Chapter 16
The next day, the others went surfing again.
My castle had been claimed by several little kids, who were currently seated in the middle of the thing, and trying bury some poor guy under a mountain of sand.
I bemoaned the loss of a great nap place, but let them keep it. I was surprised the tide hadn't destroyed my castle, actually, but I guess mine was sturdy enough that the waves licking at the walls hadn't done much to erode the sand and topple it over.
It would have been nice to play 'catch me if you can' with the waves again, but I figured that Heero would probably kill me himself if I tried it.
So, I relaxed onto a towel, and let the sun bathe me with its warmth.
Indolently, I watched the guys perform all manner of tricks on their boards. They gathered quite a crowd, actually, and they thronged around me, since I had situated myself in the best position possible to watch Heero and the others.
Girls, and guys all around started comparing who they thought was hottest, and I found it really rather funny.
The blond guy, Quatre, got a lot of votes from the guy's side, and Trowa, 'the guy with the green swim trunks', was really popular among both sides. 'The guy with the ponytail,' Wufei, was squealed over almost abominably by a whole cluster of Asian and non-Asian girls, and I wondered what he would make of a bunch of 'onna's' spouting compliments about his great looking butt.
At least, I thought it was funny, until votes for Heero started coming in. He had followers from both guys and girls, like Trowa, and I found myself almost growling at a girl who kept gushing about him.
And when they came out of the water, after riding a wave, the giggles and gasps they got made me want to puke.
It was even worse after all damn four of them came up to ask me if I was all right. I guess they could tell, I dunno, from the stiffening of my body, maybe, that I wasn't the happiest guy.
"You guys have a damn fan club," I informed them point-blank. "They are making me sick."
"A fan club?" Heero paled a little.
"A fan club," I confirmed. "Who have been screaming about Trowa's skill, Quatre's cuteness, Wufei's ass, and your great body." I couldn't help but grin at them. "It was actually pretty funny until they just started going a little overboard."
The damn fan clubs were finally starting to recover from seeing the guys walk right through them, and I recommended, "You'd better leave before they slobber all over you."
"Are you sure you're okay?" Heero squatted down next to me and brushed my cheek.
"I'll be fine," I said forcefully, "you're the guys who'll be fish meat if you don't get out of here now."
Heero gave me an eye-smile, and left after the others, who'd practically scurried away at the sight of several crazy looking girls advancing on them.
Then, because their prey had escaped, everybody descended down on me. Joy.
And then began the most grueling interrogation I've ever had in my entire life.
Finally, I couldn't take it anymore, especially after I'd just almost gotten trampled by several way overenthusiastic Wufei supporters, all trying to ask different questions at the same time, and I marched the hell out of there.
I was standing away from all those total Gundam pilot-surfer fanatics, and kind of wishing that Heero could hug me, when my soldier instincts snapped at me to look the hell behind me, and I whirled, distantly aware of some kind of round ball zipping right at my head.
My reflexes cracked into place, and I had the ball in my hand inches before it slammed into my face.
"Holy shit!" A guy ran up to me, saying, "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine," I assured him.
He was a lean guy, tall and muscled, with blond hair tied up in a ponytail not unlike Wufei's.
He grinned at me, showing sparkling white teeth that kind of dazzled me, and said appreciatively, "I don't know how the hell you caught the ball, man."
"Good reflexes," I said, and couldn't help but smile back at him. He was a friendly kind of guy, the kind of guy you automatically say hello to when you pass him on the street.
"Hey, we could use one more guy on our volleyball team…wanna join us?" he said invitingly.
"I don't know…" I said doubtfully, "I haven't played volleyball for years." I can't even remember why and when I learned it.
"It's alright, none of us are professionals or anything. We're just playing for fun," he said, dismissing my misgivings.
"All right, then," I said hesitantly.
"Great, man." He flashed his smile at me again, "My name's Ian."
"Duo." I shook his proffered hand, and he grabbed me and pulled me forward energetically.
"Guys!" he called. "I've got a new player for my team," he said a bit aggressively.
"Him?" One of them, a huge guy with a mass of black chest hair, boomed. He towered over me, squinting. "God, he's tiny."
