"Rip Current"

Written By: yaruna

Disclaimer: Gundam Wing isn't mine! I'm not pretending they are, I simply love messing around with the lovable characters. Any similarity to existing works is purely coincidental.

Rating: R

Genre: Drama, Hurt/Comfort, Angst, Romance…? Alternate Universe

Warning:Probably some OOCness. Kind of bastard Heero in the first chapters. Some swearing. Won't pass the Bechdel test. Somewhat cliché, I think. Hmmz… what more… oh yeah, I'm a bit of a sadist, people will get hurt… sorry about that

Summary: Feelings are running high on the shorelines. Duo has arrived on the shores of Sanc Island and is making new friends, and enemies, among the locals as they surf their way towards the big competition. AU

A/N:I live for feedback

Sit back, and let the waves take you for a ride.

"Rip Current"

Chapter 13: Closeout

 

When I woke up my head was lying on Heero's arm. My own arm was lying across his abs. I've never taken the proper time to appreciate a guy's abs before. Heero's abs are the sole definition of perfect. They are lean and when I trace my hand over them, I can feel the bumps as I would feel the swells in the water on a day with a small breeze.

'Morning,' Heero said, and moved his hand slightly to lie in the small of my back. I let my fingers continue to feather over his abs.

'Hey,' I said and kissed the top of his chest.

'How do you feel?' he asked and I had to think about it. I could still feel what we'd done the previous night, but I wasn't sore, or hurt in any way.

'Sated,' I answered with a grin, and moved my hand up to his chest and over his shoulder where I could feel an abrasion. Heero hissed, and pulled his shoulder away slightly, making me sit up in the bed to try and get a good look at it.

It was a blister. Actually, there were three bigger blisters, covering his shoulder blade.

'You got hurt?' I asked, wondering why he hadn't told me. Wondering why I hadn't noticed the previous night. It wasn't like he'd been trying to cover up. Then again, I could admit to having been quite distracted by other parts of his body.

'It's nothing,' he mumbled even as he stretched his neck and moved his shoulder forwards to try and get a better look at the blisters.

'You got it when you knocked in the door?' I asked, feeling guilty.

'I think so. It was burning,' he said, as though it didn't matter.

'It was burning already?' I shook my head. 'Why didn't you wait for the fire department?' He looked into my eyes with raised eyebrows, as though he couldn't believe I'd asked him that question.

'You were in there,' he told me anyways, and I brushed a kiss over his lips.

'Thank you,' I said and got out of the bed. He moved, about to join and I held my hands up to stop him. 'Stay.'

'Gladly,' he answered with a yawn and settled his head back onto the pillow. I fished out a fresh pair of Heero's underwear to get into.

'You look sexy in my clothes,' he said and I chuckled. I turned back to see a smirk on Heero's face as he watched me intently.

'I'll be back in a moment,' I said and went out in search for my backpack. I had to walk on the outside of my feet in order to avoid my own blisters.

Heero almost always placed my backpack on one of the kitchen chairs when he was the one to bring it inside. This time was no exception, and once I had it I padded back into Heero's room with the backpack in hand.

He had rolled over onto his stomach and fallen back asleep in the short time that he was waiting for me. I pulled out the ointment that I'd gotten the previous day before placing my backpack on the floor.

His right shoulder was covered in blisters of various sizes and the skin surrounding the blisters was an angry red hue. I almost felt sick when I realized I'd touched his shoulder during our coupling the previous night and that his shudder then couldn't have been due to pleasure. I couldn't believe I'd hurt him.

I sat down on the bed with one leg bent underneath me, and the other on the edge of the bed as I spread a bit of the ointment onto my hands. I put my hands gently onto his shoulder to apply the salve. No matter how tender I was trying to be Heero still woke up from it with a small evasive jerk. The blisters were filled with fluid and had to be incredibly painful.

'Sorry,' I said, but kept spreading the ointment.

'It's fine,' he answered and gritted his teeth as I continued my administrations. Once finished with the lotion I started to rub his back, moving from his buttocks to the uninjured parts of his shoulder, and onto his neck.

It pleased me to find that he shivered delightfully whenever I stroked my finger where the base of his head meets his neck. I feathered over it and watched him shudder.

