Black Hole Sun

By Jason Resno

A/N Wow, this one is coming fast huh? I guess that is what happens when you work 8.5 hours at a computer-desk job with little to no interruption...from anyone. Well, we are winding down! Here is the grand finale.

A silence descended over the friends as their once relaxed calm became a tense one. Duo could hear crickets chirping in the cool evening and bats somewhere above eating insects out of the sky.

Hilde Schbeiker ducked out of her Scion and began walking across the way towards what used to be her best friends. Yeah, she had messed up; there was no doubt about it. Things got out of control fast.

Shaking her head resolutely she refused to think of it. She dumped that dirt bag at the curb and was never going back to that lifestyle. Not that he'd want her anyway...his jaw was broken from her "pretty boy ex". She allowed a small smile to grace her pale pixie face.

For something as normal as meeting her friends at a park two months ago...she was sick to her stomach with nerves. Well, I guess this isn't exactly a normal situation. Everyone knows what I did. They have to hate me. Tears threatened to pool at her dark and bag-heavy eyes. No tears. Not anymore.

Duos face was crimson but nobody knew which emotion placed it there--anger, nervousness or what have you. Thankfully Heero found his tongue first.

"What're you doing here?"

Prussian eyes narrowed through unruly chocolate hair and his entire visage was threatening...this in extreme contrast to the image of him laying on his elbows stargazing with a pretty honey blond head on his chest. She slapped him on the stomach and he grunted.

Hilde, clearly shaken by his response, threw a hand to rub at her eyes. To Duo she looked so young and so fragile...he wanted to scoop her up and protect her from anything and everything. Even well meaning best friends.

"I just...came to talk to Duo."

Heero snorted and looked away. Relena shot a pitying smile to Hilde, who was now standing at the foot of their blanket.

Wufei and Sally exchanged a glance with eyebrows raised. Having been on their honeymoon they were quite out of the loop. But Sally, being a doctor, attempted to heal the situation.

"I'm not going to pretend to know what happened," she paused looking around, "but I think that we should let them talk. Come on, everyone up, let's go."

Wufei nodded in assent and grabbed their picnic supplies. Heero gave Relena a meaningful glance and grunted a relenting noise. The perfect soldier scooped the blond into his arms and walked off to her gently giggling.

Quatre and Catherine shared a meaningful glance and then looked back and smiled at Hilde. As they walked towards their BMW they each gave her a small hog, one she reciprocated gratefully. Trowa did likewise and as they were embraced he whispered something into her ear. She nodded and he left to get in the backseat of Quatre's vehicle.

Finally they were alone. An uncomfortable silence filled the air and threatened to strangle them both.

"Can I sit down?"

Duo, who had been watching this all happen as if in a dream, snapped back to reality at her voice. His heart surged and he fought back every instinct in his soul to wrap her in his strong arms and kiss her senseless, to make her his again.

His voice, however, came out chilled. "There's plenty of blanket. Sure."

She bit her lip and emotion stormed in her eyes.

Never taking his eyes off her, or hers off him, she plopped down--forgetting any manner of "lady like" etiquette--and grabbed a Coke out of the only cooler left. She opened it and took a drink, enjoying the burning sensation as it slid down her throat.

"Duo..."

"You remember my name?" His voice came out with all the malice a broken heart could leak.

It was enough to turn the facet in her heart. Tears began to spill hotly down her cheeks and the chestnut haired man died a little inside. Even now seeing her cry could kill him.

She fought to master herself, "Of course I do! You're all I can think about anymore."

Again malice sprang forth, "Only when you're not bangin' your friend right?"

The strangest thing happened, and it wasn't that Heero had pulled and distributed binoculars to his friends waiting in their cars a block away, Hilde got angry. She scowled.

"Ah finally the girl I remember!" Duo let loose an almost real laugh.

Hilde set the can of pop down calmly and in a change of emotions that only a woman could truly master...she was at his throat with both hands on his shoulders.

"He's done and gone! I've realized what I've done Duo. I've realized it!"

Her words came out in a ball of fury only to be combated by the tears that sprang angrily from the corners of her pretty eyes.

"Believe me! I spend every night at home crying myself to sleep knowing you are out there hating me. It's killing me Duo! Killing me!"

Taken entirely aback Duo, for the first time in his life, was speechless. But being an ex soldier one had to adapt to extreme situations. So he got angry too.