I bristled.
"It's all right, man," Ian whatever-his-last-name-was soothed, "Terry here doesn't know the meaning of tact."
"Terry, Duo," he gestured at me, "has the greatest reflexes I've ever seen. And he's on my team."
"Don't pin any hopes on me," I said a bit uneasily, "my volleyball skills are probably totally rusty."
"Eh, no pressure man," he said, winking at me. I wasn't reassured.
I think he noticed my discomfort, because he suddenly grabbed another volleyball, and said, "You guys keep playing for a few minutes. I think Duo wants a moment to get back into the flow, right?"
I nodded, surprised at his thoughtfulness.
He tossed the ball to me, and my first try sucked. I made a face. He just grinned at me. After the first few throws, I kind of got used to the rhythm…if there is a rhythm, and my hits sailed unerringly toward him.
"Man, Duo, you play like a pro!" He stared at me admiringly.
I shifted under his scrutiny.
"I think I'm ready to play in the game now," I offered.
"Right," he said, grinning, "the other guys aren't going to know what hit them."
We stepped into the game, and I even kind of surprised myself with the way I almost never missed the ball, no matter how awkward the hit. None of the others really expected me to be really good, I think…for the first few minutes, they spent more time staring at me than the ball. The girls on the sidelines, most of the guy's girlfriends, I guess, whispered and nudged each other for a while; I wondered briefly what they were saying about me.
Soon enough, though, both they were cheering me on, with those quick compliments you give in the middle of a game, and I was exchanging banter with the guys like old friends.
Ian was always the first to whoop when I scored a point…I was really grateful for his encouragement, even if it did seem a mite excessive.
After about an hour, Terry called for a break, and I sat on the sand, panting lightly.
He approached me, and rumbled, "For a midget, you're pretty damn good."
"I'm five feet five, thank you very much," I said a bit indignantly, "you are the freakin' giant."
He chuckled, and repeated, "Pretty damn good," before walking away.
Then Ian was in front of me, and he said, smiling, his hands on his hips, "Duo, you could be a team all by yourself."
"Of course I couldn't," I said, surprised, "I'm not nearly good enough to beat all of you."
"Yes, you are," he insisted, "don't be modest."
"I'm not being modest!" I glared at him.
He laughed at me, then gave me hand to pull myself up.
I grasped it, still glowering, and he yanked a little too hard, smashing me right into him.
He apologized profusely as I scrambled backwards, but refused to let go of my hand. I began to get a little suspicious. Even I can't miss hints like these. Good. I was really starting to get worried about you. That would be Other Duo.
"Duo!" I snapped my head toward that voice, Heero's voice. I sighed. Oops. I'd disappeared on them again.
Ian let go of my hand, and I tried not to snatch it back.
"Heero, over here!" I yelled. He appeared around the corner, jogging towards me.
He waved a hand at somebody behind him, and I assumed, a bit guiltily, that he wasn't the only one looking for me.
A little annoyed that he would think I couldn't take care of myself, I walked towards him, Ian following me, for some strange reason, and Heero skidded to a stop in front of me.
"I'm fine, Heero," I said, fed up, "you don't really need to freak out just because I vanish for an hour. It's in the middle of the day on a damn beach…nobody's going to come and start trying to blow holes in people or anything."
He looked a little taken aback. "I was afraid you might've gone back out there and been pushed under again," he said quietly, and I thought of how frantic he was when I tried it yesterday and the way they all believed I'd drowned those months ago and felt guilty as hell.
I rubbed the back of my neck and said contritely, "I'm sorry, Heero. I wasn't thinking."
"I can see that," he snapped, and I winced. His glare softened.
From behind me, I heard Ian say a bit ruefully, "Well, I can see I'm not really wanted here."
"Ah. There you are," Quatre popped up on my right. "Heero was going ballistic," he said cheerfully.
And where Quatre went, Trowa couldn't be far behind…
"Volleyball, huh?" he said, flipping a glance to Ian and the others.
Reminded of the other guys, I dragged my group of mother hens over. "Hey, there're some guys I want you to meet."
Ian walked up to me, and smiled, but there was a different quality to his smiles. They weren't so…engaging.
