Falling Star

Cherry Blossom: Gomen, everyone, for being so late with this chapter. But Matteo was being a butt-munch.

Matteo: I was not!

Cherry Blossom: Were.

Matteo: Not.

Cherry Blossom: Were!

Matteo: Not!

Cherry Blossom: Okaaay. So explain to me why it took three hours to write the opening paragraph.

Matteo: …..I was taking a lunch break.

Cherry Blossom: For three hours!

Matteo: I was hungry.

Cherry Blossom: *sigh* Well, it's the same drill as always peeps. This is part 5 of my Someone else's Star series. If you're just joining us now….where the heck have you been? You'd better go read the first 4 parts 'cause otherwise you'll have no friggin clue what's going on. This is a HildeXWufei romance. Yes, that's right. You heard me. There are also Yaoi pairings and Yuri pairings but the important thing is the HidleXWufei interaction. Don't like it? Fine. But don't flame me about it. I'm about to add TONS of angst to this thing just to see if I can screw it up even more ^__^

Matteo: I would have thought that that was impossible.

Cherry Blossom: *pouts* Shut up. Important announcement……THERE IS NO SONG FOR THIS ONE. Can you believe it? I wrote a story without a song. It's like, incredible. A first. I couldn't find anything to go with it. But if you think of a song while reading this, tell me.

Matteo: Can we get on with this?

Cherry Blossom: Sure.

Disclaimer: Look at me. Does it look like I own Gundam Wing? I mean, come on. Seriously. If I owned Gundam Wing I wouldn't be writing fics about it, would I?

Someone Else's Star – Part 5

Hilde ran without a clear destination. All she knew was that she had to leave, had to get away from the sickening feeling that she was suffocating, breaking, dying.

Wufei…why?

Tears streamed down her face, creating cold salty swirls of moisture on her cheeks. She ignored them until they began to blur her vision. Then she hastily wiped them away with one gloved hand, holding the other one out in front of her as if to ward off the emotions that threatened to pull her to the ground. She ran, heedless of the soft, sinking snow that tried to stay her process, her breath coming in short bursts as her aching lungs struggled to bring in the cold air. Her thoughts had shattered like glass beneath the brutal blow of Wufei's betrayal and her mind kept repeating the same word over and over again.

Why, why, why, why, WHY?

Hilde's foot caught on something and she pitched forwards into the soft snow, wrenching her ankle painfully in the process.

Shit! This is just great…

Hilde sat up, cursing. But she stopped when she realized where she was.

Huge, snow capped pine trees loomed over her head and an almost overwhelming silence permeated into her brain.

The forest. I'm in a forest. Why am I in a forest?

Hilde pulled herself to her feet, wincing at the sharp pain in her foot as she put her weight on it.

I really hope I haven't broken that…

Hilde looked at her surroundings, trying to remember if she'd ever seen this place before.

Well, Quatre _did_ say that there was a forest about a mile from his house. I must have walked farther than I thought.

Snowflakes coated the top of Hilde's head and she shivered and hugged herself against the sudden gust of wind that threatened to knock her over. The stunning orangey purple of the sunset reminded her that it got awfully cold outside in the winter at night and the forest was not the best place to be at the moment. Especially if there happened to be any wild animals lurking nearby.

I can't go back. Wufei and Relena will still be there. I can't see them now, I just can't!

Another brutal gust of wind tore at the hood of Hilde's coat and she decided that she had to go back or she'd turn into a popsicle.

And no man is worth freezing your ass over. Not even a man like Wufei…

Hilde sighed and turned around to go back to the mansion and maybe cry herself to sleep in her room…and stopped short. The snow that had been falling gently all afternoon had increased its pace considerably and Hilde's deep footprints were now completely filled in.

"Oh shit," Hilde said mildly, shock taking over.

She was lost. Lost in the woods. Where bears and wolves and who the hell knew what else lived. And it was winter and cold and snowing and about to get really, really dark soon.

"I'm in big trouble…"

**********************

Wufei searched the kitchen for the third time, almost frantic with worry by this time. Hilde wasn't in the house. He had checked everywhere including all the bathrooms, the servant's quarters, the garage… everywhere! And no Hilde. Could she have left town? But, no, he had checked her room and all her clothes and womanly…accessories were still there. She wouldn't leave without those, right?

Maybe…

Maybe, but Wufei wasn't so sure.

What if she didn't like the kiss? What if I pushed too much? What if I frightened her? What if she hates me and…

And gold and chestnut braid and an impish grin appeared before him and cut into his thoughts.

