>Anyway, now that he was
waiting for the red light himself, he might as well check the voicemail of his
cell phone. Now, had he switched the sound back on or not?
style=\'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt\'>“What? Five new messages?
And they’re all from Hilde? That little tomboy, I told her I’d switch the sound
off,” he sighed. He\'d forgotten to turn it back onnormal\'>. Moron, that’s what you get when you walk with your head up in the
clouds like that.
style=\'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt\'>“Duo, there’s something
wrong with the television in our bedroom. Could you come home for a second,
please? Love ya.”
style=\'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt\'>“Duo, pick up the phone.
That damn briefing can’t take that long. There are little sparks coming
anymoro:p>o:p>
style=\'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt\'>Butterflies started to form
in his stomach, and they soon turned into fear when he heard the third message.
style=\'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt\'>“Duo, the tv has exploded!
What the hell do I do!?”
style=\'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt\'>In sheer desperation he pushed
his foot flat on the accelerator when the light finally switched to green, and
still with the \'phone on his ear he forced the speed of his car faster until
the motor was screaming .
style=\'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt\'>“Dammit, Hilde! Why haven’t
you called your father?! I told you I’d switch the sound off during the
mission!” he hollered. But a tiny whisper in his head reminded him again of his
unfortunate negligence.
normal\'>And
what else did you tell her? You told her you would switch it off during the
briefing, that’s true, but not during the mission. You told her you would
switch the sound back on after the briefing. She was under the assumption that
she could reach you at anytime during the rest of the day, when the briefing
was over. But did you do that? No. You forgot, Duo.
style=\'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt\'>“Dammit!!” he cursed. Tears
threatened to fall from his eyes and he could only blame himself.
style=\'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt\'>“The stairs have collapsed!
I’m stuck here! Duo, what’s taking you so long?!”
mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;mso-ansi-language:NL\'>“Duo! Duo, I’m afraid!
everywhere! Come on, pick up the phone!”
style=\'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt\'>The alarmed hollering of his
girlfriend in his ear made him fly through the streets at a speed which would
undoubtedly have gotten him a fine if he had the police chasing him right now,
but he had to get to that gray cloud as soon as possible, which was tragically
enough, situated at his address. The place was already littered witrbidrbid
sightseers and firemen, those last ones coming from the fire trucks he had seen
flashing by only a few minutes ago. The horrible screams took his breath away,
just as the biting smoke in his throat did when he wanted to barge into their
burning house. One of the neighbors pulled him back by his collar, so hard he
almost fell on the ground.
style=\'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt\'>“Are you out of yourd?!
d?!
The building’s on fire! For crying out loud, let the firemen do their work!”
style=\'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt\'>In a blind panic he jerked
himself away and ferociously shook his head. “No, I’ve got to help her! Hilde!
Hilde!” he hollered, running back to the door, heading for the painful and
scared shrieks of his girl. “Hilde! I’m coming, honey! Don’t be afraid now!” A
crashing sound and a loud rumbling made him look up. The roof broke down, and
when the sound had faded away, they could hear nothing but the crackling of the
flames. Hilde didn’t scream anymore.
style=\'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt\'>Hilde was dead.
style=\'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt\'>This it had to be. The pain
and the anguish were there, the grief and the tragedy, a burning feeling in
he
heart which seemed to eat him alive from the inside. And then the fire. The
licking flames, coloring the sky all red. this had to be hell, no question
about it. It was too much, too sudden, too unexpected. The blow was too hard,
and with his hand spasmodically clasped around something on his chest, he lost
consciousness and fell to the ground.
style=\'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt\'>~*~*~*~
style=\'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt\'>When he opened his eyes
again, he saw above him a white ceiling and from the corner of his right eye
some kind of iron construction with a plastic bag hanging down from it. From
there his gaze wandered to a little cupboard standing next to it, and when he
turned his head, his cheek touched the soft fabric of the pillow his head was
resting on. On the cupboard stood, except for a glass and a bottle of water, a
little box. He looked at it, examining it with his eyes and was just about to
reach out his hand to take a closer look at it, when he heard a voice on his
other side.
style=\'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt\'>“Thought you might want to
keep that with you.”
style=\'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt\'>He recognized the voice of
Trowa and turned his head into that direction. “Trowa, what are you doing
here?” he asked. “And what… what happened to me? Am I in
style=\'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt\'>Trowa’s face remained
expressionless, but inside he felt a bit annoyed that he was the one who had to
remind Duo of the fact that his girlfriend waad, ad, although they had never
found her body.
style=\'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt\'>“Don’t you remember, Duo?
Some roof tiles fell on your leg when you were trying to save Hilde. But don’t
worry about that leg of yours, that’s not too bad,” he explained.
style=\'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt\'>Duo shook his head in
confusion. “Save her? From what? I\'d just come home from work, right? I\'d just driven
home with that engagement ring in my pocket, ne?” he said, making a gesture
with his hands to the box. “I wanted to ask her to marry me. There wasn’t any
reason to…” He had gotten up a bit, but the shock as the sudden realization and
horcamecame flooding back made him fall back on his pillow. Everything started
turning inside his head, and he would’ve lost consciousness again, from misery alone,
if his friend hadn\'t laid a consoling
hand on his shoulder.
style=\'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt\'>“Hey, I’m s, pa, pal.