"Want to introduce your friends?"
"Okay guys, this is Ian," I said. "Ian, this is Wufei, Quatre, Trowa, and Heero." Was it just me or did he seem to stare at Heero a little longer than the others?
Heero stiffened a little, so I guess it wasn't totally my imagination, and wrapped an arm around my waist.
After that, Ian seemed to sort of back off from me, not like before, when he was always there, wherever I turned.
He gave me a subdued grin, and asked, "Want some ice cream? I'm paying."
I looked at them; Heero and Trowa declined, but Quatre and Wufei agreed to have mint chocolate and vanilla, respectively.
"Okay," I turned to Ian, "Two mint chocolate chips and a vanilla."
"Sure."
"Thanks, Ian." I smiled at him, and he nodded a little, and left.
I took my guys to the other guys, and brought them around.
There was a little bit of a tense moment when one of them mentioned something about almost caving in my head with a volleyball, and I thought Heero was going to jump them.
"C'mon," I scoffed, "there wasn't even enough force packed into that punch to break my nose."
"Says you. That was Terry's hit."
"Ah," I waved a hand, "same thing."
They laughed raucously for a moment, and one of them told the Heero and the others, "You've got yourselves a treasure here."
"We know," Trowa said.
Then Ian was back, with that kind of carton that holds all your ice cream cones, and I snagged three, handing two to Wufei and Quatre.
I licked mine, letting the minty green coolness melt on my tongue. Yum. I hadn't had ice cream for the longest time.
"Isn't ice cream the yummiest thing in the world, Heero?" I asked absent-mindedly.
"…I don't remember what it tastes like."
"You don't!" I looked up at him, startled.
He shook his head.
"Here, have some of mine." My ice cream cone was stuck in his face, and he looked at it like it was some strange creature or something.
"Come on," I coaxed, "it's really good."
He took a tiny taste, and then seemed to contemplate it.
"Want more?"
"But it's your ice cream…" he said a bit halfheartedly.
"Heero, you're my best friend. I could share anything with you."
His resistance just kind of collapsed after that, and we took turns licking our scoop of ice cream.
Sounds of a conversation reached my ears, and I listened rather distractedly.
"Ian! How the hell you'd get them over here?" This voice was really excited.
"They came looking for Duo." Ian sounded kind of resigned.
"Duo?"
"The guy with the long braid."
"Shit! He's fucking beautiful!"
Okaaay…do not blush, do not blush. I guess they don't know that Gundam pilots have better hearing than other people. Really hope Heero can't hear this.
"They're all fucking gorgeous!" She sounded like she was about to swoon. "I thought for sure that people were all exaggerating, but hell, I think they were right!"
Exaggerating?
"Exaggerating?" Ian sounded as puzzled as I felt.
"You know, the whole crowd on the beach back over there. The ones talking about the totally hot surfers?"
"That's them?"
"Well, yeah. I mean, look at them. They totally fit. There's the guy with the ponytail, the blonde guy, the guy with the green swim trunks, and the guy with spiky brown hair."
There was a thoughtful noise from Ian's side.
"I'm surprised you're not all over them right now, Ian."
So he is gay.
"The one I liked best is taken."
Who? Quatre or Trowa?
"Which one?"
"Duo."
I nearly dropped our ice cream. I'm taken?
"The beautiful guy with the braid?"
"Just wait till you see him up close," Ian said, "and his eyes…"
My eyes? Heero's eyes are the beautiful ones. Other Duo agreed with me wholeheartedly.
"Why not one of the other guys? They're all so fucking hot, I wouldn't mind any of them."
"Four of the guys are taken, my dear Laurie."
"What? Taken? By who? Tell me so I can go and kill them."
I almost choked.
There was a chuckle. "The blonde guy is with the guy with the green swim trunks, in case you couldn't tell, and Duo is with…Heero."
I almost dropped our ice cream. Again. I really, really hoped, rather optimistically, that Heero wasn't listening to this.
"…hot damn…that is so fucking unfair! They couldn't share their gorgeousness?" A pause. "Heero the guy with the spiky brown hair?"
"Yes."