'Gods, Duo. That feels so good,' he mumbled, and I kept it up, seating myself on the back of his thighs as I massaged his back.

After a while, I might have started to fall into a more erotic territory, and I leaned over him to kiss that spot on his neck. It broke him, and he turned swiftly under me. He almost unseated me but he caught me as he sat up and I settled back onto his thighs. He put his hands around my waist and I tilted my head down, as I was taller than him when sitting on his thighs. We kissed deeply, and I heard myself whimper against him, feeling a need begin to spark inside of me again.

Then a knock came on the door, and we broke off. I leaned my forehead against his uninjured shoulder and chuckled. I almost wanted to cry in frustration.

'Go away,' Heero called, and there was a loud laugh from Trowa outside of the door.

'Breakfast when you're ready. If you haven't had it already,' he called through the door and I laughed.

'At least he knocked this time,' I said and got off of Heero's lap, feeling awkward about doing anything now that they all apparently knew what was going on. 'What if they heard...'

'They'll live. Quatre and Trowa aren't exactly silent. Neither are Wufei and Sally,' Heero said flatly as he got off of his bed and went over to the closet, where he proceeded to search for something to wear.

'Wufei and Sally? Really?' I'd thought they were friends with a crush on each other, since I didn't see her around too often, but if they were doing... nightly activities, obviously there was something more between them.

'Really,' he answered and held out a pair of shorts for me. 'You don't have any more, right? These are a bit too small for me.'

'Thanks,' I said, feeling a bit ashamed at accepting a handout from Heero but took them and tried them on.

Heero smiled widely when I looked back at him and he took a step forwards and gave me a small kiss.

'I really like seeing you in my clothes,' he said in a sultry voice and I chuckled. It could have lead to something more, but I was already self-conscious about the others in the house and I stepped away.

'I have to go into town and buy some new ones though, and find somewhere to stay...' Heero grabbed me from behind around my waist, making me stop talking. I leaned to the side a bit and tilted my head to be able to look at him.

'Stay here,' he said and kissed my neck. 'I'll buy a bigger bed.'

''Ro, I don't want to intrude,' I said and turned around in his arms. I didn't want him to feel like he had to offer only because we'd had sex. I didn't want him to feel that he needed to buy a bigger bed either, but I needed to take one issue at a time.

'You're not. I want you here,' he assured and I leaned forward to kiss him deeply.

'Thanks, 'Ro,' I said and he leaned in for another kiss before we went out to join the rest of the guys for breakfast.

'You took your time,' Trowa said when we came out, and I tried to avoid blushing. I doubted my efforts were successful.

'Unfinished business,' I answered to try and make him drop any jokes he might have had and he chuckled.

'No details,' Wufei said, raising his hands in avoidance and we all laughed.

We had our usual routing on Sunday mornings. It's very simple really. Finish breakfast, and then head out to surf if the conditions were good. The conditions were great that day and the other three finished breakfast before Heero and I, but they were kind enough to wait. They said they waited since they thought we'd get preoccupied with other things otherwise, and I wondered if it was possible to turn permanently red.

After I'd brushed my teeth, I went out to collect my melted board that had been discarded in the sand the previous night. My heart stopped when I didn't see it, and I looked around frantically.

'What's wrong?' Quatre asked behind me.

'My board, I forgot it here last night,' I said and he smiled.

'Trowa took it to the shop.'

'Thanks, Q',' I said and went with hurried steps into the shop. I could hear Heero and Trowa talking in the back roon. I'd never been there before and knocked on the door, waiting for a reply before I opened it.

It was a shaping room, and they'd put my board on the bench. They were both looking at it critically, but I still felt hope flare inside of me.

'Can you fix it?' I asked and Heero looked at me with sad eyes. My heart dropped like a stone.

'We'd have to remove a lot of the fiberglass. Possibly all of it.' I think he caught my horrified look, because he went on to explain further. 'Even where it doesn't look like it's affected, the structure can be weakened. And we don't know what state the foam is in yet.'

I sighed, feeling the hope disappear. It seemed like I'd had my last surf with Solo.

'Don't spend your time with it. Thanks for thinking about it, though,' I said, not missing the frown I got from Heero before I walked back into the front of the shop and looked over the surfboards they had on display.

