Related Edges
By Complexly Simple Kiddo
Genre: A shounen Ai AU, with romance, adventure, and a whit of spice, shaken, not stirred. ;P
Rating: hmmm. Let's stick with an overall M just to be sure.
Parings: 1x2x1, 3x4, and my number 5 stays inside an interesting wrestling of wills leaded by very strong characterized people :D (You will see, believe me)
Warnings: hmph. Language, lime or lemon, bits of sap, angst, all in doses you will usually see in real life, nothing to be scared off…
Unless you don't like Shounen Ai. In that case, run!
Disclaimer: Hahahaha….naaaah, don't own'em. Wait. Do you? O.o
Author's note: Ok. So this is an idea that has being nagging me for some time. Mostly, I would like to say that I don't know Figure Skating so well, but I do investigate for the sake of the fic. But since it's an AU, although is situated in the present, I had taken some liberties to make the fic more interesting and to fit my sinister plot ::evil laugh::
Yes, they are figure skaters, but do NOT expect to see any girlish thing on any of them. It's not normal figure skating, the one you can see on TV when you have male/female pairings.
There will be a lot of references to songs, mostly every title (if not all) and constantly threaded in the story. I will put the names and authors in a note at the end of the chapter.
Also, this is situated in California, and I have never been there, so if I make any mistakes, please forgive me and inform me if you want :D I would be more that happy to hear it.
Feedback: To review is so easy that it should be illegal ;P It also feeds my brain with will to sit and type. And I do welcome critics, if they are solidly established, that is.
Flattering will be stylishly ignored for the sake of appearances, and winked with a smile for my own sake and yours :D Enjoy!!!
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Chapter one: Dust in the Wind I
The hallway was unusually quiet. He was sitting on a nearby chair, close enough to the entrance to see some flashes of light and a piece of the ice floor, but far enough not to perfectly hear any sounds or music. The public was mute for him; the music of other's performances didn't quite reach his mind. He was so closed in himself anyway, he doubt the sounds could reach him at all.
He was the visual image of the contrast concept. His long chestnut hair was bonded in his usual braid, tied at the end with long thin strands of black and even thinner whites that threaded into some parts of the clothing so the hair wouldn't move too much. His head was bowed, his black clad shoulders brushing his ears. His toneless black long sleeved shirt was well fitted to his lean chest, almost merging with the black pants. From the lower rim of the sleeves, white clusters of long and thin fabric hung loose, cascading into his knees, where he had the elbows resting. Similar strands of white fabric clung from the outer side of his legs, starting at the knee and finishing almost at the ankle, where the ice skates hugged his foot. The skates where black too, but brushes of white could be seen in the outer side of them.
His breathing was barely audible, but from the movement of his chest one could see the breaths were long and deep. Concentration.
Breathe.
"I know".
His voice echoed lightly in the silent hallway, deep and smooth, but strong nonetheless. His eyes, darkened by the shadows that his bangs projected on his face, opened slightly.
The door at the other end of the short hallway opened, breaking the silence. Soft steps consorted the lean and tall person coming from the room. He stepped beside the chair and the man on it, and looked at the opposite door. He was dressed simply, green turtleneck and white pants. His brown short hair was cut short at his neck, but long bangs cascaded from the forehead, and shielded one of the man's green eyes. His face was relaxed, all his posture was relaxed, and still, a shadow of concern could be seen in his eyes. Still not looking at the man in black dressing, he spoke softly.
"It's almost time. Are you sure you want to do this?"
The man in the chair made one last long deep breath and lifted his head, his eyes opened full to reveal a cobalt blue shade that looked almost purple in the low lights. He smiled, traces of sadness tinting what could be an expression of happiness.
"I am. I won't go back now. I won't look back. This is my last performance, Trowa. My last one with him." He looked at the man this time, and a slightly happier smile appeared in his lips. "It's gonna be ok". (1)
The taller man twitched his lips slightly in a tiny smile, the concern and sadness still there. He closed his green eyes and opened them again. With a firm nod to the black clad man, he spoke.
"I know"
The man in the chair smiled again, and stood up. The long strands of white soft fabric pooled to the air and hung loose. The braid barely swayed when he turned and started walking to the entrance. The sounds started to be noticed and he tensed at them, but kept walking. He stopped at the entrance and the shorthaired man looked at him one last time.
"Duo?" he asked, hesitatingly. The man called Duo turned his head slightly to the side, not looking at the man, but showing signs that he was listening. His eyes looked as if his gaze was far away.
"Good luck" Trowa said, finally. Duo smiled and nodded, before looking through the entrance again. He heard the steps of Trowa going back to the opposite door, from where he came, and sighed. When he heard the soft click of the door closing, he replied a small 'thank you' and looked up, the lights of the ice skating floor hitting him fully. He stepped one foot on the thick ice and slid to the center of the floor. He couldn't hear the voice of the presenters speaking surprised of his lack of partner nor the screams and gasps of the spectators watching avidly from the seats. He only heard the blessed silence inside of his head, and the soft word that was spoken to him.
Breathe.
His skates came to a sudden stop after a swift and sudden turn, little shreds of ice flying, his head bowed, arms hanging loose to his sides. All the stage was in silence now, even the presenters. A soft dreamy music started and Duo lifted slowly his left arm, extending his hand as in invitation for someone to take it. His head turned to the same side of the hand, a small smile in his lips. The white shreds of clothes waved with the movement, but then stayed still.
