"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 19: Ding

 

It was a strange realization; that I was dead. My thoughts drifted and I wondered if Solo had known as well. I wondered what he had thought about during his last moments. Knowing I was dead made it easier, and I closed my eyes, preparing to open my mouth to let the water rush in.

Something smooth and solid brushed against my cheek and I reached up with my hand to remove whatever it was. My hand wrapped around around the necklace I'd gotten by Heero. It felt surprisingly warm in my hand.

Heero.

How could I be dead when everything had finally fallen into place? How could I leave him so soon after finding him?

The force of the crashing wave let up, and I yanked my upper body upwards with a final depletion of strength. It ripped my shirt, but I was finally loose and pushed upwards. It was slow, but I was moving towards the surface.

I'm coming.

The fire in my lungs was getting hard to ignore and I opened my mouth, but managed to avoid drawing breath. A trickle of water ran down my throat anyways, and my lungs seized up as they tried to make me cough. I had no strength left. I couldn't make it.

It hurts!

Then hands were touching me and grabbed me under my shoulders. Whoever it was pushed the two of us towards the surface when the pull against my ankle got too strong to ignore. My would be savior let me go; continuing upwards, and I tried to reach for him, but I couldn't move without risking to take that breath that would kill me.

Take me with you!

The leash pulled hard on my ankle to keep me below the surface. It was just above me, and I was desperate for air.

So close!

A mouth covered mine, and there was air! I wanted to gasp, but forced myself to just accept the air that was given with a single breath. The mouth was removed, and it was Heero's, I was sure of it. He ran his hand along my leg until he reached the Velcro, and I was loose.

Heero grabbed my legs and pushed us upwards. My head finally cleared the surface, and I could draw a gasping breath and spit salt water out of my mouth. Heero appeared next to me and grabbed me around the back again. Then the Jet Ski ran by us, and Heero somehow managed to push both of us onto the rescue pad. He wedged his knee between my legs and pressed himself against my back to keep me on it.

I was still gasping for air, and closed my eyes to try and push away the pain from the burning in my lungs.

'Breathe slowly, Duo,' Heero said into my ear. It sounded as though he was whispering, but all sounds were muted. The sound from the Jet Ski was barely audible, and the crashing of the waves was a mere murmur. The thing I could hear clearly was the wheezing I was creating when breathing, but I was finally getting air, and I couldn't stop gasping for it.

It went down in seconds, and as I got more oxygen, my awareness of what was going on around me started to come back.

Heero was pressed hard against my back and I reached my hand towards the ropes to help him through keeping myself up, but Heero tightened his arm that was lying across my back.

'Don't move!' he screamed. I heard him screaming this time and was a bit relieved to know I hadn't ruined my eardrums during my underwater escapade.

The Jet Ski drove onto the beach and came to a stop. Heero immediately got off me, and I made to roll off onto the sand, but was held fast by hands on my shoulders, then Heero's face was in front of mine. He looked calm as he locked his eyes with mine.

'Are you hurting anywhere, Duo?'

'No,' I said without considering it, and he frowned.

'Nothing?'

It made me feel for it. The burn in my lungs was still there, but the stinging in my back and shoulder made me groan and close my eyes. There was going to be hell to pay for this wipeout. It didn't hurt much yet.

'Duo?' Heero asked, and I opened my eyes again. 'Any pain in your back or neck? Do you feel pin and needles anywhere?'

'No,' I said, wheezing slightly as I spoke. 'Just scratches.' Scratches that, once I'd been made aware of them, were stinging. Salt water and open wounds is never a good combination.

Heero gave a small sigh of relief and smiled. He gently but discreetly stroked with his thumb on my shoulder before he reached around to help me sit up and get me off the pad. He wrapped his hand cautiously around my waist, trying to avoid the scratches, but I was certain there wasn't a lot of bare skin for him to touch.

'Sorry,' he said as I stabilized myself against him, gritting my teeth against the touch. I couldn't avoid letting out a snort of laughter at his apology.

'You got me out, you don't get to be sorry,' I said and he tightened his hold on me ever to slightly. Being so close to him, I could feel how quickly he breathed and how his hands trembled. His calm expression had been deceptive. His body told me he'd been frightened. Terrified.

'Sorry,' I said in turn and he squeezed his hand gently against me. I wanted to kiss him and reassure him that I was fine. I doubted he would have allowed me even if we'd been alone; I could still taste the salt in my mouth.

