Chapter 21: Lull

The next two days, the weather was clear, showing the truth behind the calm after the storm. There were no waves to talk about, and lay days were called on both of them. By the end of the second day, the waves were starting to roll in again, and I wanted to get a feel for how my wounds would be able to handle surfing.

My back gave me little trouble, except for the entire thing itching like crazy as the scratches started to heal. My arm was the part that still persisted in giving me some pain. At least the throbbing had gone down during the last day, into a dull ache. Heero thought I would manage to escape infection as long as I stayed out of the water, and I'd followed his recommendation thus far, even though the temperatures had been crazy. It wasn't easy to watch everyone else go down for a cooling swim while I had to sit on land, sweating rivers.

When the wind picked up I didn't spend a lot of time hesitating however. I went straight out for my board and into the water. Everyone else was still at work, or possibly headed for the water, so I was completely alone out there.

The waves were rolling just over five feet, which fit me perfectly. I carved the waves and did as many turns as I could think of, and it felt fine. Sure, there was some discomfort when I moved my arm too quickly, or when I twisted for the turns, but it didn't hurt. The sting I felt whenever the salt water hit me was possible to ignore, and I was incredibly happy to be out surfing again.

I was probably alone for an hour before I saw Alex and Mueller paddle out, and I frowned, wondering what they were doing at the Surf, but chose to ignore it and caught my wave.

They stopped paddling and were watching me, talking between themselves. I surfed passed them, and stopped thinking about it as I let the wave carry me as far as it could towards the shore. Once it disappeared I lay down on my stomach and started to paddle the rest of the way in.

It didn't surprise me too much to find myself in between Alex and Mueller, and they paddled ahead of me to close off my path, showing me that even though I wasn't feeling a lot of pain, I wasn't up to my normal mobility and speed. I sat up on my board, and raised an eyebrow as I watched them sit across from me with crooked smiles.

'You still think you have a chance?' Alex asked with his chin high in the air.

'About as much a chance as you do, I would expect,' I answered, and began to push my way backwards to get away from them.

'You'll never have as much chance as him,' Mueller said and shifted his board to stay in my way. He started to get on my nerves, but in the water, already slightly handicapped; I wouldn't stand much chance against him.

'I'll let the points speak for themselves,' I said, unable to completely keep from riling him up a bit more.

'Your last round you lost with five points,' Alex said with a raised eyebrow, looking entirely relaxed on his board with his back slightly bent. He wasn't quite as easy to get a rise out of as Mueller was.

'Yeah, the fall didn't give me as many points as I'd hoped,' I said sarcastically, and was surprised to see Alex pull his lips upwards in amusement before he suppressed it.

'You were looking a bit like a stiff out there,' Alex said. 'You'll have to step it up if you want to beat me.'

He lay down on his board and began to paddle away. Mueller however, stayed behind. I heard angry barking from the beach and leaned around Mueller to see Zero running towards the water with Heero walking quickly behind him.

Mueller sneered. 'Your knight in shining armor is coming to rescue you again?'

I smirked as cockily as I could. 'I don't need rescuing from you. You seem to fail at most of the things you do.'

He narrowed his eyes. 'We'll see how cocky you are when Trant posts his article.'

'Ah,' I said in sudden understanding. Mueller had been the one to tattle on Heero and me. It made sense, especially when I saw him cast a glance over at Alex.

'Some lingering feelings for a special someone you want to tell me about, Mueller?' I asked, and knew I shouldn't have when his eyes widened and his face went red in either anger or embarrassment.

I was lucky that Mueller didn't just jump at me, but I suspected it had something to do with the call that came from Alex, and he paddled away from me with a few final words of farewell. Not very nice ones either.

I started to paddle back, and was met by Zero halfway in. The dog immediately scrambled onto my board, and I pushed myself a bit further back to give him room, before I continued to paddle in. My arm gave a twinge at the extra strain, but since that was the worse it did I decided to write it off as normal. I could still surf with it.

