[gw ficlet] Mars Has No Atmosphere (Yet)
Mars Has No Atmosphere (Yet)
by Thistlerose
Rating: PG-13
Ship: Duo/Hilde
Setting: post-EW
Summary: Starting over isn't easy.
Notes: For arbaasanruth who requested cute Duo/Hilde, in which he does not hate her guts (because that would be insanely OOC). This is my first GW fic in well over a year. As a result, it's mostly dialogue-centric as I used the fic to reaquaint myself with the characters. Unbeta'd. Approx. 950 words.
Too tired for satisfaction, Hilde punched in the last few letters of her report, saved her file, backed it up, closed the program, and flopped back in her chair with a gusty sigh. The chair swiveled, but she lacked the strength to push it away from the console. She simply sat there, her head back, arms crossed loosely over her chest, her legs dangling. She would have to rise eventually, but it wasn’t eventually yet, and she hoped it would not be eventually for some time.
The bridge door opened behind her, and she knew from the footfalls that the newcomer had to be Duo. Reminding herself that it took far fewer muscles to smile than to frown, Hilde attempted to force the corners of her lips upward. It took too much effort; she’d been frowning at the screen for so long that her lips must have frozen in a frown. Her grandma always warned her that would happen.
She did manage a quiet, “Mmm,” when Duo cupped and squeezed her shoulders.
“You’re all stiff,” he observed.
“Mmhmm.”
“Been working long?”
“MmmHHM.”
“Poor Hilde.”
“Blahh,” she agreed.
“At least you’re not working with Zechs,” Duo went on, massaging her aching shoulders and neck. “He might’ve toned down his act a bit, but he’s still a stinking aristocrat.”
“What’d he do?” asked Hilde tiredly.
“Nothing,” said Duo. “It’s just the way he talks. ‘I think we should…blah blah blah.’ And then he just assumes we’ll do it. He acts all surprised anytime one of us has a different idea. He doesn’t get too pissy. Not with Noin there. But he gets so…you know. Lofty. Magnanimous. Like it’s such an honor for us that he’s willing to listen to us.”
“But he does,” said Hilde.
“Yeah, he does,” Duo admitted. “What good’s a leader who won’t listen to his underlings? Dude, I never thought I’d be one of Zechs Merquise’s underlings.”
“’Dude’?” said Hilde, tilting her head back and blinking at him.
“Dude,” repeated Duo. “This definitely calls for a ‘dude’.”
This time Hilde managed the grin. Maybe it was because her head was tilted so far back gravity pulled the corners of her mouth into it.
“So, what’re you doing, babe?”
“Dude, babe. You really are regressing. I’m not doing anything.” She gestured expansively. “I just spent the last six hours writing my report to the SEC.”
“Couldn’t you just tell them everything’s going according to plan and we can probably start terraforming in a few months?”
“They want details,” said Hilde. “Charts. Graphs. You know these bureaucrats. Very impressed with charts and graphs. And percentages.”
“Still, six hours?”
“I’m a soldier, not a…whatever we are. Explorers, I guess. I wanted to make it sound nice. That feels nice,” she added as he dug his long fingers into her short hair and began to massage her scalp. “Mmm, really nice.”
“I think we’re pioneers,” Duo said, leaning closer, so that his warm breath tickled her forehead.
“Like those guys who traveled west in wagons centuries ago?”
“Kind of, I guess. Except there aren’t any native Martians, so it’s not like we’re kicking people off their land. I say we’ve evolved.”
Hilde frowned at him. “What if there were native Martians?”
Duo shrugged. “Depends. If they’re big, scaly monsters, pick ‘em off with a few plasma rifles. If they’re green, triple-breasted women… Seduce ‘em.”
Hilde wrinkled her nose. “Do the men have three dicks? Or are they only women? Lot of luck you’ll have seducing a bunch of lesbians. With plasma-proof bikinis.”
“Or send Wufei in to piss ‘em off until they move,” Duo went on hurriedly.
“You read too many comics.”
“Nah, comics’re good. It’s the movies that’re rotting my brain. Told you I’m regressing. If there were native Martians…I guess we’d go somewhere else. We’re an arrogant bunch of bastards, but no one’s eager to start another war. Or pick off a harmless native population. The Princess would never approve.” He smirked.
“Relena’s not a princess anymore,” Hilde, too tired to realize he was joking until it was too late, reminded him.
“Tell that to her adoring fans. Hilde, lookit this.”
“At what?”
“What I’m about to show you.”
He pushed her chair back to the console and, leaning over her - his braid swung in her face - he punched in a few keys. The lights on the bridge dimmed and two images flashed onto the screens. One was of the Earth, shining like a marble against the starry backdrop. The other was of the red desert world around which their ship orbited. Duo enlarged the image of Mars so that Hilde could see all the pocks and craters of its sunlit surface. She remembered the sandstones she used to collect as a kid, and smiled sleepily.
“Earth is so blue,” Duo murmured close to her ear.
“Didn’t used to be,” said Hilde. “Not that blue, anyway. “The icecaps melted…” She yawned. “Forget when. Not all of ‘em. Just big chunks. Too tired for history. Or philosophy,” she added as she glanced up and saw his expression.
“We’ll take better care of Mars,” Duo said. “Beautiful, isn’t it?”
“I told you, no philosophizing.”
He scrutinized her thoughtfully for a moment. Then, with one swoop he had her in his arms and was carrying her toward the door.
She was too tired to protest.
As he carried her down the corridor toward their quarters Duo said softly, “I’ll philosophize when you’re properly awake. Guess for now I’ll content myself with seducing you.”
“I’m already seduced,” said Hilde.
Duo grinned. “Don’t think I say it half as often as I should, but I’m crazy about you, babe.” He kissed her.