"You don't like him very much…do you?"
Why don't you like Heero?
"I suppose I'm a little…envious."
Eh?
"You really fell for the guy with the braid, didn't you?" Her tone was sympathetic.
Fell for me? What an idiot.
Uhh…I mean that in the nicest way possible. It's flattering, but I think it's rather stupid.
"Well…you said so yourself, he's fucking beautiful. And modest, and graceful, and has gorgeous purple eyes."
"Purple eyes? Damn."
I'd pretty much failed at not blushing at this point.
"You sure he's with, uh, Heero?"
"Look at the way they act, man," Ian sounded a little…angry.
I wondered how we acted.
Heero put an arm around me and bit into the cone I offered him.
Right. Maybe that is a bit much for most best friends. Other Duo rolled his eyes.
"It's sort of cute, actually."
Cute?
"Cute?" Ian became my echo once again.
"I mean, look at the way they look at each other! They're totally in love!"
Whoops. There goes the ice cream cone.
Heero caught it in one quick swoop, though, and smiled a little at me, giving it back.
"Shit! Look at his reflexes!"
"Duo has quick reflexes too." Ian sounded a little bit dreamy and I cringed. "We nearly sent him to the hospital, you know," he confided.
Heero didn't stiffen or flinch or anything so I think he couldn't hear them.
"It's how I met him. Terry slammed the volleyball a little too hard one time, and you know how hard he hits."
There was a noise of agreement.
"So the volleyball is going at a hundred miles an hour, and it's headed straight at the back of Duo's head." Ian's voice grew more animated as he remembered.
"When he whips around, and just catches the thing inches before it hits him."
"He fucking caught one of Terry's wild serves? Wow."
"I know. And then he hasn't played volleyball for years, and he joins in after three minutes of practice, and I feel like a damn amateur."
Other Duo preened.
"That good?"
"He barely broke a sweat after one hour."
"He sounds nearly fucking perfect the way you talk about him." Her voice sounded a little amused, a little disbelieving.
"He nearly is."
This is really…embarrassing. Please stop before I dig a hole and hide in it.
"Well, introduce me to him. I want to see the guy who has you all poetic."
Oh god. Somebody please save me.
I inched closer to Heero as I heard footsteps approaching, and he gave me a curious glance, licking his lips to mop up the last traces of our already finished ice cream.
He eye-smiled gently at me. "You were right. Ice cream is good."
I almost melted into a pile of goo. "Oh, I'm glad you liked it," I said dazedly.
"Duo, I'd like you to meet somebody."
Oh no. Them. I totally forgot.
I braced myself, and turned and gave them a bright smile.
"This is Laurie."
"Nice to meet you." She wasn't a blonde, like I'd first thought, but more of an orangey-haired girl, with hazel eyes.
"Ian here has been telling me all about your exploits in volleyball," she smiled engagingly at me.
"Exploits?" Yep, real intelligent. Just keep on repeating, Maxwell.
"You are damnably good, Duo," Ian said, sounding a little irritated.
"I'm just okay," I mumbled, ducking my head. "Bet my friends could make me look like a damn novice."
Wufei came up just then. "He always looks like a damn novice," he teased.
"'Fei…I run faster than you, if you didn't remember," I said archly.
"And I'm stronger," he said shamelessly, "maybe nothing compared to your boyfriend, but…" He shrugged.
"Wufei…" I said, exasperated, and he just grinned at me, and left, nodding at Laurie and Ian.
"And that would be 'Fei," I told Laurie, "the idiot who has a scheduled dunk in the water any moment now."
She laughed.
"This guy here is Heero, my best friend."
"Your best friend?" she asked roguishly.
"Mm-hm," I nodded at her guilelessly.
Suddenly, a ball zoomed toward my head, and Heero and I shot out a hand each to stop its movement.
Jones, one of the guys, strode over, saying, "Fuck! I'm sorry!" He gave me a sort of sheepish look. "We're really out to get you today, aren't we?"
"No problem," I consoled him. "Nothing's ever going to get past Heero's guard anyway."
"I believe you," he said, backing away a little at Heero's fierce look.
"I'm all right," I told Heero, grinning reassuringly. "As if a ball could get me down."