Heero had gone up to his knees in the water to meet me. He still had his lifeguard boardies and jacket on, and watched me worriedly when he didn't shoot annoyed glares towards Alex and Mueller.

'Hi, 'Ro. How was work?' I asked as I got off the board and pushed it along the water to let Zero ride it a bit more.

'There were a few rescues,' he said tersely, walking with me back towards the beach, but still glanced over his shoulder to glare at the two surfers.

'Stop it,' I said in amusement, and shifted my weight to push against him.

He took a step to the side before I hit him, which made me stumble and plunge straight into the water. Zero jumped off the board beside me, and Heero laughed, making me splash him with water before I got back to my feet again, and put my board under my arm.

When we were on the beach, I wrapped my arm around Heero's back on pure instinct, and he looked at me in surprise. I didn't realize what I'd done until then, and it felt quite good to have done it without thinking it over first. I leaned my head slightly against his shoulder before I pushed at him to get us walking up to the Safe house again. I couldn't see his face, but I was sure he had one of those smiles on it when he put his hand around my waist.

'We should clean your wounds out, the water isn't good for them,' Heero said once we got onto the deck. I turned my head to kiss him on the cheek.

'Always the lifeguard,' I said, took a hold of his hand, and lead him towards the bedroom.

He chuckled softly and pulled his hand out of mine.

'I'll be right there,' he said and headed into the bathroom.

I looked after him for a moment before I continued into the bedroom, closely followed by Zero.

I got out of my trunks and slipped into undies instead, before I lay down on my stomach on the bed. Heero had definitely been serious about cleaning the wounds, and I'd come to rather enjoy it when he applied the ointment.

He came in with a pot of water, compresses and a cloth that he placed on the bedside table. Then he walked back to the door and let Zero out before he sat down on the back of my thighs like he had every time before.

He pulled the table closer to himself and dipped the cloth in the water before he gently dabbed it on one of the wounds. I flinched away from the first touch, not quite expecting the sting.

'How is it this makes you flinch, but when the doctor first cleaned you up, you looked like iron man himself?' Heero asked with laughter in his voice as he continued to gently dab the cloth against my wounds.

'I don't know,' I said, thinking about it. 'I don't have to put up an act with you, I guess.'

He stilled, and I lifted myself up onto my elbows to look back at him. He leaned forwards and placed a gentle kiss on my shoulder.

'You never have to pretend around me,' he said, tracing kisses downwards, along my spine, and I shivered. A familiar heat ran down towards my nether regions, and I could feel a distinct bulge pressing against my leg as well.

I reached back with my hand and took a hold of Heero's, and sat up at the same time as I pulled him to the side. The ocean swirled in his eyes, and I leaned over to kiss him. I pressed him onto his back, and seated myself on his thighs before I bent down and traced kisses over his abs. I smiled as I heard him groan, and he pressed himself upwards so I could feel him against my stomach.

He put his hands on my hips, but I chased him away as I started to work on unbuttoning his shorts, kissing his hipbone as it was revealed, and I pulled his clothes down until I could see him in all his glory, and I basked in it until he got impatient. He sat up and grabbed my hips with his hands, pulled me forwards again, and seized my lips with his mouth.

I'm not sure exactly how he got my underwear off, but I was soon moving on top of him, with him moaning beneath me in pure pleasure. I put my hands on his wrists when he brought his hands up to touch me and pressed them down onto the bed. I wanted this to last, and I leaned in to kiss him. He raised his hips to follow my movement, and I moaned, burying my head against his shoulder as I shuddered in pleasure. It made me loosen the grip on his wrists, and he immediately had them on my hips, helping me move against him, until both of us couldn't hold it back anymore and we screamed our release against each other's shoulders.

I stayed on him even as I felt him slip out of me. The slickness of his skin, the steady rise of his chest, the heavy pounding of his heart, they all made me completely comfortable right where I was. Heero's hand was in the small of my back, gently drawing circles with his thumb.

'I love you so much, 'Ro,' I said. He stopped breathing for a moment before his chest continued its steady rhythm.

