"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 4: Wipeout

The waves were still high and wondrous when I came back to the Surf during the night. I briefly considered going to Coral Beach instead but dismissed the idea just as quickly as it had come to me. I had been craving these waves the entire day. Actually, I'd been craving them since I first arrived at Sanc Island, and I wasn't going to give them up now that I had them in my hand.

It was exciting, seeing the dark wall of water come towering towards me before I pressed on my board to get us both under the wave. When I emerged from under the water, I shook my head to clear my eyes from hair, and kept paddling so I could get out to the zone.

The first wave I caught was tremendous. The pure force under me as it surged me forwards was amazing, and then as I dropped down its side, the speed I was able to acquire was nothing short of breath taking. There would be no tricks, no stunts in these waves, but it didn't matter. The rush of getting out of it alive was enough. I was there for hours, my heart beating quicker in my chest at every turn.

The orange light of the sunrise was starting to peak above the horizon as I caught a new wave and popped up on the board.

It was wrong.

The wave broke too quickly, with me on the lip, and I just had time to register that I'd gotten too far to the side, too close to the Rift. Then I was tumbling down from the top of the sixteen-foot wave and hit the surface of the water hard.

The forces pushed me under and my shoulder slammed harshly against the rocky bottom of the Rift. My head followed closely, thankfully hitting the rocks with a little less force. I blinked to clear the stars from behind my eyes.

One of the first things you learn is to stay relaxed when a wave is pressing down on you, and that's what I did. I stayed still until I felt a break in the force, and I pressed my feet against the bottom, pushing myself upwards.

Once more.

Everything was dark, and I couldn't see where the surface began, but then I felt my head break through and I took a deep gasp before I was drowned again, water filling my mouth.

I fought this time.

I hadn't gotten enough air, and my lungs were constricting hard. White dots were flying in front of my eyes as I was pushed around under the water. I waved frantically with my arms, hoping to hit the bottom, so I could know which way was up. I didn't, so I took a stroke, needing to get somewhere, anywhere, if it would help me find my bearings.

I needed air!

The darkness was complete. I had a short moment when I just wanted to open my mouth and breathe. Maybe I could filter the air from the water, like a fish. But then I realized I had no gills and gave one more hard push, hoping I was going in the correct direction.

I could see orange!

One more push and I was above the surface again, taking a gasping breath. I was lucky this time and came out right after the wave, giving me the opportunity to use it to help me in towards the shore. It was still excruciatingly hard to fight my way back, and as soon as I felt ground beneath my knees I buried my hands into the sand and just gasped. A wave washed over my head, but I couldn't be bothered moving, not even as it tried to pull be back into the dark vastness of the ocean.

'Come on,' I heard someone say and my left arm was grabbed and put around the person's shoulders. Whoever it was put his arm around my back and hooked his hand under my armpit and lifted me, or rather dragged me, out of the water.

I was dumped in an unceremonious heap on the beach, and I couldn't move. I was just gasping for air, still feeling the pain of lost breath in my lungs.

My rescuer pushed me onto my side and I had a sudden surge of nausea and vomited water. I'd never even noticed I'd swallowed any.

'Get it out,' the guy at my side said, and I finally had enough strength to push myself into a somewhat sitting position. I was still gasping for breath, and had to lean forwards to rest on my own legs to be able to keep myself sitting, as I was shaking so hard. I closed my eyes.

Something warm was wrapped around me, and hands were rubbing at my arms.

I'm not sure how long I sat there, with my eyes closed and a stranger's hands rubbing swiftly all over me. It couldn't have been long; when I opened my eyes, the sun was still barely peeking above the horizon. I could feel warmth seeping into my limbs.

'Thanks,' I said, and flinched at the rough tone of my own voice. A soft breath was exhaled behind me, and the hands stopped moving.

'You're something else,' my rescuer said, and I finally recognized the voice, making me turn around quickly. It almost made me keel over, as dizziness swept over me. He put a steadying hand on my arm and moved to sit next to me instead.

There was a wet feeling from the hand on the opposite side and I looked down to see the dog licking at my hand frantically, whining softly as he did it. How could I have missed it?

'Hey, boy,' I rasped out and slowly raised my trembling hand to scratch the dog under his chin. Apparently that was all the sign he needed to try and tackle me to the ground, but Heero whistled sharply, making the dog sit down calmly before it lied down at my side, eyes focused on Heero's face.

I watched the waters that were now deceptively calm, as a lull had rolled in. I started to chuckle softly.

