Disclaimer: Does everyone have to remind me of how I don't own them? *sob* I try so hard to forget…anyway, the Gundam Wing characters aren't mine. The only character in this fic that belongs to me is Christine, mainly because I made her up. 'Kay? 'Kay.

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1
~~

Her name was Christine Ingleton the first time Hilde had met her. Soon to be Christine Maxwell a year from then.

She was absolutely gorgeous. Cropped blond hair just below her ears, shining turquoise eyes, and a slim figure. She was much taller than Hilde, and (due to the fact that Hilde had always been described as one who was "cute," not "pretty" in terms of looks) all of her combined features made her feel very uncomfortable around the newly recruited Sweeper.

Duo, however, had taken to her instantly when they'd met on the job. He couldn't stop talking about how surprisingly similar they were and Hilde simply nodded her head in response, plastering a fake smile on her face to hide the resentment she felt growing in her about the girl.

Eventually, as she knew it would probably end up happening, Duo and Christine started dating. That was when Duo decided it was time for Hilde to actually meet her, so they planned on having dinner together, all three of them, one night.

Hilde remembered how she'd tried getting out of it. Saying that she still had work to do, that she wasn't feeling very well…but then Duo would look at her with his innocent baby expression and she felt a tugging in her heart that made her eventually agree. After all, this WAS the girl that was making her Duo's life so happy.

HER Duo. She rolled over onto her side in bed, thinking how strange it was that she still called him that in her mind…even when he now belonged to someone else.

You still love him, girl…how can you deny that?

When Hilde came into the living room that day, she heard laughter coming from the porch. Her throat constricted when she realized that one of the voices was Duo's and the other one a soprano…that had to be Christine.

They came in together smiling, Duo's arm wrapped around the taller girl's waist. He grinned when he saw Hilde standing there, not noticing that she seemed frozen to the spot her feet were on.

"Hey, Hilde! I'd like you to meet Christine." He said, motioning to the girl next to him.

The girl tore away from Duo's hold on her waist and walked towards Hilde, a bright smile on her face, "So you're the famous Hilde Schibecker that Duo's always talking about, huh? I'm so glad to finally meet you!" then, she did something very surprising, and somewhat uncomfortable to Hilde, and wrapped her arms around the dark-haired girl's shoulders, pulling her into a friendly embrace.

Hilde was caught off-guard by this and blinked, hesitatingly returning the hug, "It's…um…nice to meet you too, Christine." She said.

Christine finally released her and gave another huge smile, "You don't have to call me that. Christine sounds so formal! Everyone calls me Chrissy."

She nodded dumbly, seeing the energetic sparkle in the girl's eyes. She reminded her a lot of Duo…no wonder he'd fallen for her so quickly.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that Duo was smiling at the two of them broadly. She forced a faint smile on her own face, and asked Christine what she wanted for dinner.

As she quickly found out, Hilde could not really force herself to dislike Duo's chosen love for very long. Christine was extremely nice and her optimism could catch to other people like wildfire. It was impossible for her not to smile during their conversations. And Hilde was glad that there was someone else who cared for Duo the way she did…

Of course, whenever the two were together, some kind of sadness forced its way into her heart. She wanted to be happy for them, especially Duo…but something didn't seem right to her. It hurt to see another person sharing what she would have given anything to be able to share with Duo…

It had become painfully obvious during this time, to her, of how in love with Duo Maxwell she had been. Even though she'd been annoyed by some of his antics more than once, there was no mistaking that she'd always cared for him. It just wasn't until the time he had started to date Christine that she'd realized how deeply in love she actually was…and, by that time, it was too late.

…Duo and Christine were in love and Hilde was never able to bring herself to tell Duo how she felt. They were happy together, she didn't want to ruin that.

So, instead, she moved out of the house, telling Duo that it was time she grew up and didn't depend on him so much. He'd argued against it for awhile, then finally agreed after she'd been able to convince him that she would be okay on her own (although she had to visit at least once a week, and call a lot).

A few weeks after she'd moved into her new tiny three-room apartment, Duo called and told her that he had asked Christine to move in with him. She'd smiled sadly at that, looking out her apartment's only window, "That's great, Duo…I'm happy for you."

