Series: Beat of Wings||Story: Dreams of the Sky
Characters: Yuugo, Rin||Pairing: N/A
Genre: General||Rated: G
Word Count: 958||Chapters: 1/1
Challenges: Diversity Writing: Arc-V: B26, non-canon scene; Word Count Set Boot Camp, #25, 958 words; Collect the Yuus & Bracelet Girls: Rin.
Summary: Wings are one way to fly. So are D-Wheels. Yuugo and Rin can only count on one of those to achieve their dreams.

Yuugo ran his hand over his forehead and sagged down, trying to catch his breath. Almost got it.

Almost wasn't all the way, though. He needed to make certain this worked perfectly. There wouldn't be any chance at all at winning the Friendship Cup if their D-Wheel wasn't perfect.

Hers. Not ours.

Yuugo would almost have given his wings to be able to ride a D-Wheel. He would have almost given them for the chance to actually fly.

But his wingblockers remained right where they were, where they'd been ever since his twelfth birthday, when his molt finally brought him to the wingspan he'd be able to fly with.

"Yuugo?" Rin called his name as she entered the garage, setting a bag of groceries down on the battered table. It swayed a bit as she did and both of them waited with baited breath to see if this time it would just give up and fall over.

Not this time, it turned out, and Rin came over to him once the regular worry passed.

"How's it going?" She cast a quick glance over the D-Wheel, a small smile playing over her lips as she did. "It's looking good."

"When can you do a test ride?" Yuugo asked. "I think I have it ready for that much, at least."

Fliers weren't allowed to ride D-Wheels, especially not Commons Fliers. Rumor had it that those in the Tops who had wings were allowed to fly, so they didn't care about Riding Duels.

Yuugo hadn't ever flown. He'd never fly at all, not unless Rin somehow won and could present a reasonable enough excuse for him to join her up there.

Rin, unaware of his thoughts – or at least he thought she was – stared at the D-Wheel with obvious hunger in her eyes. "How about now?" She said after a moment. "Is that all right?"

Yuugo pushed himself to his feet and wiped his forehead again, grinning. He loved seeing Rin riding. There was so much potential there, the hope for what they could do with her future.

"Let's do it!"

It took only a few moments for Rin to change into her riding suit. Yuugo wondered what it would be like to wear one of those. It wasn't exactly illegal for him to wear one, but since he was clearly a Commons Flyer, there wasn't any way for him to get one. No one would sell it to him and stealing one wouldn't be worth getting tossed into the underground.

Anyway, Rin was a better driver than he was. It was a lot better for her to do this than him.

"Ready?" Yuugo chirped the moment she came out, settling her helmet on her head. She nodded, eyes gleaming bright in anticipation as she wheeled Clear Wing outside.

She'd insisted on naming it Clear Wing, after his ace card. He would have preferred calling it after hers, but Rin's answer to that had been to smack him over the head and tell him clearly, "You might not be able to ride with me, but I can at least have you sort of there!"

Well, she hadn't quite said it like that, but if he thought about what she did say, he started blushing and couldn't get his words out, and Rin laughed at him.

A small track had been set up behind their place; it wasn't really enough to get a good feel for what Rin would face in the Friendship Cup, but it gave her a place to practice and Yuugo could figure out what he needed to do to improve the D-Wheel.

Sometimes they went out after dark, finding long stretches of road where it wasn't as likely that Security would find them. Those were the times that Yuugo wished he could fly the most, because then he could keep an eye out for Rin and she could ride fast enough to take off.

Almost against his will, he peeked upward, seeing the vast stretch of afternoon sky overhead. He could see one or two Fliers up there already, getting in some air time before the sun set. Flying after dark wasn't forbidden to them – finding something that was forbidden to those snobs was a hell of a trick – but he'd heard plenty of rumors that they thought 'rogue Commons' would pounce them if they were in the air after sunset.

Rin's fingers twitched against his ear. "Yuugo, I'm ready! Pay attention!"

He yelped, rubbing his ear, and pouted at her. Rin just rolled her eyes, got settled on the D-Wheel, and prepared to take off.

She flies better on that than I would. He watched in envy as she soared down their track, already far faster than she'd been the last time she'd tried this. So his upgrades worked. That was something good to know.

Rin kept on riding, looping the loop multiple times, gaining speed a little more each time. She waved one arm, her deck ready, and Yuugo wondered if he could find someone willing to have a Riding Duel against her. She would need practice in more than just riding; she needed to be able to duel while on there too.

Not that she couldn't. He had absolute faith in Rin and her ability to trounce anyone who challenged her. She'd done it to him more than once. But the people in the Friendship Cup would be some of the top duelists in the entire world. Practice, practice, practice!

For now, though, he watched Rin as she soared around the track, silhouetted against the darkening sky, and wondered if one day, they could fly together, he with his wings and her with the D-Wheel.

Probably not. But it remained a sweet dream to savor.

The End

Notes: I can be very cruel... Yuugo can't fly because his wings are basically tied in a way he can't undo and if anyone else does it...that's a crime. But oh, boy, do I have Plans~