'That was... exhilarating,' I said, and felt Heero tense slightly beside me, before he relaxed.

'You're crazy. Who the hell goes surfing in rough seas during night?'

'Apart from me?' I asked with as big of a grin as I could muster, and Heero grunted.

'Point taken,' he said and we watched the sun go higher, creating a beautiful shimmer over the now nearly calm seas. It was such a huge contrast from how it had just been that I was flabbergasted, and doubting myself. Had the waves really been that big, or had I just been fooling myself?

'But why?' he asked after a while in such a pleading voice, begging for a reason that I couldn't deny him.

'It's too... messy during the day. Too many people, too many that can get hurt by my mistakes.'

He looked at me sharply.

'We manage. We always have. You're good, Duo. Hell, you're amazing. You've got enough control to not get in anyone's way.'

'How do you know?'

'I've... been watching,' he said, and I felt his shoulder move against mine in a shrug.

'Really?' I asked in amazement and he nodded.

'Zee woke me up every time he decided to get up off the bed in the middle of the night. Eventually, I just followed,' he said.

He blew out a sharp breath and placed his hands behind himself, leaning backwards. The sun made the little water that still hadn't dried on his skin sparkle, and I ripped my eyes away from the crevice between his collarbones to lock at his face again. He was watching me with that annoying little smirk again.

'Asshole,' I said, and he laughed sharply. I decided that it was a nice sound, and wondered if this kindness he was showing me was only the direct result of me almost having drowned. Maybe he was afraid that, if he left, I would lie down and perish anyways?

'I didn't actually see you at first, you know. But I couldn't call Zee back; he was just sitting on the beach watching something intently. It wasn't until I heard the sound of a board on the water that I could see a dark spot moving.'

'When did you arrive?'

'Around four, I think.'

I laughed and put my now nearly steady hand on top of Zee's head, scratching him gently behind the ear and he lifted his head slightly, letting his tongue roll out of his mouth.

'He came as soon as I started then. I always wondered how long he was sitting there for.'

'I tried to lock Zee in last week, after our... altercation at the beach.' That's one way of putting it, I thought. 'He scratched at the door and howled so loudly that Wufei threatened to throw me out on my ass if I didn't let him go out.'

I laughed in surprise. Without knowing the guys, it was still something I could imagine Wufei saying, just from having watched him surf.

I felt Heero's eyes on me and turned to him to find him watching me with wide eyes, and his lips slightly parted. He was gorgeous. And he was turning out not to be as much of an asshole as I had figured. Maybe.

'I didn't think you'd go out today, so I didn't follow him when he left,' he said in a small voice and he closed his eyes as the sun was glaring him right in his face. I almost didn't hear him, but I put it together, and waited for him to continue. 'He rushed into the house. I woke up when the door slammed open, and he dragged me out here.' He silenced for a moment. 'I couldn't see you.'

'I'm sorry,' I felt compelled to say for some reason, but he shook his head.

'I still didn't think you were here, you know. Not until I saw your board floating, closer to the Rift.'

'Shit,' I said, imagining the feeling of seeing a lonesome board after having been rushed down by your dog.

He smirked. 'Yeah, that's what I said.'

'So, Zee was my real savior today?' I asked and chuckled as I patted the dog, attempting to break the somewhat somber mood that we had set.

'Yeah, he was your second.'

'I really need to get him a treat,' I said, not thinking about what I said until it had already left my mouth. 'With your approval, of course.'

Heero laughed throatily, and I felt a shiver go through me. It was a nice sound for sure.

'As long as you let me provide the treats this time.'

'Anything,' I said.

The sun was starting to provide some real heat and I shrugged the towel off, hissing as I felt it pull on my left shoulder. I pulled harder and felt how it ripped something from my skin, making me flinch.

'Shit,' I muttered and Heero looked towards me, squinting one eye open.

'What's wrong?' he asked and pulled himself backwards and into a sitting position. 'Damn, I missed that.'

I looked over my left shoulder to see the sluggish bleeding from newly opened scabs. A huge amount of sand was caught in coagulated blood, making it look pretty bad. I met Heero's eyes and we gave each other a small grimace.

'You hit your head as well,' he said and reached out with his hand to lift my hair away from my cheek. 'Do you have a phone? I think we should get you to a doctor.'

'No need, I feel fine. But I don't have a telephone either.'

He looked at me with narrowed eyes before he nodded. 'Wash the sand off first, so we can see how bad it is.'

