Check yes Juliet, are you with me?
Rain is falling down on the sidewalk
I won't go until you come outside
Check yes Juliet, kill the limbo
I'll keep tossing rocks at your window
There's no turning back for us tonight
It was a cloudy, rain-drenched dusk when Gilbert finally made it to the sidewalk beneath your first-floor window. He frowned when he saw your window closed – Ivan must have made you lock it before he and the rest of the Baltics went to bed. The silver-haired nation sighed nasally, glancing down at the soaked concrete under his black canvas sneakers. His eyes were drawn to the gravelly soil housing an old tree that had been better days as it sat despondently on the tiny patch of open ground beside the tall apartment building.
A triumphant grin broke onto his face as he scooped up a handful of the grey stone pellets. Taking a few steps back so he had a good view of your window, he weighed up the first of his tiny projectiles, took aim and threw.
The first was soon followed by a second and a third, each making dull plink-ing noises against the glass. Gilbert was just about to throw another handful when your light flickered on and you appeared at the window, your hair scooped up in a messy ponytail, wearing only a white tank top and a pair of shorts. If possible, his grin widened even further – he thought you were beautiful even after being rudely awakened during a rainstorm.
Peering down at the source of the noise, your eyes caught sight of Gilbert standing below you, on the sidewalk in the pouring rain. If possible, he had one of the goofiest grins over plastered on his face, his ruby-red eyes half hidden by the hood of his black jacket. The elation you felt at seeing him was quickly overpowered by the crushing fear of Ivan having been woken by the noise as well. If Russia walked in and you weren't asleep…you shuddered. There would be hell to pay. And if he saw Prussia – a nation that he absolutely hated – standing outside your window… the mere thought of what he would do made you nauseous.
"What are you doing here?" you hissed, clutching the windowsill so tightly, your knuckles turned a sickly shade of white.
"I told you the awesome me was coming around tonight to get you out of this hell-hole for a little while," Gilbert replied brightly, tossing the remainder of the gravel back into the desolate flowerbed and shoving his hands deep into his jacket pockets.
You glanced over your shoulder nervously – the door was still closed, and it appeared as though none of the Baltics had noticed your bedroom light seeping through under it. Turning back to Gilbert with an exasperated sigh, you replied hurriedly, "You can't stay here! What if Ivan sees you? You know what he'll do to you if he sees you talking to me again."
The German ex-nation just shrugged nonchalantly, winking at you. "I'm not leaving until you come out here, frau."
Seeing the look in his eyes and the expression on his face, you knew he was completely serious. Shoulder's slumping in defeat, you leaned against the windowsill and regarded him quietly. Gilbert just gave you a look and nodded his head in some vague direction down the street. You allowed yourself a small smile, shaking your head at his persistence – Gilbert knew that you hated Ivan; hated being forced to live under the same roof as the bastard for who-knew-how-long.
Ever since you had been invaded by Russia, your will to try and fight on as an independent nation had been slowly and surely dwindling, due to fear of Ivan's psychotic nature and his violent tendencies when things didn't go his way.
But then you'd met Gil.
"C'mon fraulein, it's getting cold out here!" he whispered. "It's not awesome to be cold!"
A small chuckle escaped your lips. You decided to take a chance again – like every time you met with Gilbert. Even though Ivan thought he controlled you, you were still your own person; your own nation. And you would do whatever you so pleased, when you felt like it. Damn the consequences.
You hopped off the windowsill, scrounging for some more suitable clothes. You grimaced. You just hoped there would be no consequences.
Lace up your shoes, here's how we do –
Run baby run, don't ever look back
They'll tear us apart if you give them the chance
Don't sell your heart, don't say we're not meant to be
Run baby run, forever we'll be
You and me
After throwing on an over-sized hoodie – one Gil had gotten for you a while back; it was your favourite – and a pair of high-top sneakers, you snapped your lightswitch off and stuffed a few extra pillows under your blanket, so that if anyone happened to decide to check on you during the night, they would think you were fast asleep.
You threw a leg over the windowsill, your foot touching down on the slick metal of the fire escape winding past your bedroom wall. Casting one last look at the closed door and shoving down the nervous butterflies in your stomach, you pushed yourself out the window and closed it behind you.
Once on the fire escape, you turned and dropped down, grabbing hold of the steel banister and sliding the rest of the way down. Landing lightly on your feet, the rain pounding down around you, you flipped your hood up and looked at the almost-drenched albino waiting for you. He grinned and grabbed your hand, towing you after him as the two of you ran down the street.
"About time!" he chuckled as you ran. "Any longer and I would have caught pneumonia!"