Not a one of the boards spoke to me. They were too long, too short, too wide and generally wrong. I was being unreasonable, and all of them were probably great, but it wasn't the same. It couldn't be the same. I couldn't just throw the board away and replace it with another.

I sighed and felt Heero's arms wrap around me. I intertwined my fingers with his and leaned into his embrace.

'You all right?' he asked softly, leaning his chin on my shoulder, and I nodded.

'Yeah. I think I'll go into town though, I need to shop for some clothes.'

'Duo... it's Sunday,' he said cautiously and I sighed.

'So I'll go for a walk,' I said. He let me go and I turned around to face him. 'I really am fine, 'Ro. I just need some time to think.'

'Do you... want company?' he asked, looking into my eyes, but I think he knew I'd reject him. I smiled, trying to show him that it was fine.

'No. Go surfing, I'll come back in a few hours,' I said and moved out of the shop. He followed me.

'You sure?' he asked as he locked the door.

'Yeah.'

'All right. See you in a few hours,' he said and he went off to get his surfboard.

I walked off along the beach walk. I hadn't been further west than the Surf, so I thought I'd finally head off and sit down to watch if the Rift was as unpredictable as everyone said.

The Rift is quite an odd place. It's between two coral reefs, the one at the Surf and the one at Choker. From what I'd heard and read about it, it had a rock bottom. The combination of these three variables made the waves climb high, but closeouts were also common. The waves would break all the way through, making a lot of them unsurfable. But then there would be that one perfect wave. The one that broke at the edge and created a perfect barrel. The one that made it worth every wipeout.

It was unpredictable. The waves didn't break at the same place every time, and the breaks that created surfable barrels were minutes apart. The Rift Wars had never been held before, and I understood why. I understood why it wouldn't be a part of the official contest, because it wasn't enough with one surfable wave every five to ten minutes. The contest had nothing to do with winning, and all to do with bragging rights.

I had wanted to surf it with Solo. When he had died, I had brought his board, hoping to be able to bring his spirit, and in a sense, still surf it together.

Now I had nothing left.

It had been Solo's dream to begin with; I had been dragged along for the ride. Actually, I hadn't been dragged; I had followed behind him quite willingly, and had even pulled occasionally.

A bark pulled me out of my reverie and I turned towards the noise to see Zero run towards me. He slid to a stop in the sand and put his nose in my lap, begging for me to pet him. I buried my fingers in his fur and scratched.

I'd seen Heero behind the dog, but chose to ignore him until he was standing right next to me and I had no idea what I was going to say to him. My head was still in disarray.

He didn't say anything either and simply sat down behind me. His legs appeared on both sides of mine, making Zero move back a little. Heero scooted as close as he could, until I felt his warmth against my back. He wrapped his arms around my chest and I leaned into his embrace. I let my hand continue scratching distractedly behind Zero's ears.

The only sound that was made was Zero's panting breaths and the crashing of the waves from the ocean. The ocean was rippling with huge waves, and they crashed onto the rocks with a massive thunder. It would be dangerous to catch a wave that broke too close to the beach. If you fell, you would end up on the rocks.

'What are you thinking about?' Heero asked softly after a while, and I hesitated.

'Pros, surfing, water, dreams, death, Solo. Take your pick,' I said and chuckled darkly as he kept quiet. He only squeezed gently with his arms.

'He got me into surfing, you know. He kind of adopted me as a brother when I was ten, and he taught me everything.'

'You started when you were ten?' he asked in apparent surprise, and I laughed.

'Not the point, 'Ro. But yeah. Solo caught me when I was hanging around the beach, stealing food.' Heero loosened his grip slightly and I knew he was shocked. I probably shouldn't have told him quite like that. 'I was homeless, 'Ro. I kind of took the food wherever I could get it.' He tightened his arms around me again.

'I'm sorry,' he said, sounding contrite, and I shook my head. It wasn't his fault I hadn't told him yet, and I knew he was quite a stickler for the law. I was more surprised that he hadn't asked why social services hadn't taken me in.

