"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 15: Shaping

 

Heero woke me up before sunrise the day after Wufei's spectacular second place. I hadn't woken up that early since my board was broken almost a month previously. He led me by the hand out onto the deck where a black surfboard was leaning against the railing. I sighed. I could see where this was going. He had only given me my trunks to get dressed in, and that combined with the placement of the surfboard made me pause.

'Heero?'

'I just want to show it to you,' he said with an excited smile on his face, and I couldn't not go with him when he looked like that.

It was a near perfect replica of Solo's board, and I ran my hand over its smooth rails. I lifted it, and felt it balance nicely over my arms. It was an amazing piece of work, but I sighed as I placed it down. He must have spent every free moment working on it, ever since the fire.

'It's perfect, 'Ro.'

'It's yours, if you want it,' he said, and I nodded, having pretty much expected it.

'I can't,' I said, and turned around to go back in, when he put a hand on my shoulder and turned me back to face him. His eyes were smoldering, and I almost backed away. I felt guilty, denying such a great gift.

'You love surfing. Why won't you just admit that you want to be out there?' he asked, gesturing with his arm towards the ocean.

'I'm not sure I love it enough,' I said. 'How can I take Solo's dream away from him?'

'You wouldn't take it away, Duo. Even without his board, he's with you. He's here,' he said and put his hand against my chest, over my heart.

He took a step to stand beside me and pushed my braid over my shoulder before he reached his hands around my neck and revealed a necklace in front of me.

I lifted my hand to get a closer look at the hanging piece of jewelry, and was amazed to see Solo's signature on it. My chest clenched as I realized it was a piece of his board and my hand dropped. Heero clasped the necklace shut, and turned me around to face him.

'He's always with you, Duo. This is just a reminder,' he said and I felt an incessant sting in my eyes. I stared up at the sky, trying to stop tears from falling.

I'd never surf with Solo again.

Never see his smile.

He was really gone.

I'd never cried for him... for myself before or after that moment. But at that moment, the tears were falling unhindered from my eyes. Heero put one hand on the back of my head, and the other on my back, and held me tightly as I cried against his shoulder. I cried for the loss of my best friend for the very first time. Heero gently sat us down in a chair and rocked us back and forth. He whispered into my ear, telling me to let it out, to grieve. He never told be everything would be fine, but he told me I'd heal, and I believed him.

When the tears ran out, I stayed on Heero's lap, leaning against him. I didn't know what to say. I was embarrassed about my breakdown, but he didn't seem to mind. His fingers played with the end of my braid and I took a hold of his other hand. The sun was starting to rise and we watched it in silence.

The clouds were painted in red, turning almost purple a bit higher up, and it reflected in the clear water. There was a streak of orange in the middle, where the sun was coming up. The waves licked the shores, and I felt the longing surge up in me. My hand travelled to the necklace without me being fully aware of it and I grasped the drop-shaped piece of board tightly. Solo wouldn't have wanted me to mope around. He would have laughed at me, and said I was being a fool. He would have told me I had been the one who dragged him out to surf even when the rain was pouring. That I was always the one who stayed the longest.

Maybe surfing was my dream too.

I took a deep breath and got up from Heero's lap. I rubbed at my eyes to get rid of that gritty feeling you get after crying too much before I turned back to Heero and gave him a wide grin.

'Wanna hit the waves?' I asked, and he let out a soft, amused sound, accompanied by a gentle smile.

'Always,' he answered.

He fetched his board from around the corner, making me laugh loudly and he gave me an apologetic smile.

'I hoped you'd want to go,' he said.

I put my hand behind his head and pulled him in for a kiss before I let him go and ran off towards the ocean. He followed closely behind me.

The bliss of being back in the water was stunning. The water wrapped around me as I went in. It hugged me tight and I dragged my fingers in the water, feeling it curl around them.

I put the board down, lay down on top of it and paddled out towards the break zone. Heero was right behind me, close enough that I would be able to touch his board if I reached out a little with my leg, and I laughed softly at him.

'I haven't forgotten how to surf in one month, 'Ro,' I told him, and stopped paddling, sitting up on my board.

'I'll believe it when I see it,' he said teasingly. I cupped my hand underneath the water and lifted it quickly, making it splash in his face.

He recoiled and lost his balance on the board, flipping over, making me laugh hard. He swam under the water, and I pushed his board away a bit as it looked as though he was going to come up right beneath it.

