If You Leave

It was over. Hilde was through.

She angrily pulled the suitcase from the top shelf of the closet and allowed it to fall loudly to the floor. She picked it back up and dumped it on the bed, throwing it open with one hand as she started to stuff clothes in it with the other. She worked fast and desperate, even though she knew Duo wouldn’t be home for hours. But that wasn’t the point. She wanted to be gone before he got back.

Hilde charged into the bathroom next, knocking everything she owned into a plastic bag to just shove into the suitcase. When she closed the medicine cabinet, she froze at her reflection in the mirror. The skin underneath her left eye was just starting to turn purple, and swell. She couldn’t believe that Duo had hit her. She was so shocked that she didn’t even hit him back. He only growled once, before kissing her on the forehead and leaving to go out with his loser friends. He didn’t even touch the romantic dinner she cooked for him. Hilde sniffed angrily, and turned away.

On her way back to the room she paused in front of the phone, unsure of whether or not to call him. The petite girl had been obsessed with him ever since the day she woke up from her coma and saw his fierce blue gaze looking at her over Duo’s shoulders. She shook herself out of the trance and dialed his pager number, leaving a message with the operator before hanging up. She just hoped that he would be able to get her message in time.

// If you leave her, I’ll leave him
We’ll pack our bags, don’t say a word //

Heero sighed helplessly, as Relena dragged him over to another delegate to have yet another boring conversation about whether or not the new democracy was better than the monarchy. He shook hands for the umpteenth time that evening and fought the urge to strangle Relena when she started her discussion all over again. He had looked up to the ceiling in vain hopes of lightening striking him dead, when he felt his pager vibrate. Curious as to who would page him at this hour of the night, he let his eyes run over the message briefly. He immediately turned to Relena and Marquise de Wayridge. “Pardon me, but there’s an important phone call that I have to make.”

“Oh, all right Heero,” Relena said, a bit disappointed. “Well, try to hurry, will you?” Heero nodded once, then turned swiftly on his heels to leave the ballroom. He would hurry, that was for sure. He knew something had happened, because Hilde didn’t like to page or call him when she knew he would be around Relena. Also, the message was very short and clipped.

It simply said, ‘I’m leaving.’

// Let’s go far away, to another place
Let’s hide away, oh just you and me //

Hilde plopped down on the couch as she placed the ice pack against her eye. She flipped through the channels, and decided on South Park to help lighten her mood. The swelling was starting to make her a little bit uncomfortable and she didn’t want that added to her list of problems. She had enough on her mind already. Instead, Hilde sat back and thought about the times when she and Heero first met, and how they ended up spending a lot of time together. Whether it was a political function they had to attend, or just a get-together Quatre had conjured up, she and Heero always paired up or were left behind as the others raced ahead. In that time, she learned a great deal about the Perfect Soldier, and he learned much about her in return.

// I’m gonna do my thang, I’m leavin’ his ass alone I’m gone, I’m gone I’m moving on my way //

Heero had always expressed to Hilde how much he thought about her and cared for her, and that he would be a better man than Duo. Of course, she wouldn’t admit how attracted she was to him as well. The messy-haired boy always carried an air of mysteriousness about him, whereas Duo was loud and boisterous. Many were intimidated by his facial expressions, but Hilde understood that he was only being honest. Duo, on the other hand, was the master of disguise. You never knew what he was truly thinking.

Hilde put the ice pack down, and reached for her hand mirror to see how the swelling was doing. It had gone down some, which made her happy, but the bruise was even darker than before. Sighing remorsefully to herself, she picked up her makeup bag and started to apply her foundation. This was the first time Duo had hit her, but she was also making it the last. Enough was enough.

// He’s history, too late
The game is over
He’ll see, a girl’s gotta do what she’s gotta do //

After Heero left the ballroom, he quickly ran upstairs to his room, grabbed his suitcase and laptop, and dashed out the door. He was pretty sure that he wasn’t seen jumping from the window ledge, and hot-wired a Jaguar, speeding away. He had a new mission: get to Hilde as soon as possible.

// If you leave her, I’ll leave him
We’ll pack our bags, don’t say a word //

Hilde looked herself over in the mirror, satisfied with her appearance. The makeup didn’t hide the swelling by any means, and it didn’t hide the bruise at all. However, it did make it less purple, and thereby less noticeable. Of course Heero would notice. Nothing got past him, she thought wryly as she closed her pocket mirror.

// Let’s go far away, to another place
Let’s hide away, oh just you and me //

So far everything was packed, and she only waited to hear from him, just to tell him goodbye. All she wanted was to hear his voice again, and that would be enough. Then Hilde was struck with an idea. She decided to do... something since she didn’t plan on coming back for a while. Giggling to herself, she all but ran into the kitchen and grabbed sugar, eggs, milk, and flour. Parked along the curb was Duo’s pride and joy. His dark red ‘69 Ford Mustang Boss 429 rested quietly on the street, completely unaware of the danger it was in. She walked around his car, and laughed insanely as she ripped open the bag of sugar.

// I called 612-555-2422 to find you
I packed my bags, gassed up the Jag
And told my dad you’re the finest girl I never had //

Heero pulled into a gas station and started to fill up the car, as he grabbed a few supplies. He was at the point of kicking himself. He couldn’t believe he had stolen a car that didn’t have gas. Shrugging, the silent man made his way back to the car, where he dumped his purchases next to his suitcase. Then he went to a payphone to call Hilde. He didn’t know whether or not Duo was still there, or what was going on in general. He just knew that she was going to leave, and he’d be damned to let her go without him.