Really. She was one of a kind,” he said softly, in an attempt to soften Duo\'s
pain a bit.
style=\'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt\'>He didn\'t have to be told
she was one of a kind, her German temperament, her raven-black hair, her
beautiful eyes. Never would he find a girl like her again. And the way she
loved him; not for his money, coz he didn’t have any of that, no, she loved him
for who he was, the 20 year old street rat who was crazy about her from the
moment he first laid eyes on her. She the lady, he the tramp. But now, now he
would never see her anymore. He would never get the chance to see her ever
again, to feel her, to taste her and that mere thought filled his eyes with
tears. He looked at his friend, and although he\'d been told that boys shouldn’t
cry, he couldn\'t help it, he was weeping like a little child, weeping like he
had never wept before. Not when he at the age of twelve was torn in two for the
first time. That was physical pain, it would heal. Not when yet another one of
his buddies from the street died of starvation. He knew then he could be next,
and that thought had consoled him, that he could soon be back with his friends,
on the other side.
style=\'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt\'>But this was different. This
was the kind of heartache that would never go away, maybe lessen as the oiled
machine of life continued to turn, but it would never be entirely gone.
style=\'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt\'>“Go on, Duo. Go on and cry.
That’s a relief, isn’t it?” he soothed.
style=\'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt\'>The transparent fluid slowly
and regularly dripped from the plastic bag to the infusion. Trowa’s watch was
ticking softly, although time didn’t seem to exist any longer.
style=\'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt\'>Suddenly the two of them
were startled by a soft knock on the door. “I\'m not interrupting, am I? Can I
come in?” the man who stuck his head inside asked. It was Hilde’s father.
style=\'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt\'>“Mister Schbeiker, of course
you can come in,” Duo said, wiping his tears away with the back of his hand.
style=\'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt\'>“Can I talk to you in
private, Duo?” he asked in a monotone voice, a resolute look in his eyes.
style=\'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt\'>Duo gave a little nod with
his head. “Sure you can. Trowa…”
style=\'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt\'>Trowa didn’t need any words.
He took his jacket off the back of the chand and got out of there.
stylent-snt-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt\'>When Trowa had closed the
door behind him, there was a heavy silence in the air. Duo, who had expected to
hear some consoling words from Hilde\'s father, sighed and offered him a seat, but
the man kept on standing there and didn’t move an inch. Surprised, Duo looked
at him, and was startled to see the
sudden venom in his eyes. “Mister Schbeiker? What’s wrong?” he asked
insecurely.
style=\'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt\'>“Don’t you sit there like a
beaten dog, you coward,” the man growled.
style=\'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt\'>Excuse me? Coward?! Had he
heard that right? “What did you say, Mister Schbeiker?” he asked, dumbfounded.
“Me a coward? What makes you think that?”
style=\'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt\'>“You should have saved her.
Why didn’t you go inside?”
style=\'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt\'>“What the hell do you think
I was trying to do?! I was pulled back by my neighbor!”
style=\'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt\'>“That doesn’t stop you if
you really love someone, Duo. It’s all your fault.”
style=\'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0“Wha“What the hell are you
talking about?!” he shouted indignant. “I loved her, dammit! For crying out
loud, I was planning to ask her to marry me!”
style=\'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt\'>In one smooth movement Hilde\'s
father went from standing by the door to menacingly bowing over Duo in the bed.
NL\'>“Shotgun wedding, Duo?”
style=\'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt\'>“What?!” Duo yelled,
perplexed. at at all! How could you even consider thinking that?! I wanted to
marry her because I loved her!”
style=\'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt\'>“That’s not what I’ve been
told,” Hilde\'s father said softly. “Didn’t you know, Duo? She hadn’t told you
yet?”
style=\'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt\'>Duo looked at him, not
understanding a bit of the whole thing. What was he talking about? Why was he
acting so… insufferable?
style=\'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt\'>“She was pregnant, Duo. You
got her pregnant.”
style=\'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt\'>The American kept on staring
in front of him for a few moments, paralyzed by the impact of his words, but
then ferociously shook his head. “No, that’s impossible! We have always been
careful!” he shouted.
style=\'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt\'>“Oh, so it was an accident then?”
her father cleverly anticipated.
style=\'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt\'>Duo had a strong tendency as
a natural reflex to answer an unfortunate “yes” on that, coz they indeed hadn’t
planned it, but just in time he managed to bite his tongue off and swallow that
little word. “That’s not what I said,” he stated as calmly as possible.
style=\'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt\'>“It appeared like that,” the
other man said.
style=\'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt\'>Duo tried to swallow the
lump in his throat and to pull himself together, at least until her father was
gone. “It wasn’t an accident,” Duo growled.
style=\'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt\'>Their eyes were exchanging
sparks and the tension between them couldn’t even be cut with the sharpest
knife. Finally the German turned away and stood up again. “If you say so,” he
sighed. “But keep in mind, Duo, you’re not getting away with this.” And with
those words he left the broken man sitting in his bed. What had gotten into
that man? He was about to be his father-in-law. It seemed to Duo that he was
actually enjoying seeing him suffer like that, to thicken his misery a bit
more. They never had gotten along with each other very well for some gloomy
reason, but this time he had really outdone himself. Pregnant. Why hadn’t she
told him? Of course, he figured, it was only natural for her to tell her father
first, but he would have been next, right?
style=\'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt\'>And then all of a sudden he
realized, the surprise, she told him she had a surprise for him. That must’ve
been it. But how did this happen? The child wouldbeenbeen more than welcome, no
doubt about that, it was his heart’s desire, only he\'d wanted to wait until
after the wedding. Nice work, Duo. Now
there are two lives ruined. Burned up, just because he had switched the
fucking cell phone off. His mind was a mess,
running around in circles and continuously coming back to the same
conclusion: her father was right, it *was* his fault. Why hadn’t they just let
him run inside, so he could have died together with her? Why had his neighbor,
with all the good intentions in the world, pulled him back? What in the world
had he done wrong to continue his life without Hilde?
style=\'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt\'>
style=\'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt\'>To be continued…
mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:\"Times New Roman\";mso-fareast-font-family:
\"Times New Roman\";mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:NL;mso-bidi-language:
AR-SA\'>
always\'>