He got to his feet, Zee immediately following his example. I tried the same, but apparently my legs hadn't quite stopped trembling yet, and I stumbled ungracefully. He steadied me by a hand on my shoulder.

'I'll help you, come on,' he said, and I put my right arm around his shoulders while he wrapped his hand around my back.

When we started moving I had to focus closely on putting one foot in front of the other.

'My bag,' I said, when I remembered about it.

'I've got it,' Heero said, and I looked at him in surprise. The loss of concentration made me stumble, and he had to fight to steady us both. When we stilled I noticed that he did indeed have my bag thrown over his shoulder, and he even had my board under his arm.

'Thanks,' I said and we kept walking until we got to the beach showers. It wasn't that far, but the walk had felt like a thousand miles. My legs were trembling with the effort of standing up and I placed my hands on the pole in the middle and leaned against it, taking some of the strain off of my legs.

Then cold water was falling over my head and shoulder and I flinched hard enough to fall to my knees.

'Hey!' Heero said, putting his hand on my shoulder. 'I really want you to get checked out by a doctor.'

'No. I'm fine,' I said, and I'm sure Heero thought I was being stubborn. I was, but that wasn't really the point. I couldn't afford risking a visit to the doctor anyways.

'Sure you are,' Heero said sarcastically, but started to gently rub the sand away from my shoulder under the chilling spray of the water. It didn't really matter how gentle he was, because it hurt. A lot!

'You're enjoying this, aren't you?' I asked after a while and he huffed.

'You made me wake up at five a.m. last Saturday after a perfectly fine barbecue. Yes, to some extent, I am enjoying this.'

'I knew it,' I said, amused. 'Asshole.' I added with a grin, and flinched when he peeled away some skin together with the sand.

'Sorry.'

'You don't sound sorry,' I told him but he just kept working on my shoulder until he finally stopped and I looked at it.

Despite the stinging pain, it didn't look too bad. Some skin had been removed, but it really amounted to nothing more than a larger scab. It made me feel more than a little silly about my fuzzing.

I thought he was finished, but then he took a hold of my head and made me look up as he lifted my wet hair away from the gash that he said was there. I didn't feel it.

'It doesn't look too bad. There's no sand in it, and it's really quite small,' he said. 'Where do you live? I'll go get my car and drive you.'

'I'll be fine here. You've got work today, right? I'll get home on my own.'

'You can't even stand,' Heero said, and he had me there, but I looked away. I wasn't about to show Heero where I lived.

'Fine, you're coming home with me,' he said, and I turned to him in amazement. 'You can rest there until you're better. Come on.'

What had happened to suddenly make him act like this? I'd had some luck resisting the guy when I'd thought him a complete asshole. If he proved to be nicer than I'd though, I wasn't so sure I would manage.

He leaned down and I threw my arm around his shoulders again. The warmth of his skin against mine was a nice feeling and I pressed myself closer as he maneuvered to get my board back under his arm.

We went over the small grassy hill close to the Surf and there, there was a house with a workshop attached to it. I hadn't seen it before and my mind momentarily told me it was magic before I rationalized that I just hadn't gone farther west than the Surf in my venture for the best waves.

Zee ran in through the door ahead of us and when we stepped inside I heard a weird noise, and had to look up. Quatre was standing in front of us, sandwich in hand, with his mouth open. He dropped his sandwich. I'm not sure he noticed it himself.

'Duo! What happened?' he exclaimed and came to meet us. 'What did you do?' he asked, glaring at Heero who shook his head.

'Don't blame me. This one is all on Duo.'

'It's true, Quat',' I said and Quatre gave us both a chilly glare with his frosty blue eyes before he walked in front of us and held open a door.

'My room? It'll get bloody,' Heero complained, but led me in through the door that Quatre was holding open before he gently helped me sit down on the bed.

'Get out of your trunks and sleep before you go home,' he said and left.

I looked up to see Quatre still standing by the door, looking at me thoughtfully.

'We might have to cancel that surfing at noon,' I said, pulling Quatre out of his thoughts and he smiled.

'Don't worry about it. Feel better,' he said and backed out, pulling the door halfway closed and I suddenly felt very tired. Apparently, that's what happened when you'd nearly managed to drown. I'd been through it once before. That time I'd lost my best friend, my brother in all but blood.

I barely managed to crawl my way out of my clothes.

I don't think my head had even hit the pillow before I was asleep.

~ * ~

Chapter 5

Back to Single Authors Index

Back to GW Authors Index.