The braided pilot sat up from his leaning position on his elbows and thrust his face at hers. They were mere inches away, nose to nose, and the fire in their eyes threatened to burn them both.

"Killing you! You want to know about dying? Do you babe? You were my everything. My everything! My past, my preset and my future. All of those things were twined with you. All of them! I wanted to get married to you. To grow old with you. To have a few rascal children we could raise and give the childhood we never had. I wanted it all! I wanted the damn white fence and the dog and the two kids. I wanted the 9 to 5 job so I could come home to dinner to you every night. My God Hilde. You are everything to me."

Duo searched her face like he had so many nights before and saw in it everything he'd ever wanted out of life. The only face so beautiful and so loving that it could literally destroy him. Tears welled in her beautiful eyes but still she said nothing.

Subconsciously, a routine of the past, his hand went and held her own small one. His calloused fingers winding the way through her soft digits. His voice lowered and the fire in his eyes softened.

She let her head fall foreword and lean against his brow. The tears fell full force then. A never-ending waterfall of regret and emotions. She didn't stop to yell at him some more. She didn't try to explain herself. Instead she buried her head into the chest of the only man that ever understood her. He pulled her tight and close and began to rub her back.

Damnit Maxwell...you're a creature of habit.

He didn't know how much time had passed...nor did he care. There was something medicating about the experience and he didn't quite know what. As he held her he looked up into the sky and let out a prayer for wisdom and for strength.

"Duo..." The words were breathed hotly onto his arms. Her lips were gently grazing them and the touch made a bolt of lightning jump up his spine.

He grunted in baritone to let her know he was listening but inside his heart shook like a wet flower fighting the storm.

She raised her head off of his chest and looked him straight in the eyes. The blatant pain and torture that shone through her pretty visage almost made the grizzled soldier turn away.

She leaned in and he half expected her to begin crying again but instead she did the one thing that could shatter his resistance.

He gulped loudly, and his heart beating double time, as she set her cheek against his own stubbly cheek. The corners of their lips barely touched. More chills down his spine.

"Duo..." she repeated quietly but the emotion that raged and boiled in the word was enough to stun him. "I want it all back. I need your forgiveness. I need another chance."

The world paused and that moment there was no noise. In a park in a city two lovers were being granted a second chance.

Inwardly he groaned as he lost the battle with his carnal self. He reached up and gently took her face in his hands. Turning her ever so slightly leaned his brow into her brow. She began to talk but he shook his head slowly.

No. Words were not enough.

Instead he leaned forward and gently placed his lips against hers. An experiment, at first, to probe and feel for the passion of just last month. She groaned quietly with longing and he put his hands on her waist.

The kiss deepened and a floodgate was opened. Both were virtually soaked in the chilling waters of forgiveness and redemption. Duo tasted it again. He tasted the summer afternoons spent at their friend's pools. He tasted the blooming of flowers and the eventuality of children. He embraced the enhanced feelings that contact could create.

Pulling her hard against his own chest she continued the kiss only to now and then reach into the well with her tongue and flicker back. He would groan and in his heart know that everything was possible again...

The past was not gone. Their problems were not erased but instead they were put into a safe. A safe that would always be there for them.

In his mind Duo knew there would be work needed. There would be problems and road bumps of every kind. There would be friends to convince.

All that was pushed out of his mind, however, as it was replaced by the key in the lock. With the ability to love and forgive...it was all possible.

Heero nodded grimly and turned the keys in his ignition. He gave Relena his binoculars and then backed out and drove off. "They're going to be fine."

His beautiful and blond wife smiled up at him, a radiating thing, and clasped his hand. "I know. Love finds it's way."

END

A/N-It is done. The burden that sat on my shoulders for months as I struggled to find the passion to finish this story. But I did and I'm, right now, really glad I found a way. But I would never have done it without you guys reviewing and adding my story to your lists. I owe it all to you!

Now that the story is over leave some reviews and comments. Love it? Hate it? Are you glad they ended up "back together" or would you rather have left them apart?

I know there are some things I left open ended (Who was Trowa texting? What did he whisper in Hilde's ear? What happened between Heero and Relena? Sally and Wufei got married..what?!) but if this gets enough feedback I will think about writing a follow up that tries to answer all of those questions and more..as well as a look back into the lives of Duo and Hilde later on down the road.

Anyways. I love you guys and thank you for everything.