Seven rings later, he started to get nervous. Nine rings later, he began tapping his fingers anxiously against the wall. At fifteen rings, he hung up and fled to the car, violently yanking the gas handle out and throwing it on the ground. He threw the necessary money next to it before speeding away.

Hilde, on the other hand, was just coming back into the house when she heard the phone ring. Running to it, she managed to pick it up and get a dial tone. The dark-haired girl checked the caller ID to find that it was from a payphone. “Shit,” she whispered, before picking up the phone and paging Heero again. She had to speak to him, just to ask one question.

// And so my lady,
Left a message, said “page me” //

Heero heard his pager go off, and checked it as he was driving down the road. He couldn’t make out everything because he was trying not to drive into a ditch, but he managed to get the gist of the message. Yes, he’ll leave with her.

// I know it might sound crazy,
But say you’ll be my baby //

The former soldier nearly ran into a pole as he stomped on the brakes at full speed. Roughly throwing the car in park, he raced up the stairs to the second floor of her and Duo’s apartment. “Hilde! Hilde!”

Hilde, hearing Heero frantically call her name, flew to the door and opened it just in time to save her obsession from running through it. The second he stepped through the door, he pulled her body to his and kissed her, nearly suffocating both of them. When he pulled back, he noticed the dark bruise on Hilde’s eye, and gently kissed the abused flesh. Hilde closed her eyes, and leaned into Heero’s soft kisses. “How do I know you won’t hurt me like he has? I know you’re afraid he’ll want me back.” *

Heero raised Hilde’s chin so that their eyes could meet. “You gotta have faith in me.”

She sighed. “You know I do.”

“I’ll never play you.” Then he added shyly, “baby.” She giggled at the uncharacteristic choice of words. “Cause my love is all right. It’s,” he stumbled for a second, “it’s all you’ll ever need.” *

// Cause I need someone for me //

“Heero, I need you.”

// This love was meant to be //

“Hilde...I love you.”

// It’s our destiny //

“Heero, I’m leaving, and I want you to come with me. Will you?”

// Just run away with me //

“Yes.”

// If you leave him, I’ll leave her
Let’s pack our bags, don’t say a word //

Hilde jumped into his arms, where he nearly crushed her by holding her so tightly. After a moment, he released her and picked up the phone. “We’re going to need some help, so relax for a minute and then we’ll leave.”

Hilde nodded once, not trusting her voice, and sat down on the couch. She looked at him strangely when he placed a call using his credit card. He smiled disarmingly at her. “I’m using the card so that it doesn’t show up on the phone bill who I’m calling.”

“Oh,” she nodded, even more curious than before.

Heero smiled again, then snapped back to attention when someone answered the phone. “Hello?”

“Trowa,” he breathed, “I need a favor.”

“Huh. When don’t you?”

He growled, but didn’t say anything to that. He and Wufei had a habit of doing whatever it took to get a reaction out of him. “Trowa please, I really need help.”

He could actually hear Trowa raise an eyebrow. “Oh really? What?”

He sighed deeply and ran his fingers through his tousled hair. “We need someplace to stay tonight.”

“Who is ‘we?’ ”

Heero shook his head. He should’ve known that Trowa would pick up on that. “Hilde is going to be with me.”

“Hilde? Why is she... oh shit. I knew it.”

“Will you help us?”

He heard Trowa’s agitated sigh over the phone. “Heero, Duo’s my friend too. By helping you I’m screwing him over.”

“Trowa, he hit her.”

Dead silence met this comment. “What time do I need to pick you up from the spaceport?”

This time Heero let out a sigh of relief. “We should be there in about four hours.”

“Good. It’ll be best for you two to stay a few days until you have somewhere to go, or at least let me help you find an apartment around here.”

“Trowa, that’s too much. Besides, once everyone realizes that both Hilde and I are gone, your place is the first Duo’s going to look.”

“You let me worry about that. Hilde wouldn’t provoke Duo on purpose, so I’m sure that whatever dispute they had was his fault. I draw the line when he lays a hand on the girl that gave us the information we needed to save Earth.”

Heero turned to Hilde and graced her with a warm smile. “Thank you, Trowa.”

He could sense Trowa shaking his head. “No problem. I’ll just add this to your tab of IOU’s. Catherine, you will not believe this--”

That was the last thing Heero heard before Trowa hung up. He immediately hung up, and grabbed Hilde’s suitcase with one hand as he pulled her to her feet with the other. The two of them easily climbed down the stairs, holding onto each other for dear life. Once to the car, Heero placed her bag next to his, and helped her in before he took his seat behind the wheel. “Where do you want to go?”

// Let’s go far away, to another place //

She frowned and shook her head. “I don’t know. I don’t care, as long as it’s far away from here.” She paused, then turned to Heero, staring into his too-blue eyes. “You have no idea how happy I am that you said yes.”

“Why wouldn’t I? I’ve always told you that if you ever left him, I’d leave her.”

She touched his cheek. “Yeah, I know, but it seemed too good to be true.”

Heero lowered her hand to his lips, and kissed her palm. “It’s been a long night for you. Sleep.”

Hilde laid her head down on his lap, and stretched out on the seat. That’s when she noticed that this wasn’t his usual truck. He probably stole it, she thought to herself with a smile. It didn’t matter though. It was obvious that he would do anything for her. And she took that thought with her into her dreams.

// Let’s hide away, oh just you and me //

(the end)