Quatre and Trowa came running up, looking at me worriedly, and I stifled a sigh.
"Guys…" I said meaningfully, "I am fine." Their worried looks didn't lessen much, so I continued despairingly, "Heero is here. Do you really think he would let a freakin' volleyball hit me?"
"…No."
I wondered why all it took was a mention of Heero protecting me and they backed off, but let me try to explain that I wasn't about to get a volleyball slammed into my face, and it's like they couldn't even hear me.
"Gods." I turned and gave Laurie and Ian a doleful look. "They're all such overprotective lumps."
"I feel for you," Laurie rolled her eyes. "Guys seem to think that we girls can't do anything without breaking our necks either." She reached out a hand to pat my arm or something, I guess, and Heero, always the soldier, and wrought a little more edgy than usual by the nearly homicidal volleyball, predictably overreacted.
Seizing her arm before it even came close to teaching me, he held it in a grip that I knew left bruises from personal experience.
Oh boy.
I rolled my eyes. "Heero, relax." He didn't.
I said soothingly, "I'm all right, she wasn't going to hurt me. She's not a threat." At the sound of my soothing voice, he seemed to calm down considerably, and I made a note to use it more often when he was stressed.
He released her hand, but couldn't let it go without one more menacing glare.
"Heero!" I remonstrated sharply. "Lighten up already." Cupping his cheek, I added more gently, "That was just a little too excessive."
"…I'm sorry," he said gruffly, though I wasn't sure if it was more directed toward me or Laurie.
I turned and smiled at Laurie apologetically. "I'm sorry. His nerves are a little tense right now, after that volleyball had another go at me."
"Uh…that's all right. You're pretty lucky to have such a good boyfriend." She gave me a faint smile.
I sighed, but didn't correct her.
"Yes," Trowa grunted next to me, "the guy could win an award for most protective."
Quatre asked anxiously, "Is your wrist all right? Heero sometimes reacts without thinking, and doesn't really control his strength."
"I'm all right." Laurie perked up a little at the realization that two more attractive guys had their attentions focused on her.
"Laurie, meet Quatre, my little bro, and Trowa, his intended." I grinned mischievously at her.
She put on a mournful look, and said sorrowfully, "Two more totally hot guys off the market…you guys suck."
"I told you, my dear," Ian said smugly, "all the guys worth looking at are either taken, or gay. It's one of those rules of the world."
"'Fei's not taken, and I think he's not gay," I said with an evil chuckle, "but he kind of avoids women." I leaned forward as if divulging some secret, and whispered loudly, "I think he's afraid of them."
Quatre laughed, "If Wufei hears that you said that…"
"It's the pure and simple truth," I said serenely.
Laurie giggled, and said, "Too bad, really. That guy has one gorgeous ass."
I started laughing, and she grinned uncertainly at me. "I'm sorry, it's just that every damn person on the whole beach seems to be fixated on poor Wufei's butt. He's going to have a fit when he hears of that."
Laurie smiled at me, and said, "Well, it was great meeting you. I've gotta go, though, or my big brother will totally freak."
"See ya soon, maybe," I waved a hand, and Ian walked her away.
The wind carried her words back to us, and I heard, "You were right, Ian baby, you never had a chance with him. And his eyes are the most fucking beautiful purple I've ever seen."
I fought my blush manfully.
"God, but I envy him his boyfriend."
Ian muttered something that I couldn't quite catch.
"You don't think so? I think it was totally sweet, the way his boyfriend reacted to any hint of danger. You're right, their reflexes are amazing."
The last bit of their conversation floated our way, "…not nearly as perfect as you said, but pretty fucking close."
The others had definitely heard them this time, and I refused to look at anybody.
None of them said anything, though, and I wondered if it had just been me, and that the voices had totally missed the other guys.
"So," I said, "what's 'Fei doing?"
"Some guys are teaching him volleyball," Quatre reported.
"Well," I said, "why don't we go and join him? I mean, he's surrounded by a crowd of pretty normal people…he needs some support from us weirdoes."
We went, and I let the others awe everybody into speechlessness.
