Calculated Risk, by shoujokakumei, Shane/Dustin
Title: Calculated Risk (And Other Oxymorons)
Author: shoujokakumei
Relationship: Shane/Dustin
Rating: PGish?
Warnings: Still slash and still not mine. I'm on a roll, or is this an english muffin? :O "Missing scene" from Down and Dirty, after Dustin lands that freestyle trick on his face, but before the scenes where Hunter and Blake are complaining to Shane and Tori, respectively.
Calculated Risk (And Other Oxymorons)
--
After the race, Kelly drove Dustin and Blake to their respective homes so they could shower and change clothes. "And don't be late for work!" she warned Dustin as he jumped out of the van. "You sure you're all right?"
"Yeah, Kel, I'm fine," he replied. "I'll be there in an hour, promise."
Two hours later, he ran into Storm Chargers. Hunter was stocking shelves with a scowl on his face while Blake and Tori watched what appeared to be a video from the race. Kelly looked up from the register and shook her head. 'He gets more punctual every year,' she thought, 'maybe by the time he's thirty, he'll be on time.' She sighed. 'And now he wants to kill himself doing freestyle demo. Oh brother.'
"Hey," he greeted her, dumping his backpack behind the counter. "Uh, sorry, my dad wanted to know how the demo went, and then I took a really long shower.." Kelly held up a hand to stop the explanation.
"It's fine, Dustin," she said. "Just get going, there's a backlog of mechanical work to get done, okay?" She handed him a clipboard with work orders on it.
"Yeah, no worries," he replied, grinning. She really was the best boss ever.
He was changing the oil in one of the rental bikes when Shane showed up, and he waved, coming out from behind the counter to pull him into a quick, one-armed embrace.
"How was the race?" Shane asked.
"Kelly's crew got video," Dustin replied, "but Blake and Hunter were awesome, as usual. Hunter's mad about what he thinks was a bad pass, though, so steer clear of him unless you really wanna hear about how dirty a racer Blake is."
Shane cringed. When those two fought, they really fought, and he totally didn't wanna get in the middle of that. "So, let's check out that video," he commented, heading towards the lounge area where Blake and Tori were sitting. Dustin followed. It wasn't like the bikes weren't still gonna be there in a few minutes, right?
"... You see! That was totally a clean pass!" Blake exclaimed, pointing at the TV screen.
"I see we're just in time for the good part," Dustin remarked.
"He's only been rewinding it for ten minutes already," Tori complained. "I'm sick of watching that pass." She grabbed the remote control from Blake and sat on it.
"Well, next is the freestyle demo, and I dunno if Dustin wants to re-live that landing," Blake cracked. Tori rolled her eyes.
"Shut up, dude, I'd like to see you pull tricks like that." Dustin gestured to the video as the first rider landed his trick perfectly.
"Sorry man, I'm not crazy," Blake shot back.
Shane frowned. "You're doing freestyle again?" He asked.
Dustin ran a greasy hand through his hair. "I dunno, dude, I kinda miss it. It's like I told Kelly, I don't want to choose between freestyle and racing."
"Hey, here's Dustin's jump," Blake exclaimed, pointing again. They all watched, wincing as he hit the ground and rolled like a ragdoll. "The jump was sick, bro, but you seriously gotta watch that landing."
Dustin grinned sheepishly. "Hey, it could have gone worse."
"Yeah, you only could have gotten killed," Shane interjected sarcastically. "I mean, what's the big deal?" He knew he was coming off more angry than he actually intended but watching that crash worried him.
"Shane!" Tori admonished him. "He's fine, relax!"
"Seriously, man, the EMTs at the track checked him over and Kelly wouldn't have let him come to work if he was hurt," Blake added.
Dustin cringed. He knew why their overprotective leader was upset. "Can we talk? In the back?" He asked, looking Shane in the eye. Tori and Blake shared a 'why don't we know what's going on' glance.
Shane followed the yellow-clad boy into the stockroom without comment. They ushered Hunter out with promises to listen to his side of the bad pass story in a bit. Shane was the first to speak once the door was shut.
