Between Love and Hate
Chapter thirteen: Absconding
Aquamarine eyes snapped open, staring distractedly at the white ceiling above, as the morning sun's rays danced elegantly, casting playful patterns and subtle designs across the ceiling in beautiful shades of gold.
A floral scent roused his senses as he breathed in deeply, succumbing to the delicacy of his wife's floral scented, platinum blonde hair.
Rolling over, the young man stared at the stunningly beautiful women beside him and raising his hand slightly, he pushed a few stray strands of hair away from her serene face.
"What time is it?" The young women asked, stirring Quatre from his deep thoughts, and opening her light blue eyes, she stared at her husband sleepily.
Quatre glanced past her pale face and towards the silver clock placed on their dressing table. "Seven thirty, would you like to get up yet, or shall I leave you to sleep for a while?"
Dorothy smiled slightly, and closing her glassy blue eyes again she responded, "I'll get up shortly, just give me a few more minutes." She pulled Quatre closer to her and placing her lips on his, she kissed him.
Quatre placed his hands behind her head, drawing her closer to him and intensifying the innocent kiss into something much deeper, more passionate and more emotional.
Dorothy pulled away after a few minutes, a satisfied smile on her face, and lay back down on her pillow, ready to fall back asleep.
Quatre pulled himself out of the bed, and crossing the cold wooden floor, he locked himself in the en suite, and prepared for a shower.
Once he had removed his clothes, he twisted the silver knob of the shower and watched the pressurized water pour down heavily and beat loudly against the ceramic tiles of the shower.
Running his hand through the water to test the temperature, he was shocked to find that it was ice cold. Frowning, he adjusted the settings and tested it again.
'Perfect,' he thought as he ran his hand through the mildly hot water and stepped into the shower, pulling the glass door shut behind him.
Steam built up against the glass and after condensing, ran coolly down the door in beaded rivulets.
Quatre closed his eyes, enjoying the relaxing feeling the warmth poured over his tense body. However, when the water suddenly changed to boiling hot, he yelled in shock and jumped back, out of the shower.
Frowning once again, Quatre stared at the settings on the power box, noting that they had suddenly been twisted to full heat. Adjusting them once again, Quatre cautiously stepped back into the shower. Nevertheless, he was only inside for a few seconds before he heard the knob twisting again, this time turning back to the icily cold water that he had experienced earlier.
Quatre jumped out, and grabbing a towel from the hanger, he wrapped it around his lower body and turned the shower off.
"Stupid damn shower," he muttered under his breath, as he dried his hair with a separate towel.
"Quatre?" Dorothy's muffled voice called through to him.
"Yes, darling?" Quatre replied, quickly dressing.
"Is everything okay? I heard you yelling."
"Yes everything is fine, I'm just having a little trouble with the shower. If you need one, I suggest that you ask to use Hilde's instead." Quatre opened the bathroom door and smiled warmly at his wife.
"Wow, Quatre, it's roasting in there." Dorothy stated, gesturing to the steam that swarmed out of the en suite.
Quatre nodded, "I'm going down for breakfast, I'll see you down there soon."
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"I don't understand," Quatre started, as he rested his forehead in his hand and glared, confusedly down at the table, "are you sure they aren't anywhere in the hotel… or the grounds?"
"Yes, Quatre, I've already told you. Every perimeter and boundary of the hotel and the acres surrounding it have been thoroughly searched." Zechs told him, annoyed that he doubted his words.
"I know, I know… it's just-"
"You don't understand," Hilde added solemnly, "nobody does, Quatre. I can't find any evidence of struggling or kidnapping anywhere."
"Thanks, Hilde," the Arabian boy sighed deeply and gazed up into the anxious eyes of Milliardo Peacecraft. "What do you propose we do?"
"Mobiles?" Zechs asked as a sudden wave of thought hit him, "Has anybody tried calling them, god dammit?"
Hilde glanced sheepishly at the pair of them before dashing off to the nearest payphone, "I'll call Lena, you guys get hold of Heero!" she called back to them.
Quatre fished his phone out of his back pocket, and flicking up the cover, he speed dialled Heero's number.
"Hello?" It was answered after three rings.
"Hello… Nikki?" Quatre asked, unsurely.
"Yes, who is this?" The girl asked, her Spanish accent ringing out to him.
"Quatre, look Nikki, I was just wondering whether you had seen Heero this morning," There was some fidgeting noises drifting from the other receiver and the sound of ruffling quilts.