Two months later…and they were married. Hilde had attended the wedding, along with an assortment of both the bride and groom's friends. She smiled as she watched them say their vows, looking into each other's eyes happily and, even though she was happy for them, her heart wrenched painfully. Later that night, the tears she ended up shedding alone were out of both happiness and sadness.

It was strange, she could almost feel them falling down her face at this moment…the girl unconsciously brought her hand up against her cheek. She felt a familiar wetness on them and sighed. It seemed as if she was always waking up crying now.

Opening her blue eyes, Hilde turned to face the light streaming into the bedroom from her window. It was pretty bright outside now, and she wondered how long she'd slept this time.

At least I don't have to start work until noon…she thought groggily, getting up out of bed and heading sleepily towards the bathroom.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The boy stared straight at the door in front of him, his expression, as usual, blank. He clenched his fist, but made no move to raise it and knock on the door. Instead, his gaze traveled down to the paper in his hand.

Was this really the right address that Duo had given him over the phone? It seemed surprising to him that SHE would live in a place like this…

Knowing that he wouldn't find out if this was the correct place by just standing there, the boy raised his fist and knocked quietly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A splash of cold water on her face caused Hilde to become fully awake and alert. She sighed, reaching out for the towel that was left hanging next to the sink, and used it to dry her face.

It was then that the light sound of someone knocking on the apartment's door caught her attention.

"Hmm?" she looked up, hanging the towel again, "I wonder who that could be…"

She wasn't expecting anyone until noon, when her customers usually came by to inform her of any repairs they needed her to do. Exiting the bathroom, she was unconsciously wiping her still wet black bangs away from her face. They fell down again a moment later and she frowned in frustration, and decided to leave them be for the moment.

"Just a minute!" she called out to whoever was knocking on her door, removing the deadbolt from its place and unlocking the door.

She swung it open quickly to see who the person was, a quick question forming on her lips on what they wanted, but her eyes suddenly widened in surprise at who she found standing there. Any question she had been going to ask died as her mouth fell open.

An emerald eye stared at her blankly, the other one was hidden from view by brown bangs, "Hello, Hilde." The boy said quietly, his voice as emotionless as his expression was.

Hilde swallowed hard, blinking in shock, "Trowa?!?" she finally managed to get out, wondering what Duo's friend was doing here.

~~
2
~~

Trowa Barton's face maintained its usual neutral expression as he regarded Hilde for a few moments and thought of her question. Slowly, he opened his mouth and started to speak, "Can I come in?"

"Huh?" the dark-haired girl blinked and an embarrassed look came onto her face when she realized that she was still in the middle of the doorway and hadn't invited her unexpected guest inside (which meant zero points for her towards being a good hostess). Quickly, she moved out of his way, "Yeah…sure…" she mumbled, motioning for him to step inside.

He slipped quietly past her and into the small apartment, his visible green eye skimming over everything. Hilde almost blushed and looked down at the floor, embarrassed. Not living with anyone had made her be a little sloppy, and it showed by the articles of clothing and magazines that cluttered the apartment.

If I'd known someone was coming…she thought, biting down on her lip.

"It's a nice place."

Trowa's words caught Hilde off-guard, and she looked up in surprise to find him once again staring at her. She had to keep herself from turning away from his gaze, it felt as if he was staring directly inside of her…as if he knew everything…

"Really?" she managed to choke out after a few minutes, "You don't think it's too…small?"

He shrugged his shoulders at the question and the girl had to let out a small sigh. That was typical Trowa behavior for you. From the times she'd talked to him since meeting him through Duo, she'd come to realize that the brown-haired boy was practically inept at making conversation.

Turning her attention back to the couch, Hilde unconsciously knocked one of her sweaters off its arm, "…That was Duo's biggest complaint about the place. How could anyone live in a place so tiny?" she closed her eyes as she remembered the argument they'd had the day she'd showed him the place, "But I…I felt it was time that I started living on my own, you know?"

Because of Christine: because Duo and her were happy together and I didn't want to get in the way…the thought swirled around in her head despite Hilde's best efforts and she took a few moments to shake it away before glancing back over at Trowa. He still hadn't moved from the spot he had been standing on since coming in, his blank eye was still on her.

Shifting uncomfortably under the emerald green gaze, Hilde cleared her throat and moved towards him, "So, Trowa…you still haven't said what brought you here. Aren't you still working at the circus?"