"Why do you even want to do that kind of thing?" he demanded. "I know nothing's risk-free but at least racing isn't blatantly suicidal!"
"Like nothing you do is dangerous," Dustin shot back. "Just as many people get hurt doing skate tricks as they do in moto!"
"It's calculated risk, man!" Shane shouted. "I don't do big air events!"
"Look, I'm sorry I didn't tell you I wanted to go back to freestyle," Dustin sighed. "It's just because I knew you'd freak out and get all protective."
"With good reason!" Shane's tone softened a bit as he took in the apologetic expression on Dustin's face. "I'm only protective because I..." he paused, "I care about you a lot. I want you to be safe."
"I know that, dude. But I really love freestyle. And I don't throw tricks I'm not at least reasonably sure I can land. How long did you train that front-side 540 before you could actually stay on your board?"
"I never got hurt!"
"Well, neither did I."
"Yet," Shane grumbled. He knew he was losing this argument and it was rather annoying, but he really didn't have a leg to stand on.
"Same goes for you. Unless you're planning to quit skateboarding, that is." Dustin took Shane's hand in his own and squeezed. "I promise I'm gonna be careful, but this is what I want to do."
"You're sure?" Shane asked, a defeated tone to his voice, searching Dustin's eyes for sincerity.
"Absolutely, man." Dustin smiled widely, his eyes sparking, and Shane sighed. There was absolutely no way he could argue with that. He ran his fingers through Dustin's mop of hair, a gesture that had long since become a habit for him.
"It'd kill me if anything happened to you, you know," he murmured, bringing their clasped hands to his lips and kissing each of Dustin's fingertips.
"We'll just have to make sure it doesn't," came the reply. Any further commentary was interrupted by a loud banging at the door.
"Why's this door locked?" Kelly shouted from outside. "And why's there a bike with a half-disassembled engine sitting out here?"
Dustin's eyes widened. "Dude, I gotta get back to work. Making Kelly mad is worse for your health than any moto event."
Shane laughed. "Have fun. I'll talk to Hunter. He's gonna go nuts if we don't give him something to yell at."
--
List of 22 - safety
Author: shoujokakumei
Relationship: Shane/Dustin
Rating: PGish?
Warnings: Still slash and still not mine. I'm on a roll, or is this an english muffin? :O "Missing scene" from Down and Dirty, after Dustin lands that freestyle trick on his face, but before the scenes where Hunter and Blake are complaining to Shane and Tori, respectively.
Calculated Risk (And Other Oxymorons)
--
After the race, Kelly drove Dustin and Blake to their respective homes so they could shower and change clothes. "And don't be late for work!" she warned Dustin as he jumped out of the van. "You sure you're all right?"
"Yeah, Kel, I'm fine," he replied. "I'll be there in an hour, promise."
Two hours later, he ran into Storm Chargers. Hunter was stocking shelves with a scowl on his face while Blake and Tori watched what appeared to be a video from the race. Kelly looked up from the register and shook her head. 'He gets more punctual every year,' she thought, 'maybe by the time he's thirty, he'll be on time.' She sighed. 'And now he wants to kill himself doing freestyle demo. Oh brother.'
"Hey," he greeted her, dumping his backpack behind the counter. "Uh, sorry, my dad wanted to know how the demo went, and then I took a really long shower.." Kelly held up a hand to stop the explanation.
"It's fine, Dustin," she said. "Just get going, there's a backlog of mechanical work to get done, okay?" She handed him a clipboard with work orders on it.
"Yeah, no worries," he replied, grinning. She really was the best boss ever.
He was changing the oil in one of the rental bikes when Shane showed up, and he waved, coming out from behind the counter to pull him into a quick, one-armed embrace.
"How was the race?" Shane asked.
"Kelly's crew got video," Dustin replied, "but Blake and Hunter were awesome, as usual. Hunter's mad about what he thinks was a bad pass, though, so steer clear of him unless you really wanna hear about how dirty a racer Blake is."