Then he pushed against my board. I couldn't lean over quick enough so I soon found myself under the water as well. I emerged, shaking my head to get the hair out of my eyes, and looked around for Heero. He was at the other side of my board, laughing exuberantly, and I grinned. It was my favorite sound.

'Asshole,' I said with a teasing mutter.

'I haven't heard that for a couple of months,' he said, still laughing softly.

'You've been behaving,' I said with a grin, and turned my board back before getting onto it again.

Heero got onto his own board as well and gave a push to put us next to each other. We leaned in to brush our lips together before the first wave came in.

'Mind if I grab this one?' I asked, my eyes fixed on the wave and he snickered deeply.

'It's all yours,' he said.

I turned, and paddled with it until I felt it grab onto my board. I pushed myself up and shifted my weight, allowing me to slide down the wave and into the trough. The wind grabbed my hair and I my braid slapped at my back as I leaned down. I pushed my hand into the wave to stall and allow the wave to barrel around me. There was a wide grin on my face even as I focused on where the wave was going to close out. It was a small tube, and I had to hunch down low to not get caught by the water, but it's the most incredible thing in the world. It's like I can bend water, like nothing can touch me while I'm in the tube. I exited with the spit of the wave as it closed out. I gave a happy shout as I jumped off the board into the water.

Heero was on the next wave and I paddled back a bit to not be in his way and still be able to watch him as he rode it. He held his arm stretched out in front of him and he turned his board through the breaking lip and lifted into the air. I felt myself hold my breath until he landed it neatly and sat down on the board.

I paddled up to him with a huge smile on my face, and he returned it in kind before we paddled back out.

'It's a great board, 'Ro,' I said once we'd stopped to wait for the next wave again, and he nodded.

'I'm glad you like it.'

'I love it!' I said, and he raised an eyebrow.

'Almost as much as me?'

'More,' I told him teasingly, and chuckled as he kicked up water in my face. 'It's a close second.'

'Good, or I'd have to break it,' he said, sounding serious.

'Don't you dare, Heero,' I said and he laughed. 'Besides, you love Zee,' I said, trying for a petulant tone, but it came out sounding kind of lame. Heero laughed at me.

'At least he's an animate object.'

'Are you objectifying your dog, 'Ro?' I asked in mock horror and he snorted in amusement, shaking his head at me.

'I've loved him far longer than I've loved you,' he said playfully, and I could only roll my eyes.

'But I'm a close second, right?' I asked, and I think I may have sounded a bit insecure, even though it was only meant for teasing, because Heero's grin dimmed to a loving smile.

'You're about the same,' he said and grabbed my board, pulling me in towards him until we were sitting opposite to each other, and he put his other hand behind my head. 'I can't do this with Zee, though,' he said huskily, and our lips crashed together in a passionate kiss.

'Damn right,' I said when we let up, slightly short of breath.

'You want the next?' Heero asked, nodding towards the new wave that was coming in and I shook my head, needing to catch my breath, and still the fire that Heero always seemed to light within me. The water was warm so it didn't provide any help in cooling down.

'You take it,' I said, and he smirked. I think he knew exactly what he did against me, and I had no doubt that he took great pleasure in teasing me. The asshole.

I rode in with the next wave, stopping right next to where Heero was sitting on his board to watch.

'You happy?' he asked and made a motion with his head towards the beach and we started to paddle in.

'Very. Nothing beats surfing, after all.'

'Nothing?' he asked with an arched eyebrow, and I chuckled.

'One activity in particular excluded,' I said and he smiled smugly.

We stepped out of the water and simultaneously wrapped one arm around the other's back, and molded our sides together. We were joined by an overly excited Labrador who ran circles around us as we walked towards the Safe house.

Everyone was standing on the deck, hanging on the railings as we came back up, making me start to pull my arm back. Heero held tight and I acquiesced, putting my hand at his waist again. He gently squeezed his hand at my side and I blew out a soft sigh.

'Sorry,' I said silently and he shook his head.

'Don't be,' he said. 'You know I'll take your lead in public, but we're the only ones here.'

'Why doesn't it bother you?' I asked and he frowned.

'Why does it bother you?' he asked in return, and I stopped. He stopped with me and looked into my eyes, but I turned away from his intense gaze.

I shrugged. 'All my life, I've been told to hide.' I glanced up at him. 'Solo was adamant about it once we became pros.'

'I was always told to follow my emotions,' Heero said. 'They are telling me that I want to show the world that we belong together.'

'I'm sorry I can't -'

'Like I said, don't be sorry. I'll never force you to do anything you're uncomfortable with.'