He nodded as she went into the small kitchen area and poured herself a glass of orange juice, "We're doing a couple of shows here on L3 this week." Came his quiet response after a few moments.

Hilde nodded her head in understanding, sipping some of the orange juice from her glass. It came into her mouth sour and pulpy and she had to suppress a wince. Glancing at the carton for the expiration date, she wondered how long it had been since she'd last been to the grocery store.

"Catherine wanted me to come and tell you that." He paused, searching for the right words, "We…hope that you'll be able to see the opening night."

She smiled at this, it had been awhile since she'd last done anything fun or seen any of Duo's friends, "Sure, I'd be glad to come. What day is it?"

"This Monday, eight o'clock." Trowa silently reached into one of his jeans' pockets and took out a piece of paper, "These are the directions." He said, handing them to her.

"Thanks." She glanced over them briefly and then looked up at the boy, her blue eyes regarding his visible green one carefully. Another thought had crossed her mind and although she already knew the answer to the question, she asked anyway, "Hey, Trowa…where'd you get the directions to this place? I don't remember telling you or Catherine where I was moving…"

"I talked to Duo before coming here, he gave me the directions." He paused again, as though he was wondering how Hilde would react to the next bit of information, "Christine and him will also be there."

This caused the all-familiar wrenching in her heart to begin again and she blinked. She'd talked to both of them on the phone, but hadn't seen either Christine or Duo since the wedding. And now, to see them together, laughing and holding each other while she still felt so strange, so alone…

"You don't have to come if you don't want to." Trowa's words broke through her thoughts, "I'm sure that Catherine would understand."

Hilde blinked in surprise and looked up at him. Had she made her feelings so obvious just then that even Trowa Barton, whom never showed any emotions, could tell what she had been thinking? As she continued to stare at him, she could almost see something that looked like some kind of sympathy in his eye…

She shook her head, "No, I want to come. I haven't seen you or Catherine in such a long time…and maybe I can catch up on what's happening with the newlyweds while I'm at it." She told him.

"Are you sure?" something in his voice sounded different as he asked the question, but Hilde wasn't sure exactly what it was.

Nodding her head, the girl forced a small smile onto her face, "Of course I am, I'll be fine!" she glanced down at her watch quickly, "Shouldn't you get going now? Your sister might start to worry if you're gone too long."

He nodded his head and headed towards the door, Hilde right behind him, "Goodbye, Trowa…thanks for coming all this way. Tell Catherine that I'll see both of you at the opening on Monday." She said, waving cheerfully from the doorway as he walked outside.

The brown-haired boy nodded, "Goodbye, Hilde, I'll see you then." He said quietly as he turned and started walking away from the apartment.

As soon as Trowa's back was turned, Hilde immediately dropped her cheerful act. Slumping down her shoulders, she let out a sigh and closed the door. She didn't notice that Trowa had turned his head back at that moment, a look of something unrecognizable on his features flashing over his face before he turned around again and continued walking away from her apartment.

I shouldn't have said I'd go. she thought, biting her lip, Duo's going to be there, and so will Christine…

She remembered one of the times when she had still been living in Duo's house, and the three of them had been eating dinner together. Both of them had been laughing and winking at each other the entire time, as if they knew some secret that she didn't, it had made her so sad to know that she wasn't the one sharing that secret with Duo…

…And the sudden realization had come to her that, if she wasn't meant to have that kind of happiness with him, then she was probably not meant to share it with anyone. After all, Duo had always been there for her. Despite everything, during the war and afterwards…

Hugging her sides tightly, Hilde took in a deep breath and kept reminding herself over and over again of how much she liked both Duo and Christine, they were two of her closest friends now and she was happy for them, how happy she SHOULD be for them.

But you're not really happy at all, are you, Hilde? If you were happy, then you wouldn't be feeling so bad about everything…

Sighing, the girl shook her head and tried to drive those thoughts out of her head. She went back into the kitchen to get some breakfast ready and prepare for the rest of the day.

After all, she already knew that this day was probably going to be another long one for her…

~~
3
~~<[> "Hilde, is that you?"

The girl looked down from the stands of people to see a young woman with curly brown hair and violet eyes smiling up at her. She forced a smile onto her face and waved, already coming down off the stands to talk to Trowa's sister, Catherine Bloom.