Shane cringed. When those two fought, they really fought, and he totally didn't wanna get in the middle of that. "So, let's check out that video," he commented, heading towards the lounge area where Blake and Tori were sitting. Dustin followed. It wasn't like the bikes weren't still gonna be there in a few minutes, right?
"... You see! That was totally a clean pass!" Blake exclaimed, pointing at the TV screen.
"I see we're just in time for the good part," Dustin remarked.
"He's only been rewinding it for ten minutes already," Tori complained. "I'm sick of watching that pass." She grabbed the remote control from Blake and sat on it.
"Well, next is the freestyle demo, and I dunno if Dustin wants to re-live that landing," Blake cracked. Tori rolled her eyes.
"Shut up, dude, I'd like to see you pull tricks like that." Dustin gestured to the video as the first rider landed his trick perfectly.
"Sorry man, I'm not crazy," Blake shot back.
Shane frowned. "You're doing freestyle again?" He asked.
Dustin ran a greasy hand through his hair. "I dunno, dude, I kinda miss it. It's like I told Kelly, I don't want to choose between freestyle and racing."
"Hey, here's Dustin's jump," Blake exclaimed, pointing again. They all watched, wincing as he hit the ground and rolled like a ragdoll. "The jump was sick, bro, but you seriously gotta watch that landing."
Dustin grinned sheepishly. "Hey, it could have gone worse."
"Yeah, you only could have gotten killed," Shane interjected sarcastically. "I mean, what's the big deal?" He knew he was coming off more angry than he actually intended but watching that crash worried him.
"Shane!" Tori admonished him. "He's fine, relax!"
"Seriously, man, the EMTs at the track checked him over and Kelly wouldn't have let him come to work if he was hurt," Blake added.
Dustin cringed. He knew why their overprotective leader was upset. "Can we talk? In the back?" He asked, looking Shane in the eye. Tori and Blake shared a 'why don't we know what's going on' glance.
Shane followed the yellow-clad boy into the stockroom without comment. They ushered Hunter out with promises to listen to his side of the bad pass story in a bit. Shane was the first to speak once the door was shut.
"Why do you even want to do that kind of thing?" he demanded. "I know nothing's risk-free but at least racing isn't blatantly suicidal!"
"Like nothing you do is dangerous," Dustin shot back. "Just as many people get hurt doing skate tricks as they do in moto!"
"It's calculated risk, man!" Shane shouted. "I don't do big air events!"
"Look, I'm sorry I didn't tell you I wanted to go back to freestyle," Dustin sighed. "It's just because I knew you'd freak out and get all protective."
"With good reason!" Shane's tone softened a bit as he took in the apologetic expression on Dustin's face. "I'm only protective because I..." he paused, "I care about you a lot. I want you to be safe."
"I know that, dude. But I really love freestyle. And I don't throw tricks I'm not at least reasonably sure I can land. How long did you train that front-side 540 before you could actually stay on your board?"
"I never got hurt!"
"Well, neither did I."
"Yet," Shane grumbled. He knew he was losing this argument and it was rather annoying, but he really didn't have a leg to stand on.
"Same goes for you. Unless you're planning to quit skateboarding, that is." Dustin took Shane's hand in his own and squeezed. "I promise I'm gonna be careful, but this is what I want to do."
"You're sure?" Shane asked, a defeated tone to his voice, searching Dustin's eyes for sincerity.
"Absolutely, man." Dustin smiled widely, his eyes sparking, and Shane sighed. There was absolutely no way he could argue with that. He ran his fingers through Dustin's mop of hair, a gesture that had long since become a habit for him.
"It'd kill me if anything happened to you, you know," he murmured, bringing their clasped hands to his lips and kissing each of Dustin's fingertips.
"We'll just have to make sure it doesn't," came the reply. Any further commentary was interrupted by a loud banging at the door.
"Why's this door locked?" Kelly shouted from outside. "And why's there a bike with a half-disassembled engine sitting out here?"
Dustin's eyes widened. "Dude, I gotta get back to work. Making Kelly mad is worse for your health than any moto event."
Shane laughed. "Have fun. I'll talk to Hunter. He's gonna go nuts if we don't give him something to yell at."
--
List of 22 - safety