You laughed and tugged on his hand irritably. "Ivan sort of makes a person paranoid."
Gil flashed you another toothy grin over his shoulder, crimson eyes sparkling. "That's why I keep coming back – that psychotic bastard doesn't deserve you."
Check yes Juliet, I'll be waiting
Wishing, wanting, yours for the taking
Just sneak out, and don't tell a soul goodbye
Check yes Juliet, here's the countdown
Three-two-one now fall in my arms
Now they can change the locks, don't let them change your mind
Two weeks later, you had had enough. Ivan was pushing the limits you had to how far he could test you, both mentally and physically. Any little thing you did wrong, even the tiniest, most insignificant thing, resulted in a beating that would make a felon cringe. You were covered in bruises from your neck to your ankles, with rope burns on your wrists and fist-shaped bruises peppering your cheeks.
If you didn't know better, you would have sworn Ivan had seen you with Gilbert and was prolonging his idea of punishment for the 'ultimate sin' for as long as possible. Maybe he was just hoping you would snap, and become a raging psychopath like him.
To tell the truth, you weren't far from it.
Ivan had forced Latvia to lock you in your room for the past two days after you had tripped and spilled a glass of water. You had only been fed twice – the previous morning and night – but Raivis and Toris had been kind enough to slip you some of their rations when Ivan wasn't around. You felt sorry for the other Baltics – they walked on glass around Ivan, afraid to even breath without his say-so.
You, on the other hand, were still clinging onto your sense of identity, refusing to become Ivan's play-thing.
You were laying on your bed, staring despondently at the ceiling, when a sudden noise from outside garnered your attention. Getting to your feet, you crept over to the window to see if Ivan had returned from wherever he had headed off to that morning, dread settling like a lead weight in the pit of your stomach.
Relief flooded your veins, however, when you saw Gilbert's flashy silver car parked outside on the sidewalk. Opening your window, you leaned out as he got out the car.
"The awesome me has come to be your knight in shining armour!" he proclaimed over the hum of the engine, grinning like a madman. "Pack your bags, frau. We're leaving!"
Needing no further invitation, you raced around your sparse room to gather your belongings before Ivan arrived back. He would no doubt be furious about your sudden departure, but you weren't going to suffer here any longer.
Returning to the window, Gilbert held his arms out and you tossed him your small duffel bag. He caught it and opened the back door of his car, chucking it inside. Almost leaping out of the window, you looked at your locked door one last time and felt a tiny pang or regret at not being able to say goodbye to the others - but there was no time.
In your haste, your foot slipped on the slick metal railing of the fire escape and you lost your balance. With a yelp, you fell through open air.
But before you could hit the ground, you landed in someone's strong embrace. Cracking an eye open, you saw Gilbert smirking down at you. He winked and held you closer to him, chuckling.
"See? I told you I would be your knight in shining armour," his smirk widened and you punched his arm playfully.
"More like knight in a shiny car," you scoffed, placing your feet in the sidewalk and peering down the road to make sure Ivan was nowhere in sight.
"Don't I even get a thank-you kiss?" Gil pouted, and you couldn't help but laugh at his childish expression.
Before you could answer, there was the screech of brakes and the slam of someone exiting a car rather hastily. "NYET, _!"
Your blood froze, and both you and Gilbert whipped around to see a positively-murderous-looking Ivan charging towards you, brandishing his hefty pipe rather threateningly.
"In the car! NOW!" Gilbert shouted, both of you diving into the vehicle – you in the backseat, Gilbert in the drivers'.
Jamming the car into gear, you both slammed your doors shut and pulled away from the curb at lightning speed, tires screeching in protest and kicking up clouds of smoke in their wake. The car sped down the road, and only after you were sure that you had left Ivan far enough behind did you rise from your foetal position on the back seat and peer out of the rear window.
You laughed triumphantly when you saw the irate Russian throw his pipe to the ground with such force that it actually bounced a couple of times. You ducked a little lower when he shook his fist at you, but still laughed.
You were finally free.
"We did it!" you yelled in elation, throwing your arms around the driver's seat and enveloping Gilbert in a hug. You buried your face in the crook of his neck, almost in tears from sheer relief and happiness.
"Are we amazing or what?" Gilbert chuckled, ruffling your hair with one hand while keeping the other planted firmly on the steering wheel.
You just laughed more, gripping him tighter. You'd managed to get away from Russia. You were finally free to be with the one man – nation – who truly made you happy.
You were pretty confident that Gil was all you would ever need.
Run baby run, don't ever look back
They'll tear us apart if you give them the chance
Don't sell your heart, don't say we're not meant to be
Run baby run, forever we'll be
You and me