'Solo was fifteen, and old enough to have some jobs. He had some money, and let me live with him. His highest dream, the one he would never give up on, was to become a pro. He met G after a competition, and he was signed. Then I was signed when I was fifteen, because I hated when Solo went travelling without me,' I said and laughed darkly. It had been the only reason. I didn't care for the photo-shoots, or press conferences. But I loved the surfing. I loved travelling with Solo. 'It was his dream. This...' I made a gesture to encompass the ocean. 'It was all his dream. Surfing the Rift someday was his goal. When he died, I wanted to fulfill it with his board.' When Rift Wars was announced I'd known it was the perfect time. I bit my lip, feeling the pain in my chest from having disappointed Solo.

'You won't surf it?'

'I don't know. He's not with me anymore,' I said and shrugged with the shoulder he wasn't leaning his chin on. 'I don't know what I want anymore. Should I even continue as a pro?' I was merely musing, and didn't expect an answer.

'You need to find that out for yourself, Duo,' he said anyways. 'I'll support you.'

'Even though you hate pro surfers?' I asked, trying for a light tone. He sighed and drew back a little, making me frown and wonder what I'd said wrong.

'I don't hate them. Especially not you,' he said teasingly, but let out a small breath, telling me he wasn't quite up for it. 'My parents died when I was eight,' he said and I took a hold of the arm that was over my chest, wanting to hold him, but not able to turn around in his embrace. 'They went out to surf at any chance they got. The first year Gundams was held a bunch of pros came to the island. They thought themselves better than everyone, just because they had some sponsors. My dad didn't stand for it, and they got into a fight, ending up with a contest right here at the Rift.'

He went silent, and I hugged his arms tightly as he leaned his forehead against my shoulder.

'It was crazy,' he said and shivered. 'My parents had surfed here their entire lives. They knew the waves inside and out, and they won easily. The pros were upset at having been shown up so extremely but they left. That night, I woke up and the house was in flames.'

'No,' I breathed involuntarily, and I struggled to get out of his arms, needing to hold him. He let me go, and I turned around, putting my legs over his and wrapped them behind his back. I hugged him close with my arms, ensconcing him completely but was still careful not to touch his blisters.

'I'm so sorry,' I said. Sorry about his parents. Sorry about the memories that had surely been dredged up by the fire the previous day.

The memory from the fire was still vivid in my mind. How the orange flames had gotten closer, and how the noise from the burning wood had made everything else disappear.

The fear.

If I felt like that, I wondered how it would have been for an eight-year-old. And to lose his parents to it, I couldn't even begin to imagine what kind of pain he was going through. Had been going through since he was so young.

'The fire started in their bedroom. They didn't smoke, but the fire chief had found a cigarette butt outside. They never found who did it, but they were sure it was arson.'

I was even happier now that I'd never told him Mueller had set the fire to the shed. With such a history, I could only imagine what Heero would have done if he'd known.

'It was the pros?'

'I always thought it was one of them,' he said and sighed. 'I realize it was the act of one deranged person. That it had nothing to do with his being a pro or not. But the entire deal, the arrogance and feigned superiority most pros seem to have, it reminds me of what happened, and I don't like them.'

'I understand,' I told him, gently rubbing his back. 'Who... who did you live with? Afterwards?'

He tensed and didn't speak for so long I thought he wouldn't tell me. But then he sighed.

'My uncle owned the Safe house. I moved in with him and his daughter.' His last line had an air of finality to it and I didn't ask anything more. His uncle was obviously gone since Heero had inherited the Safe house. Then his niece would have been gone as well, or it would have gone to her.

I held on to Heero, moving my hands slowly, trying to comfort him.

Zero pressed his head between us and started to lick our faces, making us let go of each other with a laugh.

'I think he's angry that he hasn't gotten dinner yet,' Heero said with a smile towards his dog.

'Dinner? What about lunch?' I asked, feeling my stomach grumble slightly, and Heero looked at me with a raised eyebrow. The somber mood was blown away.

'Duo, you were away for five hours. Now, we've probably been here for a few more,' he said, looking up towards the sun. 'Lunch is long gone. We didn't wait for you.'

'Oh, man,' I groaned, and he laughed at me.

'Let's go,' he said, snaked his legs out from under mine and reached his hand down.

I took it and got up.

Zero ran off in front of us, stopped and came back to run a lap around us, before running off again. We started to walk back, our hands still locked together, and I took one last look at the raving seas.

Whose dream was I chasing anyways?

~ * ~

Chapter 14

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