"Hey Wu-man! Whatcha doing?"

"Have you seen Hilde?"

Duo blinked, surprised that Wufei didn't yell at him for the nickname and by the fact that he asked for Hilde. He hadn't thought they were close but then again, Duo had never been that observant. Noticing the little things was Heero's job.

"Not since lunch. Why?"
"Never mind," Wufei exclaimed as he brushed past the braided American to check her room once again with a worried look on his face.

"What's with him?" Duo asked the empty kitchen. And getting no reply, he promptly put the situation out of his mind and went off to find Heero.

**********************

"What do you mean 'gone'?"

Silence met Wufei's terse question and he had to mentally restrain himself from shaking Heero in frustration. Wufei's search had ended up fruitless and he had decided to just gather everybody together and…well…interrogate them. Catherine and Dorothy had disappeared into their room after lunch and hadn't come out for the rest of the day so they could offer no suggestions as to where Hilde could have wandered off to. Relena had left soon after her little emotional breakdown, claiming that if she left the United Earth Spheres Alliance's high council alone for more than an hour they would start blowing up things. Neither Trowa nor Quatre had seen Hilde since earlier that afternoon and Duo had already told Wufei that he hadn't seen her either. Heero said she was gone. And that was it. And Wufei was all prepared to slice him to ribbons with his katana if he didn't start explaining.

"I said," Wufei snarled, grinding his teeth in an effort to keep his cool, "What do you mean 'gone'?"

A pair of hard, colbat blue eyes gazed calmly back at him.

"I mean that she's gone. She left. Out the door."

Quatre's eyes flicked nervously to the window where he could see the quickly forming snowstorm swirl and beat against the glass outside.

"She's out in that?"

The fear that had been building up inside of Wufei suddenly took hold with a vengeance as he thought of Hilde alone in the storm. Unable to stop himself, Wufei gripped the collar of Heero's shirt roughly and pulled his face closer.

"When and why."

His voice was soft and dangerous, promising all sorts of violence if he did not receive the answers he was looking for. Heero did not attempt to pull away. He continued to look calmly into Wufei's eyes as he said in the same emotionless tone,

"About an hour ago. As to why, I think you can answer that better than me. She looked pretty upset about something."

Something flashed in Heero's eyes, something like an accusation and Wufei didn't much like it. His grip tightened in anger but when Heero remained still and silent he let go and brought a hand to his temple in an attempt to ward off the guilt that infused his body.

She must hate me. I never should have kissed her. I'm such a fool. Why did I think that I could actually love again?

"Why—" Wufei's voice cracked and he tried again. "Why didn't you try to stop her?"

Heero must have saw the guilt and torment in Wufei's face because his eyes no longer glared at him in reproach, but regarded him sympathetically.

"Sometimes people just need to be alone."

Wufei sighed in defeat and sat down on the couch beside Duo, holding his head in his hands.

"Wufei…"

Quatre put a hand on his shoulder to try and comfort him but he pulled away.

Trowa tore his gaze away from the scene to observe the rapidly falling snow that had now piled three inches deep on the window sill and the ruddy orange of the sky as the sun dipped below the horizon.

"Whatever her reasons were for going, she can't stay out there in this. Night is coming soon and the cold will be almost unbearable. We have to find her. Now."

"I'll tell Rashid to get together a search party," Quatre offered.

Wufei spoke up. "I'm going with them."

I have to see her, to ask her forgiveness, to find out if why…

"Me too," Duo exclaimed, rising from his seat on the couch.

"We'll all go," Heero said.

Trowa nodded and said, "We can use the snowmobiles. They'll be quicker in this weather."

Catherine looked more than a little worried at the thought of her brother going out in the storm. Dorothy put her arms around her to comfort her and asked, quietly, "What should we do?"

Heero took over, snapping into soldier mode easily.

"You have to stay here in case she comes back or phones. There are radio systems in the snowmobiles. Just contact us if you hear from her. In the meantime you can get together some warm blankets and medical supplies. Hilde might be in need of them when we get her back here."

Wufei winced as Heero said that but said nothing, pressing his lips into a thin, white line.

"We'll check back with you every half-hour," Heero turned to look at the other pilots. "We'll check back with each other every twenty minutes. If she isn't found in two hours then alert the emergency services. Well need them."

Catherine looked very pale at this statement and gripped Dorothy's hand tightly in her own. Wufei felt slightly sickened but he nodded and went to get his jacket. As he walked by Duo grabbed onto his arm and pressed his nails into the bronze flesh.

