Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing, it belongs to Bandai, Sotsu and associated parties. I just borrow the guys from time to time and return them a whole lot happier. I do own the plot and any other characters, especially the equines, that you will find in this fic. Please do not take them without permission. Written for pleasure not profit.
Pairing: 2x1x2, 3x4, 13x6, H+C
Warnings: Yaoi, lemon, sap, angst, vet themes, AU
Rating: NC 17
Archive: gundam-wing-diaries. 150m. com and gundam-wing-diaries. foreverfandom .net Anyone else please ask.
Betaed by Karina *snugs*
Summary: Set 2 years after Equus and Heero is doing so well in his own business that he's taken June on as a working pupil. The qualifying shows for the International teams are well underway and it looks like it will be a good year for Heero, his pupils and horses... until Mother Nature steps in.
AN: This fic, although a complete work of fiction is based partially on fact. I will add notes at the end of chapters where necessary to clarify events and provide links where needed.
Dedication: To Leslie and Karina. Leslie for giving me the original idea for Equinity and encouraging and supporting me through the writing of all the fics thus far in the arc. And Karina for not just taking over as my much needed beta, (poor woman needs a medal!), but for also poking and prodding Fred until he went on strike, refusing to work on anything at all until I let him start this. Needless to say, we managed to come to a compromise... Fred gets to write a chapter of this one week... the next week he has to write a chapter of 'Bound'... Did I ever tell you all I hate my muse? :-)
Fic 5 in the Equine Intervention Arc.
Commenced December 2013 – ShenLong
"Rival Riders"
Chapter 1
"Heero?"
Heero looked up from where he was tightening Shini's girth to see Duo walking into the stable block, something in his hand. "Over here' Duo," he called. "Geeze, Shini, suck it in will you," he growled to the stallion who persisted in blowing his belly out to avoid the tight girth.
"Mail's in and there's an official looking one for you so I thought I'd bring it straight down in case it's important," Duo said and flapped the envelope under Heero's nose. "Hey Shini." Duo patted the gray neck. "Sorry boy, I haven't got any carrots on me right now."
Shini continued to sniff and nose around the nice human's pockets just in case a sliver of those orange things happened to be hiding somewhere.
"Thanks, Duo." Heero took the envelope, glanced at the front where he spotted the EFA logo and turned it over to open. Pulling the letter from inside, his eyes perused the words, a slow smile spreading over his face.
"Well?"
Heero chuckled at the sight of his impatient husband, Duo was practically vibrating on the spot, his violet eyes lit up with excitement. "It's good news," he told the vet.
"I gathered that much from the smile on your face," Duo snorted. "Now, are you going to elaborate or am I going to have to torture it out of you?" Duo wiggled his fingers in the direction of Heero's rib cage.
"Ah, I'll tell you," Heero laughed as those fingers connected with his ribs. "It's from the EFA; I've been selected for the short list for the Nation's Cup team..."
"Yes!" Duo punched the air, scaring Shini who sidestepped and knocked Heero flying. "Oops, sorry Shini, didn't mean to scare you," Duo apologized and patted the gray neck to soothe the horse.
"That would be right," Heero grumbled from where he was attempting to detach himself from the stable door where Shini had shoved him, "Check on the horse first, don't bother to see if your husband is hurt."
"You're fine, Heero, if you weren't you would have yelled out or something," Duo replied with a cheeky grin. "Gotta make sure Shini here is okay, especially if he's going to be competing in the Nations Cup. Isn't that right, fella?" Duo continued to pet the stallion – Shini lapped up the attention.
"Who said I was riding Shini in the cup competition?" Heero asked, stepping back up to the gray and reaching for the girth again, having tucked the letter into his pocket.
"Eh?" Duo scratched his head. "Well, you can't ride Zero and Wing has only just been upgraded to A grade so it has to be Shini." Seeing the mysterious look on his husband's face, Duo cocked an eyebrow. "Doesn't it?"