'I don't know what I did to deserve you,' I said with a smile and Heero gave a low, guttural laugh.

'Despite the circumstances that brought you here, I can't help but be happy that it brought you to me,' he said and leaned in slightly. He hesitated, which gave me time to close the gap between us and kiss him. It was a quick kiss, and still my heart was racing from doing it out in the open. Heero had a small smile on his lips when I pulled back, and I knew it meant a lot to him that I'd tried to get over some of my insecurities.

'Lover-boys!' Wufei called from the deck and we turned to him. I felt slightly ashamed at first, but the grin on Wufei's face told me that he was teasing, and didn't mind it at all. 'Breakfast, if you want it.'

I grabbed Heero's hand demonstratively, and we walked up to join the others.

It was obvious that Quatre had spent a lot of the night crying. His eyes were red, and he had bags under them, speaking of little sleep. Trowa also looked tired, and I would bet he'd had even less sleep than Quatre.

'Thanks for yesterday, Duo,' he said to me, with his normal gentle smile on his face, and I was relieved he'd recovered so well.

'Anytime, Q',' I said. 'Was Iria fine?'

'I'll call her after breakfast, but I think her husband came to pick her up.'

'Good,' I said, having felt bad about leaving her alone at the hospital the previous day.

Quatre's phone rang and Quatre gave a sigh. He gave the screen a brief look before he pressed the call away with a roll of his eyes.

'Reporters again?' Trowa asked with a compassionate smile. Quatre gave a tight nod and turned to me.

'You looked happy out there,' he said to change the subject and nodded towards the water.

I grinned. 'I lost myself for a bit,' I said and grabbed a piece of bread to make myself a sandwich.

'I'd say,' Wufei said. 'You were born to be out there.'

'Thanks, 'Fei,' I said, embarrassed, and looked to Heero who had this weird, proud smile on his face, which only made me blush more.

'Nice board,' Trowa said, having gotten up to inspect the board that Heero had shaped for me, and Heero joined him to discuss the intricacies of it.

'What made you change your mind?' Wufei asked with a raised eyebrow in my direction.

'Love,' I answered quickly and looked toward Heero, and out over the ocean. Something moved in my peripheral vision and made me look to the right, towards the palm trees. My heart sank as I saw Trant walk away, towards the road and a waiting car.

'Shit,' I said softly, and the other four followed my gaze.

'I'll get him,' Heero said, but I stepped up to him, putting my hand on his arm.

'Never mind. It's not like you can go over there and hit him.' Heero's eyes were narrowed in anger, and his entire body told me that he disagreed with me. 'Heero,' I chided, and he slammed his hand hard against the railing.

'We won't let him print anything,' Heero said and I shook my head.

'Not exactly how it works, 'Ro.'

'Damn!' he said and I agreed full heartedly. 'I'm so sorry, Duo.'

'It's not your fault,' I answered. 'I wasn't exactly innocent.' I smirked, thinking back to our kisses in the water, wondering if he'd been there to see that.

'Duo...' he trailed off, looking worried, and I sighed.

'Maybe it's for the best? He'll print his article, and I won't really have to think about whether to continue being a pro or not.' I think I sounded bitter as I said it. I was bitter. I didn't the rug pulled out from under me quite like that.

'Duo, you can't be sure everyone would drop out,' Quatre said heatedly, and I looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

'I've been off the radar for several months; this will just make them take the final decision that they've probably been thinking about already.'

'But you have contracts, right?' Wufei asked.

I shrugged. 'Sure. Until the end off this season, but I already broke most of them through taking the hiatus.'

'If they haven't broken it off already for that reason, it shouldn't be a hard thing to bring them up on charges for discrimination,' Quatre said, and I knew he meant well.

'Yeah, but pressing charges against sponsors wouldn't exactly bring new ones running,' I said and he looked down at the table.

'Still -'

'Maybe we should stop speculating.' I said, tired of thinking about it. 'We're not even sure Trant got anything. If it happens, we'll deal with it then.'

It suddenly seemed as though it could only get worse.

'It was Alex's car,' Wufei said and I clenched my jaw to keep from spouting curses.

It made perfect sense. Alex and Mueller had had it in for me from the start. They must have been the ones that had told Trant about my relationship with Heero. At least this was a step up from trying to kill me through fire.

'I'll get them at Gundams,' I said and I saw the smug smile on Wufei's face, making me wonder if he'd said it to manipulate me into competing despite everything.

It didn't matter.

I'd kick their collective ass.

~ * ~

Chapter 16

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