"I don't know what happened between you two," he hissed. "But if Hilde ends up dead because of you I will personally send you to hell."

Not if I send myself there first, Wufei thought. But he said nothing and Duo released his arm abruptly and walked out of the room, the others following close behind.

Wufei cast one last glance out the window and shivered.

Hilde. You've got to be okay. You've just got to.

**********************

I'm gonna die. I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die, I' gonna die. SHIT!

Hilde kicked at a nearby tree trunk with her good foot and hurled insults at it when she stubbed her toes on the bark. Then she sat down in the snow and proceeded to laugh her ass off.

"Great job Hilde," she said out loud. "Just injure your other leg. Cripple yourself. Then you'll die for sure. I can see the headstone now. Hilde Schbieker, killed by her own stupidity."

All of a sudden, the thought didn't seem so funny.

Get a grip. You were a soldier. They taught you all kinds of nifty survival tips. So use 'em.

"Okay," Hilde said, taking a deep breath. "Rule number one. Don't panic. Because panicking leads to stupidity and death. And that would be a bad thing."

A very bad thing.

Hilde closed her eyes and stood absolutely still for a minute, concentrating only on breathing in and out.

Okay. I'm calm. I'm not panicking. I can do this. I'm gonna survive. And then I'm gonna KILL Wufei because this is ALL HIS FAULT.

Hilde opened her eyes and look at her surroundings. She noted the direction of the wind and the level of the sun, and how the clouds were forming in the sky. And came to this conclusion.

It's going to get frikken cold here very soon.
"Okay. Rule #2, inventory."
Hilde searched through the many pockets of her coat and found some change, a button, a hairpin, and…a lighter.
First time I've ever been glad to be a smoker.
"Rule #3, shelter."
Hilde looked at her surroundings once again, noticing some particularly promising looking trees that had low swinging branches.

"Perfect."

Hilde immediately began to dig a trench underneath one of the trees, shoveling with her gloved hands straight down about three feet, shoulder width and a little longer than body size, piling the snow on the windward side against the tree trunk to form a wind break. She then snapped off some of the branches and laid them on the ground to create flooring.

I'd never thought I'd say this but…I love OZ. Or at least their survival courses. Maybe I won't die after all.

Hilde huddled down inside her little snow shelter and stuck her hands underneath her armpits. It wasn't all that warmer in the trench but at least it protected her from the wind.

"Rule #4, fire."

Hilde thanked whatever deity had seen fit to make sure that she had a lighter with her even after she promised never to smoke again and got rid of all her cigarettes. Old habits die hard. Then she dug out a small area in the corner of her shelter for a fire pit that would keep the flame out of the wind.

"Dry wood," Hilde said, looking around her. "I need dry wood. Where the fuck am I going to get dry wood?"

I knew that it couldn't be this easy. Stupid nature. Remind me to never leave a nice, dry, WARM place over some stupid guy ever again. Of course, Wufei isn't your average everyday stupid guy. Oh nooooo. He's an incredibly SEXY stupid guy. With a nice ass. And really kawaii eyes. And those lips…and now is NOT the time to be waxing poetic on some guy that probably could care less about me. I need to find some dry wood.

Hilde sighed and left her trench reluctantly. Some of the branches that were covered by rocks ought to be dry enough. And if they weren't well…she was screwed.

Dammit.

**********************

"Nothing in this section. I'm going to go check up by the river. Copy?"

"Roger that."

Duo replaced the radio com in its holder and revved up the engine on the snowmobile.

Quatre and Trowa sure have the neatest play toys. I bet the only reason this thing doesn't have a t.v. is because there's not enough room on the counsel.

State-of-the-art or not, the snowmobile didn't allow Duo any kind of inside knowledge as to where Hilde might be. Wherever she was, one thing was clear. She was NOT on the roads. Which meant that she couldn't have gotten that far, especially in weather like this. Heero and Trowa had already covered the area around the mansion. Quatre was searching near the town and Wufei was heading for the woods, although Quatre had protested that it was too far for Hilde to have gotten that far or foot. Wufei had ignored this, saying he had a hunch that Hilde was there. And Heero, being the philosophical guru that he was, told him to follow his emotions.

Hhmph. What emotions?

Duo was still pretty pissed at Wufei. It was obvious from the guilty look on his face that he had had something to do with Hilde's disappearance. Duo was certain that Hilde wouldn't leave like that unless she was really upset. And no one hurt his best friend without a little payback from Shinigami.