"Actually, no. I didn't submit an entry for Shini to be considered for the Nations Cup."
"But... Yes you did, I was the one that posted the envelopes off for you," Duo argued.
"I submitted an entry for Shini for the next Olympic Games team consideration, yes."
"Then if you didn't enter him, how the hell has he been selected?" It was clear Duo was getting frustrated, he didn't understand all the ins and outs of the forms for International competition. As far as he understood it, if a rider wished to be considered for an International team they had to submit a form to advise the EFA of such and then attend the various qualifying events and shows where the selectors would be in attendance. Depending on the horse's placings and consistency throughout the qualifying period and the opinion of the selectors, a short list was compiled and the final teams selected from there – there was more to it than that, but that was the basics of it.
"He hasn't been selected." Heero was starting to enjoy teasing his partner just a little too much.
"Heero..." Duo growled and moved to stand in front of his partner, violet eyes flashing.
"You're the one that assumed Shini had been selected."
"If it's not Shini, then who is it? I can't see you riding a hobby horse in the competition, not unless they plan on doing it like a limbo thing and you go under the jumps."
Heero burst into laughter, the mental image of all the teams doing a limbo competition on a hobby horse too funny for words. Duo grinned and poked Heero in the side. "Tell me before I fetch the sharp and pointy things."
Shaking his head, Heero decided it was time to stop the teasing and come clean. "Nataku."
"Nataku?" Duo echoed, clearly bewildered.
"Yes. I put a submission in for her. She's been jumping extremely well and I thought it would be only fair to give her a shot at being selected. It looks like she's impressed the selectors with her performance these past couple of seasons enough to be selected for the short list. The final team will be decided at the end of the week's training camp which will be at Waybridge again," Heero informed the vet.
"Wufei's gonna have a cow..."
"That could be painful."
"Idiot!"
# # #
"Evening, Duo," Zechs greeted, walking into the practice and slipping his arms into his white coat.
"Hey Zechs," Duo replied, a grin plastered to his face.
Zechs eyed his boss warily. Duo seemed to be in an exceptionally good mood this evening. "Errr... Have you been into the nitrous oxide again?" he questioned.
Duo threw his head back and laughed. "No, not at all. Why would you think that?"
Zechs shrugged his shoulders. "It's just that when I left earlier after surgery you had just come back from treating a foot abscess in a bull, stinking to high heaven and muttering several choice words about hard work, getting kicked around and T-Bone steaks. Now you're on top of the world. Maybe I should check the drug cabinet instead."
"No, Zechs, I'm perfectly fine, in fact, the only high I'm on is from-"
"Getting laid?" Catherine interrupted with a grin.
Duo whirled around, his braid smacking Zechs across the chest. "No!" he spluttered to the woman, turning a deep shade of red at the same time. "Sorry, Zechs," he said and grabbed his wayward braid.
"It's okay, no harm done," Zechs replied with a grin. "Now if the high isn't from drugs or getting laid, just what is it from?"
"If I can be allowed to speak without interruption?" Duo huffed. He watched as the pair nodded and shut their mouths. "Thank you. As I was saying, I'm feeling really good as Heero had some great news this afternoon."
"He's not pregnant is he?" Zechs couldn't help but tease his boss.
"If he is then I stand to make a fortune," Duo quipped, effectively shutting Zechs up. "No, Heero had a letter from the EFA to say he's been short listed for the Nations Cup team with Nataku."
Silence fell over the reception area for a moment as the news sunk in; then Zechs spoke again. "Wufei's gonna have kittens."
"Funny you should say that, I said a similar thing to Heero," Duo mused.
"Has he told him yet?" Catherine asked.
"No, not yet. He said he was going to call him tonight to let him know."
"I think you should go to Wufei's place and tell him face to face. It would be better than calling him. Just remember to take a camera with you and get a photo of his face when Heero tells him the news."