Only Quatre'd known how to play volleyball before, and like me, his skills were pretty rusty. But we were Gundam pilots, and our bodies had been honed as weapons, so pretty much everything physical came to us naturally.
Trowa picked up on volleyball as effortlessly as he did surfing, and if Heero sets his mind to it, he can do anything. Wufei already had it down pat, perfecting every minute detail as meticulously as he did everything else.
Ian returned from his short stroll with Laurie, and watched them mutely for a moment. "Dammit, Duo," he said, his voice a little aggrieved, "why do you and your friends have to be so damn perfect?"
"Not me," I said flatly. "Definitely not me." A tiny bit of bitterness darkened my tone, and I forced it away.
Ian looked at me a little strangely. "Duo…I don't know how you can think that-"
I broke into his sentence before he could finish it, "The others, though, there's a reason we call Heero 'Mr. Perfect,' and I think the goal 'Fei strives for is perfection. He certainly knows how to aim high, doesn't he?" I grinned at him wryly. "Quatre and Trowa, I dunno, they're both perfect, in their own special way. I suppose you could say I'm a perfect wacko." I tilted my head up at him, inviting him to share the joke.
His face was filled almost with a kind of…disbelief, and I wondered what I'd said.
"Duo!"
It was Terry, and he waved an arm vigorously at me.
"Let's play some volleyball! Your black haired and blond haired friends are with me! Oh, and Wurdin, (I guess that was Ian's last name), Duo's on my team this time."
"McMurtry…" Ian swelled. I assumed that was Terry's last name as well.
I unfolded myself from the ground, and said encouragingly, "You get Trowa and Heero. Trust me, just because they're beginners doesn't make them any worse than me."
"Yes," he said agitatedly, "but he gets three of you guys, and I only get two!"
When'd we get put into a different category from the regular guys?
"Never say 'only' about Heero and Trowa," I warned, "they're virtually unbeatable."
He still grumbled the whole way to the net, though, and glowered threateningly at Terry, who said, "You get the two who aren't midgets, anyway."
"Terry…" I poked him, "Are you still on about that? Just because we're two feet shorter doesn't mean we can't kick your butt."
Quatre piped up, "We're small, but vicious."
"Like weasels," Terry said.
Wufei flicked sand at him.
"Alright, alright." Terry held his hands up in defeat. "Well, let the game begin."
Heero and Trowa proved me right. Virtually unbeatable.
Even with Quatre and Wufei and me, it was difficult staying ahead of them, and every point was furiously debated over.
An hour and a half of that kind of exhausting play, and I was really starting to feel the strain.
Finally, Ian gasped, "We give."
"Ha!" Terry smirked at him, and gave everybody a high-five. He nearly knocked me flat on my back, and Quatre actually stumbled back, before just sitting down.
"Beatcha." I grinned up at Trowa and Heero.
"Hmph." Trowa grunted and sat down next to Quatre.
"Where's Heero?" I looked around for his distinctive thatch of hair.
"That Wurdin guy pulled him over to talk about something," Trowa said.
"Talk about what?" I asked inquisitively.
"You, I think."
I stared at him. "Should I be going over there?" I asked a little timidly.
"Give them a minute," he advised, "then go and break them up."
"Oh, okay." I counted to sixty, and then got up.
"Relax, Maxwell," Wufei chuckled at me.
I grinned at him vaguely, and left.
When I got to them, Ian seemed to be saying something very earnestly, and Heero had this solemn little frown on his face.
They twisted to face me at my hesitant footsteps, both of them with the looks you get when someone walks in on you with your hand in the cookie jar.
"Heero? Ian?" I scrutinized them closely; they didn't seem on the point of tearing out each other's throats…so maybe my reservations had been unfounded.
I threw them a bright smile. "Talking about something interesting?"
They just stared at me.
Finally, Ian said carelessly, "Just testing the waters, man. Don't worry about it."
I couldn't help but notice the way Heero's knuckles had paled to a white. His face, of course, was as indifferent as ever.
"Anyway, have to go now," Ian said, and gave me a fierce hug. "Good-bye." I watched him running across the sand, and wondered why his good-bye seemed to ring in my ears long after he left.
