"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 12: Caught Inside

Warning: Lime ahead.

Smoke was crawling its way into the shed through the cracks and it made my eyes water. Every breath I took felt like a struggle and the air coming into my lungs was far too hot. I had lain down on the sand to get away from the thick black smoke that was gathering at the top.

Sparks had flown in from outside and the letters that were strewn out after my rummaging had caught fire. With as much strength as I could muster, I had pushed sand onto them, making them simmer out. At least the fire had yet to start eating on the shed from the inside. I kicked against the door again and began to cough with the added strain. The door still refused to move and I realized how futile it was. I would have to jump out through the burning window, or I would be caught.

Out of the smoke, into the fire.

Shit!

Then I heard my rescue! There was a scratching noise from the outside, and then a loud bark.

'Zero!' I called, as loud as I could. 'Get Heero! Get Heero, boy!' I coughed harshly as more smoke entered my throat.

'Duo!' was called back immediately, and I would have laughed if I hadn't thought it would make me cough my lungs up.

Then something slammed against the door, and I had enough sense to roll out of its way, in case he did manage to smash it open. Nothing happened, and then the door was slammed against again. It bulged ever so slightly, and then one more crash and it flew open. Everything went orange as the fire licked its way inside along the wall through the new opening.

I moved immediately, removing my arm from covering my mouth and nose, and crawled towards the exit when my arm was grabbed and I was pulled out. I stumbled to my feet once out of the smoke, coughing harshly, and was supported by Heero as we staggered away from the fire.

Once we reached the sand of the beach I dropped to my knees and Heero went down with me. I turned back towards the shed to see the flames climb high towards the sky with a crackling noise. The side with the window was completely lit up, and the fire was working its way towards the other side where my board was leaning...

My board!

I was on my feet, intent on running towards it before I knew it, and I felt Heero's hand brush against my leg, trying to stop me. I was gone before he managed to close his hand, and I flew towards the board. I didn't dare to hesitate; I had to get to it.

It was warm, almost scalding and I pushed it away from the wall rather than lifting it away. Then my hand was grabbed,

the board was lifted, and Heero dragged both of us away, back to the beach again.

He dropped the board and shook his hand slightly before he put it on my shoulder.

'Sit down, Duo,' he said, sounding distant, and I frowned, but bent my knees, obeying without a thought that I should have done it slowly. His eyes widened, and he grabbed my under my elbows, slowing my descent.

'Easy,' he said as I hit the sand with my knees. 'Zero, sit!' There was a small whimper from the side. 'Sit.'

Then Heero sat down in front of me, covering my vision, and looked straight into my eyes.

'Duo,' he said softly.

He put his arms around me and pulled me forwards. I leaned into his embrace, putting my head on his shoulder. He felt cool against my warm skin. It felt good. It felt stabilizing. The fear I'd felt inside of the shed fled as though it had never been there. I felt safe.

'Thank you,' I breathed, and wrapped my own arms around him, holding on tightly.

'Gods, Duo. What were you doing in there?' he asked, but I just hugged tighter, not ready to talk, not ready to do anything but hold on to the fact that I was fine.

'Heero!' Wufei called, and I let go of Heero, but let my hand linger on his bare arm. 'The fire department is coming.'

He came up next to us, frowning as he saw my board that looked slightly worse for wear, and then his gaze travelled to me, and he did a double take, looking back at the shed before looking at me again.

'Duo?' he asked, as though confused if it really was me, and I nodded.

'The same.' I said, and coughed as my throat itched.

'What happened?' he asked, looking towards the shed, and I frowned. Even if I told them about Mueller, would it really help with anything? I had no proof, and all it would achieve was the risk that any of my friends would try to deck the bastard. Mueller would bring everything then, and apparently he was ready to kill. It wasn't worth it.

'Not sure,' I said slowly and silently, trying to spare my throat. 'I went in to find the letter, then it was burning.'

'Why did you even have anything in there?' Heero asked, almost sounding angry, and I looked at him.

His eyes were narrowed, his brows creased with a small wrinkle between them. His lips were set in a thin line, and his jaw was clenched. There was no doubt. Now that he'd worked his way through the shock he was furious, and I felt as though I had to defend myself.

'Because I lived there,' I said, glaring right back at him, and his wrinkle became larger as his eyebrows drew closer together.

I began to cough again but tried my best to smother it.

'Duo, what -'

He didn't get any further, because the sirens from the fire truck and ambulance became too loud for me to be able to hear him anyways.

The cars pulled up by the shed and there was a flurry of people and activity. Orders were shouted, hoses were pulled out, and then a spray of water was aimed at the ground around the building, before aiming at the side where the fire was the strongest.