"You know, that's not a bad idea," Duo snickered. "I'll buzz Heero on the intercom in a minute and see what he thinks. By the way, Heero asked me to ask you, Zechs, if you knew if Treize had heard anything from the selectors? He said Treize was hoping to qualify Romeo for the cup seeing how it's in Victoria this time."
"No, I don't know as I've not seen Treize since last night. I am going over there later though after evening consults so I can find out then and let Heero know."
"Thanks, Zechs." Duo glanced at the clock and rubbed his hands together. "Guess I should turn the sign around then and get started on these consults. Work waits for no man... or vet for that matter."
# # #
"When are you going to tell him?" Duo asked as they perused their menus. When Duo had buzzed Heero earlier that evening to tell him of Catherine's suggestion on breaking the news to Wufei, Heero had immediately agreed. He rang and booked a table for the pair of them and now they were sitting in a small booth in the corner of the popular 'Chang Palace' - Wufei's Chinese Restaurant.
"I'll wait until after we've eaten. By then a lot of the customers will have left and Wufei is bound to come out from the kitchens and mingle a bit, especially once he knows we've come in."
"Good idea. By then he will have finished cooking so there's less chance of him burning himself or having some other injury from the shock," Duo replied with a grin.
Heero rolled his eyes. "Decided what you want yet?"
"Hmmm... I think I'll have the usual, sizzling garlic king prawns, beef in oyster sauce and a side of fried rice."
Chuckling to himself, Heero made his own choices and gave the order to one of the wait staff when they came across.
By the time they reached the coffee stage most of the patrons had left, besides themselves only three other tables remained in the restaurant. Meiran came across to speak to the pair.
"Good evening, Mr. Yuy, Doctor Maxwell. I apologize for not speaking with you sooner, it's been quite a busy night."
"Hello, Meiran. Don't worry about it, we know how busy things can get," Duo replied.
"Will Wufei be coming out soon?" Heero asked.
"I think so," Meiran replied. "Why? Is there something wrong?"
"No, no, nothing's wrong. I just wanted to have a word with him if I may, when he's finished of course. I promise, it's all good," Heero stated with a smile.
Meiran looked visibly relieved. "I'll go out the back and see how much longer he will be and let him know you wish to speak with him."
"Thank you."
Meiran left to let her husband know Heero wished to speak with him, Duo snickered. "You got the camera ready?"
"Here." Heero reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out the small, digital camera. "Just turn it on," he said as he handed over the item.
"Thanks. This is definitely going to be one of those Kodak moments." Duo slipped the camera under the table and out of sight.
A couple of minutes later Wufei stepped out of the kitchen. He paused at one of the other tables to speak with his customers before making his way across to the booth. "Heero, Doctor Maxwell," he greeted. "How are you both?"
"We're fine, Wufei, thank you for asking," Heero replied.
"Meiran said you wished to speak with me? There is nothing wrong, is there?"
Under the table, Duo turned the camera on.
"No, there's nothing wrong, quite the opposite in fact," Heero said mysteriously.
Meiran joined her husband then. "Is everything okay?"
"Couldn't be better. I have some good news for you. Wufei, Meiran, I had a letter arrive today from the EFA. Nataku has been short listed for the Nations Cup team to represent Australia in the competition in Victoria in a few months time." As soon as Heero finished speaking, Duo whipped the camera out from under the table and lined up the shot.
Wufei's eyes went wide, his golden skin paled considerably and his jaw dropped open. He stood there in mute shock, oblivious to the flash of the camera. Meiran wasn't much better. Her face had also paled, a look of disbelief passed through her eyes as she reached forward to grasp at the table edge with shaking hands.
Heero turned his concerned gaze to Duo who was still happy snapping. "Maybe I should have asked them to sit down first?"