"Uhh… Quatre, he's… not here." Nikki replied, the confusion and bewilderment strongly underlining her tone.
"That's what I thought, we checked up there this morning when you were sleeping, but no one answered the door, and well… you know Heero, he's a light sleeper and an early riser, so we reckoned that he wasn't there…" Quatre drifted off, upon realising that he was rambling, "Well, thank you for your help Nikki, come down and get some breakfast when you are ready."
"Umm okay," Nikki answered, unfocused. Quatre realized that she was probably searching for Heero.
"Goodbye," he snapped the phone shut and looked at Zechs, who was staring back, knowingly.
"Heero's car is gone," Quatre glanced up towards the newcomer and smiled slightly.
"Do you think they may have gone out… somewhere?" Quatre asked the Chinese man.
Wufei shrugged and turned his attention to Duo, who was quickly approaching them.
"Hilde said that Relena's phone is off, she can't get through." He told them as he fiddled with the end of his chestnut braid, nervously. "Also, I spoke to the receptionist; she said that two people – both of whom fitted Relena and Heero's descriptions – left the hotel, late last night, but never came back in."
"Well… this is just great," Zechs voiced his thoughts, "What are we supposed to do now?"
Ring
Ring
Quatre grabbed his vibrating phone quickly off the table and flipped it open, holding it carefully to his right ear.
"Quatre Winner, speaking."
"Quatre…" the deep voice called to him through the receiver. Relief flooded through his body, relaxing each of his tensed muscles.
"Heero… where are you?" He asked, his voice laced with slight anger towards his friend.
"At the hospital, listen," Quatre's body tightened again as the stoic solider spoke, "Relena's with a doctor at the minute… she hit her head last night, I don't know how she is yet, the doctors won't let me in. Only family is allowed in to see her until visitor hour or something."
"What? Heero, what is going-"
"I'll explain when you get here, bring Zechs quick." The dial tone only faintly registered in the back of Quatre's mind as the former Wing pilot hung up.
"What is it?" Duo asked, noticing the strange look upon Quatre's face.
"They're at the hospital."
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"I told you already, she hit her head on a rock," Relena was awakened by the sound of Heero's voice, echoing angrily through the small room from the corridor.
She blinked a few times, adjusting to the lights and wondering where, exactly, she was.
'The hospital,' it registered in her mind along with the strong smell of antiseptics and sterile rooms. The beeping from the monitor beside her bed relentlessly droned on as she tried to focus on the conversation outside.
"I don't see why I can't see her, I brought her here, do you really think that if I had wanted to eliminate her, I would have carried her here?"
Relena grimaced slightly at the anger in his voice… 'Such emotion,' she thought, 'what is wrong with him?' She had honestly never heard Heero like this before; normally he was angry in a silenced, aggravated sort of way.
Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, she glanced around the sickeningly white room, studying everything from the machines that were monitoring her status, the greenish glass windows; adorned with checked square lines to the wire leading to the drip, administrating liquid substances into her arm.
Sighing, she pulled the drip out of her arm, grimacing as a stinging pain shot, back and forth, up her arm.
She threw her legs in an arc, over the edge of the bed, shivering from the coldness of the metal bar beneath her and watched Heero through the slightly distorted, hospital window. He ran a shaky hand through his hair and stared at the women in the white dress before him.
"Sir, please, calm down. As soon as visiting times are open, I will let you in to see her. However for now, there are a few forms that I need you to fill out," The nurse told him, with a soothing calmness.
Relena watched as Heero was lead, by the nurse, into another room, and was drenched with relief when neither realized that she was awake.
Seeing that the coast was clear, she climbed down from the bed, throwing the white sheets off her body and startling when her feet found the freezing cold, polished floor underneath her.
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"Okay, Mr Yuy…" the nurse set a set of notes in front of Heero, "If you could sign here…" she pointed with a pen, to a blank on the page, and Heero, taking the pen off her, scribbled a quick signature across the dashed line, "and here…"
The signing continued as the nurse pointed to many more various places and Heero continued to scratch his mark, roughly onto the pages, after scanning through numerous notes.
"What were you thinking? And why were the two of you swimming, in the lake, in the middle of the night?" Zechs growled angrily as he entered the small room, set on interrogating the unknowing Heero.
Heero's head shot up from the paperwork as the ex white-fang leader burst through the door like a strong whirlwind. The nurse beside him squeaked from shock, and stumbled back a few steps, staring at the forebodingly tall man, whilst Heero merely stared at him calmly, as if he had anticipated this sort of reaction.