She was not too tired to kiss him back.
11/12/04
by Thistlerose
Rating: PG-13
Ship: Duo/Hilde
Setting: post-EW
Summary: Starting over isn't easy.
Notes: For arbaasanruth who requested cute Duo/Hilde, in which he does not hate her guts (because that would be insanely OOC). This is my first GW fic in well over a year. As a result, it's mostly dialogue-centric as I used the fic to reaquaint myself with the characters. Unbeta'd. Approx. 950 words.
Too tired for satisfaction, Hilde punched in the last few letters of her report, saved her file, backed it up, closed the program, and flopped back in her chair with a gusty sigh. The chair swiveled, but she lacked the strength to push it away from the console. She simply sat there, her head back, arms crossed loosely over her chest, her legs dangling. She would have to rise eventually, but it wasn’t eventually yet, and she hoped it would not be eventually for some time.
The bridge door opened behind her, and she knew from the footfalls that the newcomer had to be Duo. Reminding herself that it took far fewer muscles to smile than to frown, Hilde attempted to force the corners of her lips upward. It took too much effort; she’d been frowning at the screen for so long that her lips must have frozen in a frown. Her grandma always warned her that would happen.
She did manage a quiet, “Mmm,” when Duo cupped and squeezed her shoulders.
“You’re all stiff,” he observed.
“Mmhmm.”
“Been working long?”
“MmmHHM.”
“Poor Hilde.”
“Blahh,” she agreed.
“At least you’re not working with Zechs,” Duo went on, massaging her aching shoulders and neck. “He might’ve toned down his act a bit, but he’s still a stinking aristocrat.”
“What’d he do?” asked Hilde tiredly.
“Nothing,” said Duo. “It’s just the way he talks. ‘I think we should…blah blah blah.’ And then he just assumes we’ll do it. He acts all surprised anytime one of us has a different idea. He doesn’t get too pissy. Not with Noin there. But he gets so…you know. Lofty. Magnanimous. Like it’s such an honor for us that he’s willing to listen to us.”
“But he does,” said Hilde.
“Yeah, he does,” Duo admitted. “What good’s a leader who won’t listen to his underlings? Dude, I never thought I’d be one of Zechs Merquise’s underlings.”
“’Dude’?” said Hilde, tilting her head back and blinking at him.
“Dude,” repeated Duo. “This definitely calls for a ‘dude’.”
This time Hilde managed the grin. Maybe it was because her head was tilted so far back gravity pulled the corners of her mouth into it.
“So, what’re you doing, babe?”
“Dude, babe. You really are regressing. I’m not doing anything.” She gestured expansively. “I just spent the last six hours writing my report to the SEC.”
“Couldn’t you just tell them everything’s going according to plan and we can probably start terraforming in a few months?”
“They want details,” said Hilde. “Charts. Graphs. You know these bureaucrats. Very impressed with charts and graphs. And percentages.”
“Still, six hours?”
“I’m a soldier, not a…whatever we are. Explorers, I guess. I wanted to make it sound nice. That feels nice,” she added as he dug his long fingers into her short hair and began to massage her scalp. “Mmm, really nice.”
“I think we’re pioneers,” Duo said, leaning closer, so that his warm breath tickled her forehead.
“Like those guys who traveled west in wagons centuries ago?”
“Kind of, I guess. Except there aren’t any native Martians, so it’s not like we’re kicking people off their land. I say we’ve evolved.”
Hilde frowned at him. “What if there were native Martians?”
Duo shrugged. “Depends. If they’re big, scaly monsters, pick ‘em off with a few plasma rifles. If they’re green, triple-breasted women… Seduce ‘em.”
Hilde wrinkled her nose. “Do the men have three dicks? Or are they only women? Lot of luck you’ll have seducing a bunch of lesbians. With plasma-proof bikinis.”
“Or send Wufei in to piss ‘em off until they move,” Duo went on hurriedly.
“You read too many comics.”
“Nah, comics’re good. It’s the movies that’re rotting my brain. Told you I’m regressing. If there were native Martians…I guess we’d go somewhere else. We’re an arrogant bunch of bastards, but no one’s eager to start another war. Or pick off a harmless native population. The Princess would never approve.” He smirked.
“Relena’s not a princess anymore,” Hilde, too tired to realize he was joking until it was too late, reminded him.
“Tell that to her adoring fans. Hilde, lookit this.”
“At what?”
“What I’m about to show you.”
He pushed her chair back to the console and, leaning over her - his braid swung in her face - he punched in a few keys. The lights on the bridge dimmed and two images flashed onto the screens. One was of the Earth, shining like a marble against the starry backdrop. The other was of the red desert world around which their ship orbited. Duo enlarged the image of Mars so that Hilde could see all the pocks and craters of its sunlit surface. She remembered the sandstones she used to collect as a kid, and smiled sleepily.
“Earth is so blue,” Duo murmured close to her ear.
“Didn’t used to be,” said Hilde. “Not that blue, anyway. “The icecaps melted…” She yawned. “Forget when. Not all of ‘em. Just big chunks. Too tired for history. Or philosophy,” she added as she glanced up and saw his expression.
“We’ll take better care of Mars,” Duo said. “Beautiful, isn’t it?”
“I told you, no philosophizing.”
He scrutinized her thoughtfully for a moment. Then, with one swoop he had her in his arms and was carrying her toward the door.
She was too tired to protest.
As he carried her down the corridor toward their quarters Duo said softly, “I’ll philosophize when you’re properly awake. Guess for now I’ll content myself with seducing you.”
“I’m already seduced,” said Hilde.
Duo grinned. “Don’t think I say it half as often as I should, but I’m crazy about you, babe.” He kissed her.
She was not too tired to kiss him back.
11/12/04