'I love you too,' he said, moved his hand to the back of my head and guided me to his mouth for a kiss. I put my head back over his heart and his hand tracked into the small of my back again.

'Did you know Mueller told Trant about us?' I asked.

'It doesn't surprise me. Mueller always was a bit of a homophobe.'

'Thing is, I think he's got a crush on Alex. I kinda feel sorry for him,' I said and Heero's hand stilled.

'You feel sorry for someone who tried to kill you?' he asked, and I lifted my head off his chest to look at him in surprise. He had a wry smile on his face.

'I figured it out,' he said. 'I saw him running on the beach after we'd noticed the smoke.'

'Sorry I didn't tell you.'

'I'm not sure I would have told me,' he said and leaned forwards for a kiss, which I happily gave him. I lifted my arm to put on his head, wincing as I felt it pull.

'We should clean that again,' Heero said in an amused voice, and I put my mouth against his chest as I groaned.

'It's your own fault,' he said.

I chortled against his chest before I lifted my head up.

'It was just as much your fault, and it was worth it,' I said and he smiled widely.

We did a quick cleanup after our activities, and then we were back at the place where we'd started; with me on my stomach and him seated on the back of thighs, gently dabbing at the wounds. This time he actually got to apply ointment and change compress on the deeper gashes without us getting into any heavier business.

As he finished attaching the last compress, my stomach rumbled loudly, making him pause before he laughed and got off of my legs.

'Hungry?' he asked, and I turned to him, feeling a bit lethargic after everything, but the hunger pangs were impossible to ignore.

'Very,' I said, and sat up slowly, accepting the briefs Heero held out for me.

'Let's fix something up,' he said and the two of us quickly got dressed and headed to the kitchen where pots of food already stood ready.

Heero silently handed me a plate and I filled it up with pasta and ham before we went outside.

We were met with four knowing smiles, and I felt myself blush.

'You certainly seem to be feeling better,' Sally said to me, and snickers rolled through the other three. For an instant, I wanted to hide, but then Heero's supportive hand was on my back, and I smirked.

'Much, thank you.'

Wufei opened his mouth to say something, but Heero picked up the conversation before him while we sat down.

'Good, because if the wind keeps this up, Gundams will start up again tomorrow.'

'I'm counting on it,' I said, excited about it, and we went on discussing the upcoming heats, speculating on who would go on through to the quarterfinals. Trowa had won our heat, so he was already in it. Wufei got matched against Alex in the next round, and he would have a rough time beating him.

Quatre had sat silent, glancing my way a few times, until I got worried and extracted myself from the lively conversation to lean over the table and speak silently to Quatre.

'Is everything ok, Q'?'

He nodded slowly, before giving a small sigh.

'I hate asking you…' he said, looking at me with a guilty expression.

'Just spit it out,' I said, and he smiled wryly.

'Well, with the company sponsoring you, we'll want you to use our gear,' he said, eyes averted.

'Yeah, that's usually a part of the deal. I'm fine with it, just let me use 'Ro's board for Gundams. It's a bit late to switch to a completely new one.'

He looked up at me with wide eyes.

'We wouldn't make you switch boards, though we'll happily provide them. They did a few boardies for you, though. And a sticker for the board…' he trailed off.

'Q', that's completely fine. What were you so guilty about?'

He smiled in relief, and shook his head.

'I thought you'd be more upset. The whole part about selling yourself…'

'Q', relax,' I said with a wide smile. 'Obviously you guys have to gain something from sponsoring me. Just give them over and I'll wear it.'

He smiled and bent down to pick up a bag from below the table and handed it over. I laughed as he did it; of course he'd been prepared.

The conversation around the rest of the table fell quiet as well as they watched me pull the black trunks out of the bag. They were completely discreet, with the Winner logo on the bottom of the right leg, and 'Reaper' on the waistband at the back. I chuckled softly, and Quatre looked at me with raised eyebrows.

'Quat', these are discreet to a fault,' I said. 'Is the sticker worse?'

He silently handed me the sticker, and I laughe. It was all white, and would fit nicely on the black board.