"Zechs, I'm glad you're here," It faintly registered in his mind that this was the first time he had spoken to the silvery-blond haired man since the incident, three years ago. "I need you to fill out a few of these forms for me."
"And why can't you do it?" Zechs remarked, looking down upon the dark, tanned man below him.
"Because," Heero looked up from the paperwork again, and turning around slightly, he leaned casually against the counter, not letting Zechs behaviour get to him, "I'm not related to her, am I?"
"Heero," A platinum blonde, young man strolled into the room, his pale face riddled with curiosity and anxiety, "What's happened, is she okay?"
"I've been told a few things, but as soon as Moody here," Heero gestured with a strong tanned hand, towards Zechs, who glared at him and folded his long arms across his chest, "fills in these forms, the sooner we can get in to see her, and the sooner we can receive more relevant details."
"Fine," Zechs snarled whilst snatching the pen from Heero's hand. The nurse pushed a few forms across the counter and towards Zechs, who filled in the spaces where she pointed a manicured nail; Heero watched from the side with a proud smirk at having had the upper hand to the situation.
After the forms were filled out, the nurse led the pilots and friends to Relena's room.
"So can you explain what happened, exactly?" Duo asked, an interested glimmer in his cobalt blue eyes.
"She almost drowned," Heero stated plainly, unwilling to go into further explanation.
"Well, I guess that we all grasped that, Heero, but how did it get to that?" asked an exasperated Sally.
"She hit her head when she was swimming," Heero stated, once again adorning his trademarked monotonous voice and stoic expression, each of which, were a great annoyance to all of his friends.
"Heero," Hilde moaned, hitting her head in frustration, against the palm of her hand.
"Fine, you want details?" Heero asked, losing his cool façade, "Well, I'll give you what I do know, which I have to say, isn't exactly much. I was out, having found the lake earlier on in the night, and decided to take a swim to relax slightly," Duo snorted in amusement, as if the thought of Heero relaxing entertained his thoughts. Heero glared at his American friend, "Then half way through one of my laps, I noticed Relena walking towards the water, and so I got out to talk to her…"
"And then you changed your mind, and decided to toss her to the bottom instead," Zechs added, with a mixture of mockery and seriousness, "How nice of you." He added, sardonically.
Heero glared, his Prussian blue eyes seemingly cutting through Zechs, "If I had have wanted to kill her, don't you think that I would have had plenty of time to do that before tonight," He was strangely reminded of his earlier conversation with the medical staff, whose conversation with him seemed to follow the same lines. Why was it that everyone had suddenly decided that he was such a threat? "And why would I have jumped back in, rescued her, and brought her here, if I had have wanted her to die? You really are pathetic."
Zechs seemed somewhat offended by this comment, and turned his eyes away from the young Japanese man, allowing him to win the staring match, and pulled his wife in closer to his chest.
"I don't understand how it all happened, one minute she was fine, doing what she usually does. You know… her habitual remarks and usage of offensive words, trying all that she could to annoy me; show me just how much she really does hate me." He said, sounding almost irritated by his own words, "And so I did as she wished; she wanted me gone, I was gone. I got out of the water and was collecting my things," Heero made sure to hide the fact that he had earlier scared the young women, in the water. He felt that it wouldn't go down too well with her over-protective, older brother, "when I turned back around, for one last glance; she was nowhere to be seen."
He shrugged, gesticulating that even he, didn't know what had ensued, "so I jumped in and caught her, when I brought her back up to the surface, I carried her onto the banks, resuscitated her and checked that she was able to breathe, I noticed the gash on her head and figured it would be best to bring her here. That enough detail for you?" He didn't wait for an answer and left his companions with great strides, to catch up with the nurse.
They stood there in shock, staring at each other with agape mouths and disbelieving eyes. That was undoubtedly the first time that any of them had heard Heero string more than five words together at a time.
Quietly, they quickened their pace to catch up with Heero and the medical attendant, each re-running Heero's words in their heads and trying to decipher what had happened.
Once they reached Relena's temporary room, the nurse glanced quickly in through the window, to check on the presumed, sleeping girl. A troubled gasp left her painted red lips as she clasped her hand over her mouth.
"Where- where…" She muttered, "Where has she gone?" She speedily swung around towards Heero and pointed blaming eyes in his direction.