Two persons in green clothes came up to us, and both Heero and I got poked and prodded. They looked in my throat, and gave me some oxygen, which helped with the cough. Heero said I hadn't been more than a few minutes when they'd seen the smoke and ran up to the shed. It had felt like an hour.

The worst burn I'd gotten was on my foot that had apparently been a bit close to the fire, and while it had already blistered, it was a small second-degree burn, and they had rinsed it for me and left me with some ointment. They offered to take me to the hospital, but I declined and they left with an admonition for me to seek care if the coughing persisted or got worse.

The police had arrived while we were getting checked out and they got our statements before they talked to the captain of the fire department. They didn't stick around for very long and pretty soon it was only the fire department and we.

The fire was quickly being doused by water and it was captivating as it tried to escape its death. The flames were fleeing and jumping to get away, but wherever it ended it couldn't get a hold and it was soon gone. The shed was nothing but a drenched black mess of wood.

'I called Trowa, he'll pick us up,' Wufei said silently to Heero, and I hung my head as I wondered where I'd go now. I rubbed on the blister on my foot, making it sting a bit more, but stopped when Heero touched my arm.

'Don't aggravate it,' he said, and I thought he sounded worried, but he still had that clenched jaw, which got even tighter when he looked at me.

Trowa arrived within minutes, and I stopped by his window.

'Could you drive me into town?' I asked. He looked at me, then at Heero but finally he shrugged.

'Sure, if you want. You look a bit... coaly though,' he said, sniggering a bit to himself as I jumped into the back of the truck together with Wufei. It surprised me when Heero chose the front seat rather than joining Wufei and me in the back. All things considered, maybe it wasn't too surprising. I'd messed up big time.

I took my shirt off when Trowa started the truck and drove off. Balling it up with the inside out, I used it to wipe my face and was awed at the amount of soot that had been transferred from my face to the shirt.

Trowa stopped the car by the Safe house, and Wufei and Heero got out. I jumped out as well, intending on sitting down in the passenger seat, but then Trowa also exited the truck and grabbed my board from the back.

'Hey, Tro',' I said, and walked up to him. 'How about town?'

'Don't be stupid,' Heero said from the deck, sounding exasperated. 'You're staying here tonight.'

I scowled. He was probably trying to be kind. With his cool attitude and obvious anger it felt as though he didn't trust me to take care of myself.

'You're asking, or you're telling?' I asked with a raised eyebrow, and his eyebrows creased.

'It's not like you have anywhere else to go,' he said coldly, and I blinked. What the hell was this? I'd thought I'd seen enough of his angry face to last me a lifetime. It had been naïve of me to think I wouldn't see it ever again.

'Don't worry about me, Yuy,' I said, turned to Trowa to grab my board that he gave up readily, and walked away.

No one called for me, and I felt the heat blaze in my chest. My eyes were stinging and tears were threatening to fall. I blamed it on them being irritated from the fire, but I knew better. I'm not even sure why it affected me so much.

Everything was falling apart. I no longer had a place to sleep and to top it off, Heero was furious with me. That didn't feel like the way it was supposed to go.

I wasn't exactly expecting him to open his arms and home and kiss and make it all better, but... No, actually, I was expecting him to kiss and make it better. He was my boyfriend; it was a part of his job description. I didn't even need him to say anything. I just wanted to feel his arms around me.

I turned the beach shower on after undressing to my underwear and stepped underneath it. The cool water hit my feverishly hot skin and I shivered violently. It poured over me, and I leaned my head backwards, closing my eyes, and let it hit me directly in my face. The chill from it was very welcome, and I just stood there, letting it flow over my body.

I'm not sure how long I stood there but when I leaned my head down and opened my eyes again my fingers were pruned. I moved them to untie my braid, hoping my hair had gone unscathed from the fire. It was a tangle, but I did manage to sift it through with my fingers. The water that flowed from it was black, and I let it rinse out until it became clear, and then I stayed for a while longer. I didn't have anywhere to go anyways.

Maybe Heero had a right to be angry with me. I had intentionally hidden where I'd been living, even after we'd started going out. It must have indicated that I hadn't trusted him. But I'd known he'd have tried to fix it, and I hated the feeling of not being able to look after myself. Because of my stupid insecurities, I was managing to alienate Heero, and I was scared that I'd gone too far.

I sighed.

I didn't like the prospect of a future without Heero, I had fallen for him so hard that I couldn't see myself without him anymore. I didn't want to run away again.

I had to apologize.

The trek back to the Safe house was slow, as I was trying to go over what I would say when I saw Heero. I tried to create a script, and imagined what he would say in response. If he even wanted to see me.

He sat on the edge of the deck, and our eyes met. My heart started thundering in my chest, and I kind of wanted to run away. I think I may have taken a step back, because he stood up quickly, extending a hand slightly as though he could catch me, not caring about the distance between us.