Wufei joined on my other side, and reached with his hands for my arm, hesitated, and dropped his hand at his side instead, making me turn my head and extend my arm. The vision wasn't pretty; there was blood just about everywhere along my arm, and it amazed me that it didn't hurt more than it did. I idly wondered where the wound was. Blood diluted with water has a tendency to spread and look a hell of a lot worse than it actually is.

'Duo? You all right? Do you feel faint?' Wufei asked, trying to look into my eyes, and I shook my head. Both Wufei and Heero had gone into their lifeguard modes, and I was their rescue.

'I'm fine,' I said, though I had started to tremble slightly without actually feeling cold.

The medic tent wasn't too far away from the water's edge, but the hushed sounds of gossiping people followed me all the way in. I hoped they were whispering about the wipeout and not so much the relationship between the rescue and the rescuer. Then I kicked myself for thinking about it.

Heero, Wufei and the doctor soon had me seated on one of the beds with an oxygen mask over my face. It made my head become clearer by the second, but somehow any debilitating pain still managed to stay away, even when the doctor cut the remains of the shirt off and started to pour saline solution over my back and arm. It only stung a bit, and I wondered if everyone had been overreacting so completely.

'Do you feel any of this, Mr. Maxwell?' the doctor asked, prodding at my back with his gloved hand.

I nodded before I lifted the oxygen mask. 'Yeah, it just doesn't hurt very much.'

Heero placed the oxygen mask over my mouth again.

'Don't worry, it will,' Wufei said, and I removed the oxygen mask again, glaring at him.

'Where did you come from anyways?' I asked. 'You couldn't have paddled in that quickly.'

Heero squeezed my good shoulder, and Wufei frowned.

'I drove the Jet Ski in. When you were pushed under, your board didn't pop up, so I paddled up to join you. Heero had already left the Jet Ski to dive for you when I came up, so I took his spot on it,' he said, and I frowned.

What had happened? Could I still finish the Gundams? Was Heero even supposed to leave the Jet Ski for Wufei to steal?

'Where's my board?' Many questions ran through my head, and I still don't know why I settled on that one.

'I'll make you a new one,' Heero said softly.

'Sorry, 'Ro,' I said softly, and looked down on my hands as Heero again put the oxygen mask over my mouth. My hands were shaking furiously, and I started to realize what had just happened. Or at least my body was. The doctor's ministrations to my back were starting to sting, and I flinched a bit as he touched a particularly sore area.

Heero sat down on his knees in front of me and put his hands over mine, rubbing gently to bring some warmth into them.

'How you feeling there, Maxwell?' the doctor asked, and I again had to lift the oxygen mask.

'Fine. I don't know why I'm shaking so damned much,' I said.

'Your body is trying to get rid of the shock. You'll be fine,' the doctor said and came around so I could see him. Heero stood up, relenting his spot to the doctor and moved to my side instead. 'Your oxygen level is getting back to normal, and there's no water in your lungs, so we can handle everything here, without sending you off to the hospital. If I remember correctly, you were very adverse to hospitals the last time?' I have him a grateful nod before the doctor continued. 'You've got pretty extensive scrapes from the reef; I'll put some adhesive strips on one of the cuts on your arm, and a few strips on your back as well.'

'Thanks, doc',' I said, and he went back around again to continue cleaning the cuts out.

Trowa and Quatre peeked in through the tent flap, and I gave them a wave.

'You called your last,' Trowa said in a somewhat amused voice when he came up to me and I frowned.

'No I didn't.'

'See you on the beach, it sounds like calling your last to me,' he said with quirked smile, and when he said it, I had to agree. I'd called my last. A shiver ran through me.

'Oh, come on,' Wufei said in disbelief. 'Don't tell me he's made you superstitious as well, Trowa.'

Trowa shrugged. 'It's a valid assumption. See what happened.'

'I've never -'

'Stop!' I interrupted Wufei. 'Don't say nothing bad's ever happened to you, you'll jinx yourself.'

Wufei rolled his eyes in exasperation, but had an amused smile on his face that made me wonder if he wasn't just trying to keep my attention away from the doctor who was pressing together the edges of a gash on my arm.

'He's right though, Wufei,' Quatre said.

'Not you too,' Wufei groaned, and I laughed along with the rest.

'Why tempt fate?' I asked, grinning widely.

'You seem to do a lot of that though,' Heero said.

'Not intentionally,' I said, and he frowned, making me look closer at him. I thought he looked angry, with his eyebrows drawn together and lips set in a tight line.

'What?' I asked.

'Nothing,' he said, turned around, and walked out of the tent, making me start to move away from the bed, but was held back by Wufei and Quatre.

'Still working here,' the doctor said with an amused tone.