"What?" Heero asked, seemingly annoyed at the accusation, but there was little change in his tone and facial expression, "I was with you the whole time," his voice started to rise slightly, "How the hell could I have taken her out?"
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Small, soft feet padded across the cold, sterile and polished floors of the wards and the slight thuds echoed through the silent corridors.
Glancing around hastily, cerulean blue eyes nervously inspected the area for forms of life whilst pale delicate hands swept wavy honey-blond locks from a fair, cherubic face.
Relena ran a hand through her tousled hair, silently cursing the lake water for causing it to frizz and wav, and using her fingers, she pried the knots from her tresses.
Spotting a figure dressed in white rounding a corridor, she ducked into one of the rooms and waiting until the doctor had passed, Relena released a sigh of relief.
She cast a fleeting look across the plain, pallid room and as soon as she passed the notice board, her eyes scanned a few familiar words before continuing on, halting and quickly glimpsing back towards the document pinned upon the wooden chipboard.
'Trowa Barton' the paper read. Relena recklessly stumbled across the room on unstable and trembling legs, making her way over to the clipboard, and lifting the board from its place.
'Condition: Stable, comatose, wounds healing well and injuries recovering with accurate attention'. Relena's eyes darted towards the empty bed in the middle of the room, and after staring for a few moments, she exited the room, a stern look of confusion adorning her features.
Continuing her lonely trek along the corridors, Relena peered into each room with scrutinizing eyes, searching fervently for the cinnamon brown hair that she longed to se so badly.
Passing a storage cupboard, she sighed heavily upon having no luck in finding the usually silent soldier and stopped to stare, blankly ahead, her eyes resting on the long corridor and the small window, shedding fragments of daylight through its semi-transparent and bubbly glass.
However, she was startled out of her reveries as a strong hand wrapped tautly around her mouth and another around her waist, pulling her hastily into a dark closet.
Having closed her eyes from the surprise, Relena opened them to be coldly embraced with a tense darkness, drawing a deep breath; she braced herself to relieve a loud shriek, perhaps to scare her captor.
"Don't scream," he warned, holding the hand firmly over her mouth before letting go and spinning her around.
In the darkness, Relena could vaguely make out the basic details of her captor, however, as soon as recognition hit, she gasped in shock.
'Hatred ever kills, love never dies. Such is the vast difference between the two. What is obtained by love is retained for all time. What is obtained by hatred proves a burden in reality for it increases hatred' -- Mohandas K. Gandhi
A/N – I am so sorry about the delay, but it's up now, and that's all that matters… Right? Oooh I'm wrecked, just back from a Tennants Vital Concert… SO GOOD! I bounced all of my energy out of me, so please excuse any mistakes and typos etc.
I know this chapter wasn't intensely thrilling. But i can't always have you guys thrilled out of your little bones lol. Danger will ensue in the next chapter.
Thank you so much for the reviews, they definitely cheered me up –
TheEvilAshleyness – Thanks for the review, I'm glad you're enjoying. Hope that this one doesn't disappoint.
Keeroshu – Subconscious thing, lol, or is it? Yeah, supernatural it kind of is, but then again, it's what I'm striving for; a bit of mystery (grins). And yes, he does care for her, and he isn't really cold to her, normally it's the other way around (weird, I know) but the reason is that neither want to let the other know they care, because they don't want to fall for each other lol. Hehe, they're trying to fight fate. There's really no point in me answering your last questions, because, well, they've already been answered in this lol! Thanks for the review!
LiStEn2UrHeArT2 – Aww, thank you, so much! I'm flattered, really. It would suck for Relena to have gone into a coma, but as you can see, she hasn't!
RayxJade – Yes, indeed I did end it and another cliffhanger here to. You must love me (raises an eyebrow to her sarcastic remark) Thank you for the compliments, they mean a lot to me. I can't say who she's going to end up with. That would totally spoil the plot; and I wouldn't want to do that now… (Smiles)
edhel-tarien – Lol, that's okay, I love the attempt at a long review, it's the thought that counts… huh. Yeah, ditto, I loved that twist too; don't know how it came to me though lol. Oh… the randomness that runs through my twisted mind lol. Oh and, Matt and Heero will meet, um… I can't remember what chapter, but we have a wee bit to go to get there. Don't worry though, I'll try to keep you occupied, I have a few twists up my sleeves, (grins mischievously)
ABeautifulDisgrace – (smiles) Yay, I accomplished what I sought to do. Gosh, I love you so much (platonically of course) your reviews totally give me that happy bubble of excitement! Yeah, I know, I love Trowa and Relena, but I love Heero and Relena, so I'm kind of struggling with my mind to do this fic. It's kind of hard, like an ongoing battle in my mind. That's great, about your fic I mean. I'll review again soon, when I get time, but yeah, I love it!
kay jolyn – Lol, hooked, I like that. Kind of makes me feel like an angler though, you know, with the rod and all my readers snapped with a hook. Eww, that's weird, okay, I'll be quiet and answer you questions lol. OoC Heero rocks my little fictional world lol. He's got the whole bad-boy attitude going on, and frankly, I LOVE IT! I'm glad you do to.