Catherine hugged her tightly, and, as soon as she released her, commented, "You're here pretty early."

She shrugged absentmindedly, "Oh…well, I just wanted to find a good spot to sit." Her blue eyes took in the tent around her as she said this. Maybe she had come a bit too early. There were only a few other people in the stands, and the early acts for the show were just now getting ready…Catherine wasn't even in her performing outfit yet for her knife throwing act.

"That was probably a good idea." The older woman was saying, "Actually, one of our last trips here was a sell-out, so it might get crowded later…"

Hilde nodded absentmindedly to what she was saying, not really paying it too much attention. Her eyes were drifting towards the entrance of the tent. She wondered when Duo and Christine were going to be coming here…

Her stomach tightened at the thought, and she bit her lip nervously, hands clenched at her sides. Was she really ready to see them yet? What if she said or did something that…

She closed her eyes, trying not to think about it.

…That…

"…Actually, I'm really glad that you decided to come. It's been a long while since we've seen each other." Catherine's warm voice said, "I'm sure that Trowa's glad too."

THAT caught her attention. Hilde opened her eyes and looked at Catherine, a somewhat confused expression on her face, "Why do you say that?" she asked, blinking.

A violet eye winked shut conspiratorially, "Because he's the one who wanted you to come! Didn't he tell you that?"

Hilde shook her head. That wasn't what Trowa had told her, he had said that it was Catherine who had sent him…why would he cover his feelings up like that?

But, then again, from what she knew of him, Trowa Barton wasn't exactly one of the most open people around. He had always acted distant, and covering up his emotions almost seemed natural to him. With those expressionless eyes and blank tone of voice, it was hard for anyone to really see any kind of emotion in him at all… It's like he's always wearing a mask to hide his feelings. she thought to herself, But, then again, so am I…otherwise I wouldn't try so hard to cover up my feelings when I'm with Duo and Christine…

"Sis."

The familiar voice that went running through her head caused Hilde to look up at the new person who had just come up behind Catherine. Sure enough, it was Trowa. She had to hide an embarrassed blush, it figured that he'd show up when she was just thinking about him…

Catherine turned her back on Hilde so that she could talk to her younger brother, "What is it, Trowa?"

"…The manager says that we should be getting ready soon." Trowa's voice, as usual, held the blank tone Hilde had grown accustomed to hearing from him.

The woman sighed and tapped her foot on the floor, "All right, I guess it wouldn't hurt to practice a little, anyway." She turned back to Hilde, smiling, and gave her a friendly wave, "Why don't you go and sit down now, Hilde? The first acts will probably be starting soon."

Hilde nodded and offered a slight smile, "All right." She said, watching her leave.

The moment his sister had gone, she felt the boy's visible emerald eye on her. She turned her head so that she was staring at him as well.

"You decided to come." He said.

She gave a small shrug and smiled again, "Well…I did say I would, and it's been a while since I've seen you and Catherine in action…"

He raised an eyebrow at this.

"…And, besides…" Hilde paused, looking over at him uncomfortably. It felt strange confiding in someone about this, but it seemed as though, on some level, he understood what she was feeling. Besides, it was Trowa she was talking to, not Duo, he probably wouldn't blab about it to anyone, "It's been a while since I've been with a lot of people."

"I see." The two stood in silence for a few moments, and she had to take in a deep breath. Why was he just staring at her like that? It had been a long time since she had been under this kind of scrutiny…and the sudden silence was driving her somewhat insane. "Um, Trowa…shouldn't you be getting ready with Catherine?" she finally managed to blurt out, breaking the silence. He nodded and turned to leave. Hilde sighed, somewhat in relief, as she turned back to the stands to get a seat.

"Hilde."

"Hmm?" his voice was so quiet when he'd said her name that she'd barely even heard him, however, when she turned around again, Hilde found that he was staring directly at her again, "What's wrong?"

It took a few moments, but the brown-haired boy tore his gaze away from her face and turned to go again, "I'm…glad that you could come." He said under his breath.

She smiled at this, and, for some reason, she felt her cheeks start to get warm, "So am I, Trowa. Good luck with your performance!"