'Sorry,' I said, subdued, wondering what the hell I'd said to get that reaction from Heero.

When the doctor finished patching me up, he applied some cream over large parts of my back and shoulder before he covered the tape with compresses and gauze. I had finally stopped shaking.

'I'm writing you a prescription for an antibiotic cream and oral antibiotics,' the doctor said and started to write on a paper as he spoke. 'Get it filled today, coral reefs tend to give infections. You'll want to rinse everything carefully before you apply the ointment three or four times a day. The orals should be taken three a day, ten days,' he finished and handed me the prescription.

I lifted the oxygen mask off from around my neck and pushed myself off of the bed, intent on finding Heero when the doctor called out for me.

'Hey!' he said, and I turned my head to watch him. He had a stern look on his face. 'No surfing for a while, now.'

I raised my hand in a wave. 'Thanks doc.' I wasn't about to tell him I had little intention of following his advice.

We left the tent, and the audience had nearly cleared the beach since our heat had been the last of the day.

Hilde however, had stayed outside of the tent and nearly jumped at me when we came out. She stopped herself before she tackled me to the ground. I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and held her close.

'Duo, you're an ass!' she said, making me laugh.

'I'm sorry, Hil',' I said, letting her go. I was getting heartily tired of apologizing.

'I thought... never mind what. I'm happy you're on your feet.'

'Geez, thanks for the sympathy, Hil', I said and she snickered. 'Hey, did you see where Heero went?' I scanned the beach but saw no sign of him.

'Towards the house I think.'

'Thanks. You joining us?' I worried about her being alone; I could only imagine what memories my near drowning brought to her. But she shook her head.

'I have a dinner with Treize,' she said, pointing with her thumb over her shoulder at where he was standing a bit away.

'Way to go, Hil',' I said with a wink and she elbowed me in the side, making me groan loudly, and bend at the waist.

'Oh no! I'm so sorry! Duo -'

I interrupted her with my laughter and she let out a sharp breath of air.

'You really are an ass,' she said 'See if I ever worry about you again.'

She put her hand on my good shoulder and pressed close to me again, and I wrapped my arms around her in return.

'Don't you ever do this against me again, Duo Maxwell,' she said before she pushed away and I let her go, wanting to apologize again, but I really thought I had apologized enough, so instead I said nothing and watched as she went off together with Treize.

'You want us to get the car, Duo?' Quatre asked and I shook my head, still not feeling any pain worth talking about, only some stinging, though it was quickly spreading over my back.

'I'm fine,' I said, and we walked back to the house. The unevenness of the sand normally didn't bother me in the slightest, but now it felt as though I was stumbling at every step. I didn't miss the concerned gazes from the rest of the guys, but there really was no reason for them to worry. I gritted my teeth and kept walking. I couldn't wait to lie down flat on a bed.

When we got to the Safe house, I spotted Heero sitting by the shore, and I left the guys in order to join him in the sand. The bed would have to wait.

He was sitting with his arms on his knees, hands joined together in front. His shoulders were slumped and he looked out over the water. Zero sat close to his master, pressing against his side, and didn't leave him even when I came.

My board was lying on the sand in front of him, and I wondered what he'd done to get it back.

'You got my board,' I said, sitting down next to him, pressing my thigh against his. He didn't move away, so I thought maybe he wasn't too upset with me.

'Trowa did. I just brought it here.'

'You weren't planning on throwing it away, right?' I asked, mostly in jest.

'And if I were?' he asked in such a sad voice that Zero whined and I put my hand around his back. I only winced slightly as the move pulled at the gash on my shoulder. Heero didn't notice.

'It would be a waste. You created it for me, and I'd fetch it just for that memory,' I said and he sighed. 'I really don't mean to get into trouble, 'Ro.'

'I know you don't,' he said. 'I was unfair.'

'I'm still sorry, though.'

'I thought you were dead.'

'I knew I was,' I said, wanting to make a joke out of it. He looked at me with wide eyes, and I knew I'd said the wrong thing. Too soon.

'Duo...' he said with raw pain in his voice, and I moved to sit behind Heero and squeezed my leg in between him and Zero so I could wrap my arms around him. When I lifted the arm with the injuries it stung badly, so I settled for squeezing that one in around his waist, and I let the other wrap around his chest.

'I'm here,' I said and put my cheek against the back of his shoulder, ignoring the strain it put on my back as I stretched. 'I'm fine. You saved me.' A strong tremble ran through his body, and I pressed myself closer to him. 'Please, 'Ro, tell me what's wrong.'