Rinny Leonheart – Maybe, maybe not. I think it's just a wee thing. And yeah, haha, that really irritated Heero, how I love doing that! Thanks!
Rachele – Thanks for the review! Hope you enjoyed this chapter.
Indigo-dimond – Lol, thanks, I'm really flattered, I'm definitely not the best at this, but to hear comments like yours, well it just helps me strive to achieve my best!
Eva Maverx – No worries, you reviewed here, and that's all that really mattered, thanks a lot! Lol, I've heard that comment a lot; although this chapter has a few exciting twists, I don't quite get the buzz.
10-Midnight-01 – Lol, that's okay, thanks for reviewing. Hope your doing okay with your own fics.
Jen – sorry, I can't comment on the pairings, but I can say that there will be some action between those two characters lol. Thanks you for the compliment (blushes)
charlie00 – (hugs Charlie) yay, my no.1 fan! Lol. Yeah, well the holidays were nice, but I missed typing a lot. Which is kind of weird, seeing as there were millions of HOT guys on the beach, adorned in only surf shorts and revealing there lovely tanned bodies (ahem) sorry lol. Really, you can imagine being there? That's cool, really. I'm glad you love this fic, I'm afraid that EY is going to end soon, probably only a few more chapters to go. But there'll be plenty more, (grins).
Saigo no Megami – Lol, loving your enthusiasm, a lot! Drugs? Heero? Haha, your imagination runs wild! No way, no way. He's just confuzzled. Poor thing. Nope not Matt, you'll find out soon, I think lol. I can't quite remember.
Leylass – I will finish it, don't fret. I just have a lot of things on my mind (results… yikes) and well, it just takes me a lil' longer to update. Thanks for the review.
Janine-chan – Whoa, three reviews… I love you. Lol. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!
Playmobile – Intentional… yes kind of. Haha, Heero keeps getting swamped with drowning girls. But there's a difference. This time it was serious, and well, in chapter three that was just Nikki messing and being a flirt. Oh and trying to get Heero to admit his feelings for her… Sneaky eh? I can't tell you who the person was, or who the attack was directed towards, but he was linked to Matt, and in a few chapters you should understand. Sorry if I'm leaving any blank spaces. Yay, BINGO. You're sharp lol, picking up all of my little hints and stuff (grins) she is, in fact, becoming anorexic… silly girl, but then again, I guess the pressure of the press can do that. Haha, yeah, I love Heero's wee quirky comments and sarcasm, it just makes him… well fit perfectly into this character role I've handed him.
Chikyuu-Defender-Beyblader – Thank you, yeah she is kind of delusional with those wee sequences, but in a way, they are a main part of this lol. Links to the haunted theme lol. Thanks for reviewing (smiles)
blissful trinity – He is, isn't he… haha Heero… stop pretending that you don't! Oh yeah, that's my fault, right? Oh well, I love him this way. I love the series, I have it all on DVD, including 'Endless waltz' I cannot recall how many times I have watched it, but I'd have to say… too many lol.
Leylass – déjà vu? Lol… nope, you did review before, but that was for chapter one… silly me, aww well. Hehe, yeah, you will have to endure a lot of cliffies lol, including this one! Clean? As in… no bad language? I think I already broke that one… or like… no sex. I haven't planned any, and if there is any, there'll be no descriptions, I mean, haha, I don't really know what exactly goes on (grimaces) but yeah, hope that answers your questions.
Computer geek michelle – Thank you, glad your addicted lol. Hope you enjoy the future stuff that comes from my messed up mind lol.
Nikki must die – She must… mustn't she lol. Don't worry, I am a great fan of happily ever afters lol, or am I? I can't remember lol (grins mischievously). Hope you liked this chapter, more excitement should ensue in the next chapter… this one wasn't a great thriller.
Review? Please?
Love y'all
Allura