He paused for a moment, glancing back at her quickly his visible eye, before heading in the same direction that Catherine had gone in. Hilde watched him go, then shook her head and headed up the stands to get a good view of what was about to come.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Hey, Hilde!"

She looked up just in time to see her former housemate's smiling face as him and the blond following him walked over and sat by her in the stands. A nervous feeling came into her stomach again, but the girl tried to ignore it.

Hilde smiled warmly at them, "Hi Duo, Christine…I didn't think you'd make it."

The cute boy turned away from Christine for a moment to wink at her, "You know me," he told her, a gleam in his violet eyes, "I'm always one to make an entrance!"

"Don't I know it." She smiled, then turned her attention back to the circus ring. The acts were just about to start…

"So, Hilde," it was Christine's voice she heard, "We haven't seen you in such a long time. What's up?"

Duo frowned at this, turning his eyes back on the dark-haired girl as well, "Yeah, you barely even returned any of the calls we made to your new place. Did your slumlord disconnect the phones or something?"

She rolled her eyes at this. Hilde had moved out several months ago…and Duo was still upset about her apartment?

Unbelievable…!

Sighing, she shook her head, "No, Duo…and he's NOT a slumlord." The girl paused, running a finger down the course of her jeans legs, "I've just been…busy, that's all."

"Oh." He raised a brown eyebrow, "But you at least could have returned one of our calls, you know!" "I know. Sorry." She smiled sheepishly, turning away again.

"It's alright." Christine smiled at her and leaned over Duo, "Actually, Hilde, I was wondering if maybe you and I could go out sometime? Maybe to dinner and then to shopping or something."

"Shopping?"

The blond nodded enthusiastically, "You know…girl stuff. It's been a while since I've had any rest from this grease monkey."

"Hey!" the boy's voice sounded mock offended, "Who are you calling a monkey?"

Hilde ignored him and nodded her head, it had been a while since she had last gone and done anything remotely fun. Plus…she caught a look in Christine's eyes. She was really trying to be friends with her, and the girl was rather nice…

Another reason I could never tell Duo how I…

"That sounds great, Christine. I'd love to do that sometime." She told her.

She beamed excited, "Really? Thanks, Hilde!" the girl sounded relieved at something. Hilde raised her eyebrow at this, "Thanks for what?"

Her face looked flushed for a moment, and Christine's next words came out rather low, "Well, I used to think that-"

"LADIES!" Duo cut through their conversation, putting his hands up as if to remind them that he was still present, "If you two want to fight over me later, that's fine…but the show's about to start!"

Christine sat up straight at this, rolling her eyes at her husband. Hilde simply sighed, "Whatever, Duo." She mumbled under her breath, sitting up straight and turning back to watch the ring.

The stage lights dimmed, and the circus manager came into view. Duo wrapped his arm around Christine's waist, and both leaned together as the manager announced the first acts. Hilde smiled at this, feeling that familiar pang of loneliness in her heart, before turning back to see what was going on.

…After all, Trowa and Catherine's performance would be up soon enough, and she didn't want to miss it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "…And now, ladies and gentlemen," the ring master's voice boomed throughout the circus tent, "It is my pleasure to introduce one of our most favorite acts…please welcome Catherine Bloom and Trowa Barton!"

The lights suddenly glared up again in the middle of the ring, fully showing the two figures that had been covered in shadow beforehand. There stood Catherine and Trowa, the young woman wearing her traditional performance outfit (complete with the throwing knives in her hand), and the boy behind her was dressed up in a clown costume, one side of his face completely covered with a mask.

Hilde, Duo, and Christine applauded along with the rest of the crowd as Catherine waved, a huge smile on her face. Her brother, however, remained still and silent throughout the applause until it ended.

Catherine, turning her head to the boy, gave a sharp nod. He blinked once in affirmation with his visible eye, then turned and stood with his back to a pole a few feet away.

The crowd became very silent as the young brunette closed her eyes in concentration. She took a few deep breaths, and opened her eyes once again, the hand with her knives coming up over her head. In a deliberate, practiced motion, she took one of the knives into her other hand and moved her body as if trying to get a clear shot of the pole.

The girl's blue eyes widened at this, and she clenched her fists together tightly. It had been a while since she'd last seen their act…

In a swift motion that was the complete opposite of her slow getting ready, Catherine threw the knife at her younger brother. It narrowly passed by his face, and, with a soft thud, embedded itself into the wooden post behind him.