Duo upped the speed and practically flew across the snow-laden hills, the wind effectively freezing his face and whipping his braid back behind him. This was no night to be outside. And Hilde didn't even have a suitable winter jacket. She'd freeze for sure if she stayed out in this much longer.

Don't think like that. Hilde's strong. She was trained as a soldier, right? OZ probably taught her all kinds of nifty survival tricks.

Still, as Duo neared the edge of the river an icy tendril of fear brushed across the back of his neck. The river was frozen, of course. But some of the spots were fragile. If Hilde had tried to walk across and fell through there would be no hope of saving her. She'd be dead.

You'd better pray that I find her, Chang. You'd better pray…

**********************

Hilde fed the bits of dry kindling that she had gathered to the small, pitiful, almost just a puff of smoke fire that she had finally managed to get going after much cursing and moaning.

"Come on. Just burn for mamma. That's it. Don't go out. Just burn this nice piece of wood and make Hilde all nice and toasty warm."

I can't believe I'm talking to fire now. That's it. I've lost my mind. Too much stress. And plus my fingers are really starting to hurt…

Hilde's mittens were sodden with the wet snow and her hands were numb and prickly.

Frostbite…

Hilde had read all about what happens when blood refuses to flow to the extremities. She'd even seen picture of the less fortunate victims who's fingers and toes needed to be amputated. She shivered and rubbed her hands together as close to the fire as she dared.

I'm going to be okay. I have a fire now and that'll keep me warm until help comes.

Hilde laughed bitterly at the thought.

"Help? What help? No one come out to the woods in the winter. And the others probably haven't even realized that I'm gone yet. And Wufei's probably too busy being wrapped up in Relena's arms to even think about me. Stupid, stupid, stupid. I'll never learn. Opening up to someone just leads to heartache."

But oh, such sweet heartache it was, while it lasted. Imagining that Wufei cared for her and that they might be together. And that kiss…

I should be happy. At least I got to kiss the person I loved before I die. How many people can say that?

"A-hoooooooooooooooo!"

A noise interrupted Hilde's thoughts and made her heart jump in her chest.

Wolf. That was a wolf. There is a wolf nearby. And it's probably hungry. Oh God…

"Don't panic," Hilde told herself ineffectively. "You've got a fire, right? Wild animals hate fire. So you just sit here by the nice fire and it won't come near you."

"A-hooooooooooooooo!"

This time the howl was a lot closer. Hilde whimpered and ducked down further in her trench.

I want Wufei. I don't care about what he did. I just want him here, now. Oh God, somebody help me. Please. Wufei…

**********************

Wufei paused, certain that he'd heard someone calling his name. But all he could hear was the howling of the wind against the frantic beating of his own heart. He Sent Heero a brief message, telling him that he had arrived at his destination and then set out determinedly to find Hilde. He couldn't explain exactly why he thought that she was in the woods. It was just a feeling that wouldn't let go of him. The thickly falling snow blurred his vision and he waved at the flakes impatiently. The night was more frigid than anything he had ever experienced and the wind made it seem even colder. Wufei imagined Hilde as a block of ice and then put that thought quickly out of his mind.

She'll be okay. She _has_ to be okay. Because if she's not okay…

"Damn," Wufei cursed as a sudden gust of wind tore the hood of his jacket back, leaving his head uncovered and unprotected from the chill of the night air.

Can't stop now. Have to find Hilde.

'Why?' his subconscious asked. 'Why must you find her?'

Because.

'That's not an answer.'

Because she might need my help.

'Why would she need your help. Why not someone else's help?'

I don't care who's help she gets, just as long as she's okay.

'But why,' the voice continued stubbornly.

"Because I love her," Wufei said aloud, finally acknowledging the truth that had been before him all along.

Because I love her. And I'm not going to let another person that I love die on me again.

**********************

"Hunerred bottless sof beer onna wall. Hunnerred bottless sof beeeer! Ya take one down an' passer 'round….sssixty-two bottless of beer onna wall."

Hilde knew that this was bad. She was slurring her words like crazy and she could no longer feel her hands and feet. But the strange thing was that she no longer felt cold. Just extremely tired. It would feel so good to just lay her head down and drift off to sleep. But Hilde knew better than that.

"Nuh uh Hilde-babe. You go to ssleep and that's it for you. Bye-bye. No more Hilde. Just a frozen Schbieker-sicle."