'You almost drowning on me isn't enough?' he asked drily, but I didn't answer. Instead, I squeezed my arms a little, to show him I was there, and he put a hand on mine, which I readily grabbed on to.

'I was late in getting to you. It took me too long to see your board didn't pop up. I knew your leash must've snagged on to the reef.'

'You were just in time, though,' I said silently, and he squeezed my hand, making me fall quiet again.

'There was no way I was going to let you die on me. I've only ever lost one, I don't intend on losing anyone else.'

He didn't say anything else for a while, but something made me keep silent, holding him, waiting for him to wrap his head around whatever it was he was thinking about. I had a feeling it had everything to do with why he'd been so upset when finding me sleeping on the beach. And why he'd wanted to bite my head off for taking a tumble.

'When I was younger, I joined in a lot of the competitions, and won quite a few. There wasn't exactly a lack of offers to go pro, but... you know...'

'I know,' I said, remembering what he'd told me about his parents.

'When I was seventeen, I competed together with my cousin. She fell and disappeared out of my sight. Her board came up pretty quickly, but there was no sign of her. I paddled in as fast as I could, riding the waves to get there faster. The Jet Ski was there already, but it's against procedure to leave the Ski unattended if it can't be done safely.'

I didn't bother saying that he had left it unattended when diving in for me. He knew already.

'When I came up, I dove, and I searched for her. We stayed for hours, but we couldn't find her.' He took a deep breath. 'She floated ashore during the evening.'

Zero put his head on Heero's arm then, completely focused on his master.

I felt sick. Heero hadn't said, but there was no doubt in my mind who had found her at the water's edge.

At least I'd known immediately that Solo had been dead. My hope had been snuffed out in a minute, Heero's must have held on for hours, waning slowly. I couldn't imagine what it must have felt like.

'I resolved then to become a lifeguard. I haven't competed since, and I don't miss it.'

I squeezed his hand in a show of support. I didn't want to interrupt him.

'I couldn't find you either, and was sure history was going to repeat itself. I haven't lost anyone to the ocean since my cousin.'

'I'm so sorry,' I said, feeling that another apology wasn't too much.

He leaned his head back against my shoulder, and I leaned my own cheek against his. My back was protesting against the position, and my arm was starting to go numb where it was squeezed in, but I ignored its.

'I don't blame you. If you wipeout during night again though, I'll blame you for being a reckless ass.

'You're the second person to call me an ass today,' I said, and he smiled.

'As long as you're my ass,' he said after a slight hesitation and I laughed loudly, not having expected Heero to say that.

'Absolutely,' I answered, kissing the edge of his mouth since that was all I could reach from where I was sitting.

Heero squeezed my hand and moved forward, away from Zero and me. He got to his feet and held his hand out for me to take, and I grabbed it, letting him help me up.

As soon as I started to straighten my back, I could feel how it burnt, and I didn't manage to hide the wince.

'Duo?'

'Apparently my adrenaline rush stopped keeping the pain away,' I said, and he wrapped an arm around my waist and the other on my good shoulder.

'Let's get you some painkillers. It's going to throb quite good.'

'Arm's way ahead of you,' I said, feeling how my arm was throbbing angrily in time with my heartbeat as blood was flowing back to it.

'Come on, then,' he said, and the three of us were moving up towards the Safe house, when I hesitated.

'Hey, 'Ro. My board.'

'I'll get it,' he said and pushed me onwards.

'It's not got any dings, does it?'

'Not that I could see.'

'Good, I'll need it for the next round,' I said and Heero drew a deep breath.

'We'll talk about it,' he said after a moment, and I laughed. The small, affectionate smile I saw on his lips told me he wasn't completely serious.

When we came up to the deck I grew serious. I stopped, and lifted my good arm to wrap my hand around his neck.

'You did catch me, 'Ro,' I said, and he leaned in for that kiss I'd wanted since I first came up from the water.

'I won't let you drown,' he said, putting his hands in the small of my back, a place I assumed was relatively free of scratches.

'I know.'

'I don't even know where to touch you,' he muttered and moved one of his hands to the back of my head and pressed me close. I leaned my head against his shoulder and brushed my lips against his neck, making him shiver delightfully.

'I can think of a few places,' I told him, and he let out a husky chuckle. I could feel his heartbeat against my own chest.

'I think that can wait for a while,' Heero said in a soft voice as he loosened his hold, letting me look into his deep blue eyes.

'Thank you, 'Ro.' For saving me. For loving me.

He didn't say anything; he simply tightened his hold again, bringing me back to be flush against him, and I was completely enveloped in his hold.

It had quickly become my favorite place to be.

~ * ~

Chapter 20

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