In that same graceful movement, the young woman threw all of the knives towards Trowa. Each one, at one point in the air, seemed to be actually going to stab him, but the clown remained impassive and stood still. Each time a knife was thrown, there was the sound of a thud as it came into contact with the wood of the post, almost touching the boy's body.

The applause that followed this performance was deafening. Catherine turned to the crowd and smiled cheerfully, waving her arm in the air. Moving from his position near the post, where several knives were forming the outline of his body, Trowa Barton gracefully bent over in a sweeping bow motion, holding his hand up in the air as he did so.

As soon as the crowd had quieted, Trowa stood up once again. He turned his gaze to his sister, who smiled at him and nodded her head. Then, she waved once again, collected her knives from the post, and headed out of the ring.

The manager of the circus once again came out, "And now, for your enjoyment…the sensational Trowa Barton will showcase one of his natural abilities…with one of our lions!"

Movement came from out of the ring, and a growl could be heard as a male lion came into the light. Some people gasped, but Hilde remained silent. After all…she'd seen this act once before.

Trowa remained perfectly still as he stared at his new companion. The lion growled again, but moved very little.

Then, in the same deliberately slow motion that his sister had used before, the boy extended his arm towards the lion. It stared at him for few moments, as if waiting for some cue to make its move.

Quickly, and almost imperceptible to most of the people in the stands, Trowa's lips moved. It was in that instance that the lion charged him, looking as though it was going to pounce.

Christine gasped at this, and Duo shushed her, "Quiet, Chris!" he told her, anticipation gleaming in his violet eyes, "You're going to miss it!"

Just as the lion was about to reach Trowa, he jumped into the air with the practiced grace of an acrobat. His body was a blur of green and blue as he flipped backwards behind the lion, landing on his feet on the ground perfectly.

The lion stopped its charge abruptly, then turned and headed in the direction Trowa was now in. Once again, the brown-haired boy leaped into the air, his body twisting expertly into the flip. This time, his feet touched the lion's back as it continued to run around the ring.

The crowd clapped tremendously at the boy, who was now standing perfectly still on the moving creature's back, hand upraised. As he passed, Hilde suddenly remembered the first time she'd seen Trowa perform with the lion…

"I could fall in love with that clown…"

A tiny smile spread across her face at this, and she stood up along with Duo and Christine in order to give their friend a standing ovation.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Catherine met them outside the circus tent, now dressed in her regular clothes. As usual, a large smile was on her face as she walked over. In her hands was her now folded up performance outfit.

"Hey!" Duo greeted her, waving his hand, "That was an excellent performance!"

She blinked, "You thought so?" a frown appeared on her lips for a second, "I had thought that my aim was a little off…"

He shrugged, a sly grin spreading over his handsome face, "Well, it wouldn't really have mattered that much anyway, I doubt Trowa would be the one to whine over lost blood."

"Duo!" both Christine and Hilde shouted at the same time.

The boy flinched and looked at both of them, an innocent expression on his face, "What? I was just saying---"

Catherine shook her head, trying to hide a smile that was forming on the edges of her mouth, "You haven't changed a bit, Duo." She said quietly.

"Well, that's me…Mr. Original!"

"I'm sure." Hilde sighed, looking down at her feet.

"So…" Christine was saying, "Where's Trowa?"

"He's changing." "Oh. You know…that was an incredible act that he did."

"That's my brother!" the woman beamed, "My little Trowa always brings the house down with that one!"

For a moment, the four stood in silence. Duo was humming something under his breath, an annoying little tune that Hilde couldn't remember what it was from…and staring at the ground. His wife seemed to wait a few more seconds and then, finally getting a bit impatient, elbowed the boy slightly in the ribs.

"Huh? Oh…yeah, that's right!" he turned to Catherine and Hilde, "You know, if you guys…and Trowa, want to go over to our place tonight to chat and stuff…that's all right with us."

Hilde frowned at this and looked down at her watch. It was getting rather late…and, besides, did she really want to go over to their house right now? Especially since…

"That sounds all right to me." Catherine took in a deep breath and walked off, "I'll leave a note for Trowa in my trailer, I have to put this costume away, anyway. How about I catch up with you later?"