'I'm sorry,' we both said at the same time, and a rock fell from my chest. I took a hesitant step forward. He walked to me with long steps and I dropped my board when he pulled me against him in a tight hug. The speech I'd been thinking about fled from my head as he buried his head against my neck.

'Please, Duo. I'm asking you, stay here tonight?'

I nodded against his shoulder and felt him sag a little, making me draw back to look into his face. He looked relieved, and when our eyes met again, I was moved to push my lips against his and he responded hungrily. One of his hands wrapped in my hair and pressed me closer while his other moved over my back, and all my blood went travelling towards my groin. I pushed my own hands in under his shirt and felt with my fingers along his abdominal muscles. His excitement was growing to be just as pressing as mine.

'Heero,' I said under my breath against his lips and he moaned my name in a husky voice that made me shiver. Unfortunately, that seemed to bring him back to himself.

'You're freezing,' he said and I shook my head, not ready to give up on this intoxicating feeling.

'No,' I said, and he let out a sexy noise that told me he didn't believe me. 'You're warming me up just fine,' I said and tried to capture his lips again, but he put a hand against my chest and smirked.

'To bed, I think,' he said, and I couldn't disagree with him. I didn't want to disagree.

He took my hand and led me into the house and to his room. He closed the door firmly behind us and looked at me with half-lidded eyes.

It became more real then, and I blushed hotly as his eyes traced over every inch of my body. It looked as though he appreciated what he saw. He drew his shirt over his head, his muscles rippling under his skin as he moved. He threw it away and I stepped in, kissing him soundly.

He pressed me down on the bed, placing himself above me, pushing one knee between mine until he could lay flush against me, and I threw my head back, gasping as I felt the new pressure.

''Ro,' I breathed and he kissed my neck softly as his hand travelled to my briefs where he played with the waistline for a moment. I took his cue, and did the same, but I was a bit more impatient and soon had him completely naked. He smiled against me and nibbled softly on my skin as he started push my briefs away. I lifted my hips to help him, wishing to get rid of the unbearable pressure from my groin.

He pressed his knee a bit to the side, making me spread my legs and I could feel him throbbing against me. I held my breath, watching him as his fingers travelled under me, and I think I flinched a little. It made him hesitate, and look at me closely.

'Ever done this before?' he asked, head tilted ever so slightly and I shook my head. His eyes narrowed slightly. 'Do you want to?'

I nodded, and he frowned as he leaned over me, taking care not to touch me.

'Tell me, Duo. Do you want to? We can stop,' he said, and I looked into his eyes. His deep, dangerous eyes that I had drowned in. He started to move back when I didn't reply, and I caught him around the back of his neck.

'I want this. Please,' I said, and pulled him down to kiss me again.

He conjured lube and a condom from somewhere, and then we were moving together in a dance that would be over much too quickly. It was our first time together; my first time ever, and there wasn't a lot of stamina involved. It was hot, and passionate, and much better than I ever could have expected.

Afterwards, Heero was tracing kisses over my collarbone, and I moved my hand slowly over his back. It had been great, but now that I was thinking more clearly again, I was wondering what had happened to his anger.

'Hey, 'Ro?' I asked and he grunted tiredly. 'This... this is real, isn't it?'

He pushed himself up to his elbow to look at me with a serious expression.

'Very real,' he answered, and hesitated for a moment. 'Do you regret it?'

'No! I loved it,' I said immediately and he tilted his head as I tried to figure out what to say. 'You seemed so angry, earlier.'

He closed his eyes for a moment, sighing softly.

'I was,' he said and I swallowed tightly. 'You ran back,' he said, pressing on the last word, sounding as though he accused me. 'For a board.'

It hadn't been anywhere close to what I'd thought it was.

'I'm sorry,' I said, and I saw a pain in his eyes that moved me to pull him down so I could hold him tightly against me. I put my chin on top of his head.

'I don't understand why,' he said, his tone begging for an explanation.

'I'm so sorry,' I said, wanting to cry for him as I thought of how he must have felt, watching me run back towards the fire.

'But why?' he asked again and I took a deep breath.

'His board is all I have left of him,' I answered, and I felt him stop breathing.

'Gods, Duo,' he said after a moment. 'I'm so sorry.'

'We're both sorry,' I said, and smiled as he lifted himself up again. He gave me a soft smile as well before leaning down to kiss me.

'Don't you dare take this back,' I said to him when we drew back, and he stared into my eyes again.

'Never. Duo, I love you,' he said and I felt my heart beat wildly.

'I don't think I'll ever want to get back to the surface,' I said, and he frowned in confusion, but then smiled in amusement.

'I've got you, you're not drowning,' he said and warmth spread in my chest.

'I love you, 'Ro.'

This felt right.

He was wrong though. I was completely submerged.

~ * ~

Chapter 13

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