'Q', I swear to you, this is fine.'

'He looked at me with a small smile and brought out another sticker, making me frown.

'We got you a Legends sticker as well,' Trowa said, and I stared at him and Heero in surprise.

'I thought you didn't sponsor pros?'

Heero shook his head. 'My uncle always did, so I thought we could bring the tradition back. Your board is made from materials from Legends anyways. Consider yourself the exception to the rule.'

'Damn,' I breathed. It was completely unexpected, but it meant the world to me that I had their support. 'Thank you, guys.'

'You'll be sponsored by Winner?' Sally asked slowly, and I realized we hadn't told any of the others yet.

'So you'll continue on the Pro tour next season?' Wufei asked with a bitter undertone, and I glanced at Heero.

He looked at me with an odd smile. I wasn't sure if he was sad and pretended to be happy, or if he was genuinely happy, in a mix of emotions. I hadn't put so much thought into what would happen after Gundams, my honest belief had been that I wouldn't have a sponsor anymore, in which case the Pro tour would have been out of the running anyways.

'We'll figure it out,' Heero said, looking directly into my eyes, and I nodded gratefully. There was a lot we'd need to discuss, but we really didn't need to do it in front of our friends, no matter how much we loved them.

There was an awkward silence for a while, as we ate. I bet I wasn't the only one who wondered what I'd do. I'd been set on getting back to pro surfing without thinking of the consequences it might have on my relationship with Heero. There was a lot of travelling involved, and it could mean weeks away from each other at a time.

The shrill tone of Heero's cell phone interrupted my thoughts and I looked at him as he answered. He frowned as the person on the other end said something, and sighed deeply.

'There's no chance?' he asked, and I could hear the pain in his voice.

'All right, thank you,' he said and hung up the phone. He looked directly at Wufei. 'The kid with the spinal today, his back was broken, he's paraplegic.'

'Shit,' Wufei said, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. Sally placed her hand on his arm, and rubbed gently.

Heero got up from his seat and started to walk away. I quickly followed him, and we walked in silence to the shore. I didn't know what to say, so when he sat down, I simply sat down next to him, as close as I could get, and joined him in watching the ocean.

The waves were breaking close to the beach, and the whitewater retreated a few inches away from the tip of our toes. The beginning sunset behind us was coloring the clouds in the most amazing colors.

'It's not fair,' Heero said, almost too quiet for me to hear him.

'It never is,' I said.

'He's twelve years old, and has less than one percent chance of walking normally again,' he said, voice rising as he worked his way towards being angry.

'It sucks,' I said, because there were no answers. Heero didn't want any answers either. He wanted to be angry at the world.

'It does,' he said and sighed. 'He fell when he was surfing, and his board struck him over the back. Wufei was out there in seconds. The kid couldn't feel a thing in his legs when he was brought it and we put him on the spinal board.'

'You did everything you could,' I said, wrapped an arm around him, and he leaned against me, putting his head on my shoulder.

'I know. It doesn't stop me from wondering if I could have done more.'

'Why is this so different from other times?' I asked, and kissed the top of his head. He'd gotten that call on previous occasions, once since I'd gotten to know him.

'He's visited the shop ever since he was seven. I sold him his first board. Trowa shaped the one he's currently surfing on. Surfed on.'

'Shit,' I said, without thinking and Heero let out a soft sound in a mix between annoyance and amusement.

'That should cover it.'

'Sorry,' I said, embarrassed. 'How about we go visit the kid?'

'Yeah. Let's give him some time to settle in it first though,' he said, lifted his head from my shoulder and kissed me softly, with a simple touch of his lips on mine. 'Thank you.'

'What for?' I had to ask.

'For being here,' he said, and leaned his head on my shoulder again, and my heart beat quicker. It's amazing how much it's possible to love another person. I'd truly fallen all the way. I tightened my arm around him, and we stayed out there until dark fell.

I always wanted to be there for Heero.

Big thanks to Negasonic Teenage Warhead and duaimei for the reviews on the previous chapter :) You guys make it so much fun to post this :)