"That sounds good." Duo turned around to face his friend and former housemate, eyes pleading, "What about you, Hilde? Are ya comin' or what?"

"…" she looked away nervously, shaking her head, "Sorry, Duo, but I want to stay here for a little while…you know how much I like the circus."

"Oh…" his expression became crestfallen and she had to sigh at how babyish he looked when he acted like that. "Oh, lighten up, Duo…I'm not the one who isn't normally around, you know! I can always drop by later!"

"True." Once again, his smile reappeared on his face and he straightened his shoulders, "Well, you know where we'll be if you change your mind!" he said, locking Christine's arm with his.

"I know." She smiled at them.

"Hilde…"

The girl looked up to see Christine staring at her questionably as she was being dragged off with Duo. She managed to mouth out, "Are you sure?"

Hilde nodded her head, waving at them, "I'm sure. Go on and have fun, Chris, Duo…I don't want to disturb anything." She said.

Christine smiled at this and waved before turning back to Duo. Hilde watched them walk off, their arms around each other as they did so. She sighed and closed her eyes, running a hand through her short black hair.

She ended up finding a very quiet spot near the big top. Sitting down on a shady bench, the girl blinked and let out another deep breath as she watched the people leaving the circus.

After a few minutes, her eyelids started drooping. Hilde yawned, covering her mouth with her hand. It was pretty late. Maybe she should get going…

"Hilde." A soft voice said in her ear.

The girl nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt a warm hand clasp down on her shoulder. Letting out a small scream of surprise, she bolted upright and spun around to face whoever it was that had scared her like that.

One visible blank green eye stared back at her, the other was covered by brown hair. An eyebrow rose questioningly on the handsome face.

"Tro…Trowa." She sighed in relief, "You really shouldn't scare me like that."

Sinking back onto the bench, Hilde tried to calm herself down by taking in a few deep breaths of hair. Her heart had started to beat normally again by the time she looked back up at the boy, who was now dressed in regular street clothes, her own blue eyes filled with questions as she waited for him to say something.

~~
4
~~

The boy waited a few moments before finally shrugging his shoulders, "…Sorry." He said quietly, referring to nearly scaring her to death. Hilde Schibecker sighed, "That's all right." she smiled, "That was a pretty good job you did back there!"

He raised an eyebrow, saying nothing.

"I mean it. Especially with the lion…that's the second time I've seen that act." The girl mused, "How do you do that, anyway?"

"Do what?" Trowa seemed confused by her question.

She took another deep breath, "You know…work with the lions. I'd probably be too scared…"

A glimmer of understanding caught in the boy's green eye, and he sat down next to Hilde on the bench, "The trick is to not be scared." He said quietly, his voice so faint that she could barely hear him.

"What?"

"Lions…and other animals, can sense fear. Creatures that are afraid of them might try to attack them, so they remain on guard." Hilde nodded her head, saying nothing.

The boy reached down, touching a loose stone that was underneath his legs, "If a lion senses no fear in you…if you show yourself as not being a threat, then they will accept you."

"Oh…"

He turned his head back in her direction, regarding her carefully, "Do you understand?" he asked.

"I…I think so."

Trowa Barton turned his attention to the crowds of people that were still around the circus. He said nothing as both of them sat. It was Hilde, remembering something, that spoke up first.

"So, Trowa…did you see Catherine when you got changed?"

He shook his head, "No, but I did read her letter."

"Are you going over to Duo's and Christine's place, then?" she asked.

The boy responded with another shake of his head. Slowly, he rose up from the bench and started walking towards the trailers behind the tent.

Hilde followed him shortly after, almost having to go into a jog to keep up with his sweeping walking pace, "Why not?" she asked, suddenly curious.

"Why aren't you going?" the boy countered. His tone wasn't really defensive, just…she couldn't tell what exactly.

"I…" she stopped walking, lowering her gaze to the ground, "Well…"

A hand touched her shoulder, and she looked up into Trowa's face, "Hilde…it's alright."

"Huh?" she blinked her clear blue eyes, confused at his statement. She could've almost sworn that she saw the corners of his mouth curve upwards a little bit, if only for a minute.

"I know how you feel…about Duo."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "…Was I that obvious?" she took the mug from Trowa's outstretched hand and looked down at its dark contents, the steam hitting her face as she did so.