That thought made Hilde giggle for some reason that she couldn't quite figure out. And then it happened. The snow that had covered the lower branches of the tree that she was trenched in underneath was melting in the heat from her little fire. And a big pile of slushy, wet snow just plopped right down on Hilde's fire and put it out in a puff of steam.

"Oh shit," Hilde said. And then because the situation was SO ironic she started to laugh until tears ran down her cheeks and froze there, on her skin. After a while, the hysteria left her and she sat silently, looking at the remains of her fire.

There was a very important reason for having this fire. What was it? It's too cold. I forget…

"A-hooooooooo."

Ah, yes. I remember now.

"Shit, shit, SHIT!"

Hilde tried to judge how far a way the wolf was. From the sound of it, close. And getting closer.

"Ohh, goawaygoawaygoaway!!"

The wolf apparently wasn't listening because it's next howl sounded like it was a mere ten feet from where she stood. Hilde looked around for something to defend herself and found only small twigs and sticks from her fire pit. Not the most suitable weapon for fending off a hungry wolf.

What I wouldn't give for Heero's gun right about now.

A growl sounded somewhere above her left ear and Hilde shrieked and jerked to the other side of the trench. In a brilliant flash of quick thinking she whipped off her boot and threw it in the direction of the growl. She heard a sharp yip and then silence. Hilde sat absolutely still for a few minutes, trying to calm the frantic beating of her heart. Her first not-so-coherent thought was,

"Great. Now my foot's going to get cold."

**********************

The chilling sound of a wolf howling echoed off the pine trees in the distance and Wufei stiffened in response. If wild animals had found Hilde before he did…well, he'd hate to think what might have happened.

"Wufei. Wufei, do you read me? Over."

Wufei picked up the mike and replied, "I read you. What do you want, Duo?"

"Heero just checked in with me and he hasn't seen any sign of her in his area. Quatre hasn't had any luck either. She's not down by the lake. I checked that whole area to death. I was hoping that you had more luck."

Wufei could hear the hopeful tone in Duo's voice and his heart clenched painfully.

"I haven't seen anything…yet."

"Oh."

The disappointment was unbearable.

"I'm going to find her," Wufei reassured. "I'm going to find her, I promise."

"Why should I believe you," Duo snapped back. "It's your fault she's out in this…this death trap. It's all your fault!"

Wufei said nothing. Because it was his fault. And he felt more guilty than if he'd killed her with his own two hands. Silence filled the air and Wufei wondered if he'd lost the connection.

"I will find her," he promised Duo once more before hanging up and returning to his search. It was getting close to the two hour deadline and one thing was for certain: Wufei wasn't leaving until he found Hilde.

**********************

Warm. She was so warm. She was finally safe. Hilde sighed and basked in the warmth, the light of the sun beaming down on her upturned face. Everything was good here. Everything was fine. She could finally rest and close her eyes…and let the dreams take her away. But…something was missing. A tiny twinge of fear twisted in her stomach. Something was missing, something important. What could it be?

A face. Smooth, oval shape. Black piercing eyes framed by thick, dark lashes. A perfect curvature of peach-coloured lips and a glossy mane of shoulder-length black hair.

Wufei…

His arms wrapped around her, comforting and strong. The leanness of his body melded with hers and she smiled happily.

"Love you," he whispered softly in her ear.

She tried to reply but found that the words refused to come from her lips. Like they were frozen. Frozen…

Cold. It was so cold. She was so cold and her feet hurt and hands hurt and he stomach hurt and she was SO cold. Where was Wufei? She was cold. He should be here to warm her up. Where was Wufei?

I can't stay here. I can't. I'll die. I don't want to die. I want to live and get married and have kids and grow old and cranky and talk about my health with other old and cranky people. I want to live!

But her eyes were impossibly heavy and she couldn't stand to keep them open one minute longer.

Just for second. I'll just close my eyes for a second, just to get warm and then I'll open them and get out of here.

The lie was pathetic really. Hilde knew that if she closed her eyes now, she would never get up again. But she was so tired and cold and she couldn't stay awake any more. As her lids slammed shut, Hilde thought one thing:

Wufei. I'm sorry.

Then she thought no more.

Owari

Arrrrrrgh! I've killed her!! Maybe….*evil grin* I want reviews, people! And I'll do anything I can to get them. Including leaving you with a doozy of a cliffhanger. Buahahahahahahahaha!!!! Feel my evilness!! REVIEW! NOW! Go on. I'll wait for ya. ^__^

Cherry Blossom

P.S.

Buahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!