No one took that hand. At least, that was what the people saw.
The music picked up, and the dance started. A dance for too figure skaters; Performed by one.
Breathe. Let's do it one last time.
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-Present day, California-
Someone was shaking him. Someone was shaking him out of the sweet abyss of sleep.
Someone was gonna pay…
…After he woke up, after he slept a little more.
"Wake up, damnit! I swear, Maxwell, you're dead to the world! WAKE UP!" shakes intensified, Duo slowly opened his eyes, and smirked.
"Just one more minute, mom"
The shakes stopped. Then he felt a dry kick in the head.
"Call me mom again and I'll throw you freezing water you Son of Satan!!!"
The sleeping man woke up fully at that and sat in his bed, still clutching the sheets. An amused look in his face told that he was wide awake now.
"Son of Satan, Wufie? Sheez, you're not good at insulting, man!" Said 'Wufie' looked indignant with the naming choice and proceeded to grab the sheets and throw them flying, then pointed a finger to the man, now uncovered and barely shivering, in the bed.
"Tell me 'Wufie' one more time, and it's going to be your skin," he said, nodding to the sheets now lying in the floor "and wake up! It's getting late!"
"yesh, Wufeeeeei" the stretching of the name seemed to bother the man too, but not that much. Although the door did complained because of the force in which it was closed when he left. Duo cringed at the loud bang and flopped down to the bed again. He sighed contentedly in the mattress and closed his eyes again. He was becoming drowsy again when he heard the shout from the other side of the door.
"And don't go back to sleep, damnit!!!" Duo smiled and stepped out of the bed lazily, shaking his head.
"Yeah yeah, coming"
Wufei was running like a madman when Duo entered the kitchen. His black hair unbound framing his face, grey slacks and a half buttoned white shirt could be barely seen in the rush that was the man. Duo sighed and smiled at his friend, while dropping himself in a chair. He stretched, lifting his arms and tensing his back, sighing contently when he heard the satisfying cracks.
"I need coffee" he said out of the blue.
Wufei stopped momentary in his search and looked at Duo incredulous
"Why are you looking at me like that? You expect me to make you coffee?" A snort told all he thought of his own question. Duo rolled his eyes at him.
"Geez, man! Where's that friendly love of yours?" Wufei, now crouched by the sofa and looking under it, murmured
"I'll give you friendly love the day you decide to wake up early for once" He reached a hand below the sofa, and took it out with a victorious sound, grabbing a set of keys. He stood up and looked at his unmoving friend with disbelief.
"You haven't moved? Damn it, Maxwell, it's 8:30 already!!! Come on!!!" Duo sighed defeated and stood up. He went to the bathroom and looked at himself in the mirror. His hair was a mess, all tangled and barely still in the braid. He grabbed the brush and quickly arranged it to be somewhat presentable. He went to his room, looking at the mess that it was with long suffering eyes and a groan. The room was relatively large, but the disorder made it look tinier. The double bed, now without the sheets courtesy of one pissed off Wufei, was in the far side, next to the large windows. The desk was at the adjacent wall, but was barely seen because of the amount of things that covered it. A laptop could be seen somewhere below the mess. The chair was currently a clothes holder, the pile of clean ones that didn't quite reached the wardrobe was in close danger to fall, the dirty clothes that didn't quite reached the hamper hanged from the chair, containing accidentally the aforementioned pile. To the other side, most of the wall was covered in the wardrobe, doors opened and objects falling from it. An old pair of ice skates was hanging in the wall by a nail, beside a photo of a kid roughly the same age than him. A bookshelf full of books and papers and Turner paintings filled other places.
"I'll clean one of these days, I swear" he said to no one in particular and changed his clothes, grabbing a pair of pants from the clean pile currently sitting in the desk chair.
"Oh, by the way, Wu, bike's in the mechanic, I'll need a ride," he shouted trough the door. He put the first clean shirt he saw and went to the kitchen again to find a glaring Wufei blocking the way in the hallway.
"Whoa, lighten up, man!" Wufei, seemingly not hearing, hissed at his friend
"Why the hell do you tell me this now? I'm going to be twice as late now!" uh-oh. He hissed, he's pissed. Duo threw out his most disarming smile.
"Because I'm a stupid careless guy that has the brain the size of a peanut, now let's go, it's gonna be late" He grabbed his bag and skates from the floor where he always drop them and went to the door of the apartment, followed by a gasping Wufei.
"NOW you say that?! I swear one of these days…"
"Wufei?" The black haired man stopped at his ranting because of the unusual use of his complete unadulterated name
"What?" he spat, closing the apartment door with the key, somewhat exasperated. Duo smiled at him and raised one single finger to his mouth
"Hush".
In a coffee bar, a block away, a young waitress almost dropped his tray when an irritated shout broke the calm air of the summer morning.
Notes:
Title song: Dust in the wind, from Kansas. It will be one of the two main songs, so I would recommend you to hear it if you want to have a sense of sound for the scene. Also, it's a great song, but anything related to the lyric and it's use in the fic will appear in the fic itself, so don't worry.
1: There's a song in the Gundam Wing OST's that is singed by the Japanese voice actor of Duo, called "It's gonna be ok" or its original name "kitto ok!" Strangely enough, the songs of those OST's are not in the show, so I really don't understand why they made them. But, who am I to complain, huh:D