"Not to everyone."

They were sitting in Trowa's trailer, where the boy had taken her after making his statement, promising coffee. Sure enough, a few minutes later he proved true to his word, and Hilde was ready to start discussing some things.

"…I don't think anyone else really ever found out." The boy told her, sipping some of his coffee.

She smiled sadly, still not drinking her beverage, "Save for Christine." She mumbled under her breath.

Trowa said nothing to this, so she took a deep breath of air and continued, "…That's why I didn't want to say anything, when I finally realized what I was feeling. Duo was so happy with her, and Christine was so nice to me…I didn't feel like I was up to ruining what they had."

Closing her eyes, she turned away from him, "But now it just seems as if…" she paused, then shook her head, "I…really…don't know how to describe it."

Her hands were shaking slightly, and Hilde forced her eyes open. The mug in her hands was about to fall right out of her grasp…

Trowa took the mug away from her, putting it on the table so that it wouldn't spill. Gently, he grabbed hold of her hands and held them together until the shaking passed. A blush formed on Hilde's cheeks because of this action.

"I understand what it feels like." The boy said, removing his hands from around hers.

She looked at him questioningly, wondering what he was getting at.

He turned his face towards the trailer's window, his visible eye scanning the sky. Slowly, in his usual deadpan voice, he said, "I kept thinking that you and Duo would get together someday."

"…" her eyes widened at this, and she tried to open her mouth to say something, but she found that she couldn't.

"Duo was one of my few friends, I didn't want to do anything to upset him. And you…" he turned his eye back on her, and it almost seemed to shimmer with sadness, "I wanted you to be happy, Hilde."

With that, Trowa Barton sat back down on his bed at the end of the trailer, not looking at her. His face once again showed no emotions on it. Like a blank slate.

…Or a mask…

"…Trowa…" Hilde wasn't sure what she was doing, but she quietly moved over to sit next to him on the bed.

He turned to look over at her, and the black-haired girl leaned forward quickly, pressing her lips against his for a split second. She brought her head back quickly, a blush forming once again on her face.

Trowa's emerald eye was now incredibly large with surprise. He blinked, slowly, as if trying to clear something out of his head. A whole display of emotions that she'd never seen on him before played across his face, and she had to smile at that.

She pressed her lips against his a second time, and felt him slowly start to return it this time. His arms wrapped themselves around her waist, and Hilde felt both of their bodies leaning onto the mattress.

When the kiss finally ended, Hilde hugged Trowa's body warmly. She leaned her head against his shoulder, a smile forming on her lips.

"Trowa…?" she asked, not opening her eyes.

"Hmm?" the boy's response was slow, and she could feel his heart beating rapidly in his chest.

Slowly, she leaned her head upwards and whispered, "Thank you." Into his ear, before turning back to rest her head on his shoulder.

Because her eyes were closed, Hilde did not notice that Trowa was looking down at her form then…a slight smile on his usually expressionless features.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Dawn was just coming out when Hilde opened her eyes once again. She yawned tiredly and looked at her surroundings. This wasn't her apartment…

No, it was Trowa's trailer. Her eyes widened at this. So it wasn't just a dream she had…

The warmth in her arms moved slightly, and the girl looked down to see that the two of them were still entwined with each other. Trowa's breathing on her skin was so warm…on impulse, she reached over and moved the hair that was usually covering half his face from view.

He was as handsome as she'd thought he'd been the day she had proclaimed to Duo that she could have fallen in love with the clown. And, unlike those early days, either, he didn't look so unemotional to her. Even his lips seemed to be curving upwards slightly…inwardly, she wondered if she looked any different as well.

…Probably. She felt better now, stronger than before. It was as if she had revealed something that night…perhaps taken some façade away…

…Like a mask… Hilde smiled at the thought, shaking her head. Her eyes caught onto Trowa's face again, and she smiled at the difference she saw from those earlier times, It looks we both did.

Leaning upwards, the girl kissed Trowa's cheek lightly before turning back to rest her head on his shoulder once again. In response to the light touch on his face, the boy tightened his embrace on her body, securely fastening her in his comforting warmth.

Hilde Schibecker sighed, closing her eyes. It had been a very long time since she'd last felt this content in her life.

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