Placing the camera down on the table, Duo slipped out of the booth and grabbed a couple of chairs from an adjoining table. Pushing one behind Meiran, he placed a hand on her shoulders and guided her back to sit in the chair. With Meiran sitting, the vet lined the other chair up behind Wufei and pushed him into it. "Better?" he asked his partner as he slid back into the booth.
"At least I won't have to pick either of them up from the floor now," Heero replied. "Thanks." Watching the pair closely, Heero began to get a little concerned at the lack of anything vocal from either Chang. "Haven't got any smelling salts with you?"
"Do I look like a walking medical bag?"
Finally, Wufei drew himself from the shock and managed to locate his voice. "N-Nations Cup?" he whispered.
Heero nodded.
"Represent her country?" Meiran squeaked.
"Yes. She's only made the short list for now. There's a camp which we will have to attend which runs for about a week. All the horses and riders that are short listed attend where we have instruction and things from a couple of top coaches. At the end of the week the final team will be announced." Heero looked from one to the other to see how this part of the news was going down.
Bowing his head, Wufei took a moment to compose himself. When he raised his head to speak, his eyes were suspiciously shimmering."It is a great honor to have our horse considered for such an event. Thank you, my friend for all your hard work with her."
Blushing, Heero lowered his voice. "I haven't done anything, it's all Nataku," he said.
"I beg to differ," Meiran said and placed a hand on Heero's arm. "You were the one that rescued her, you were the one that saw the potential in her. You were the one with the patience, understanding and skills. You were the one that has gotten her to where she is today. If it wasn't for you, she wouldn't be half the horse she is."
His cheeks reddening further, Heero turned to Duo for help. Duo gave him a grin. "What Meiran says is all true, Heero."
"Nataku is the one who should be given all the credit," Heero argued. "She's the one that does all the work."
"Yes, Nataku does deserve credit, she's a wonderful horse; but she couldn't have done it without your skills and expertise, Heero," Wufei stated. "With all that aside though, It is a wonderful thing to have happen. I suggest we need to get together to discuss this in greater detail as there is obviously much we don't know about this competition, what it involves, costs and such."
"I agree," Heero replied. "I do need to warn you though, she may not make the final team."
"Whether she does or she doesn't is irrelevant to us," Meiran spoke. "The fact that she has made it this far is an achievement in itself. I think this calls for a bit of a celebration." Getting up from her chair, Meiran moved across the restaurant to the bar, returning with a bottle of sparkling, non alcoholic wine. Noting Duo's mouth about to open in protest, she showed the vet the label first. "It's non alcoholic, Doctor Maxwell. I know you have to drive home and have work tomorrow. Wufei and I don't drink either so I think it's the next best thing to champagne to celebrate with."
"Amen to that and thank you," Duo said with a smile.
# # #
"I think it's a safe bet to say that Wufei was pleased," Duo commented as he unlocked the back door to the cottage.
"Hai, he was," Heero replied and scooped Smokey up into his arms. The cat head butted him and began to purr loudly.
"Coffee?" Duo reached for the kettle to fill it up.
"Yes, please." Putting Smokey back down, Heero wandered through to the laundry to top up the cat's biscuits
With the water on to boil, Duo spooned the instant coffee into their mugs, added sugar and sat the milk carton down on the kitchen bench. Wandering through to the lounge, he checked the answering machine out of habit, noting the red light flashing to tell him there was a message waiting. He pushed 'play' and listened to the message. It was short and to the point. A smile lit Duo's face and he walked back into the kitchen to find Heero filling their mugs with the water. Wrapping his arms around Heero's waist, he nuzzled the rider's neck. "There was a message on the answering machine."
"Oh? Who from and what did they say?"
"It was Zechs. Treize made the short list with Romeo."
Placing the kettle back down, Heero turned in his lover's embrace to wrap his own arms around Duo's slender frame. "That's great news. I'll give him a call in the morning to congratulate him."
"It will be just like old times," Duo murmured and partook of a kiss.
"Hai, it will," Heero agreed and deepened the kiss.
"I wonder who else is on the short list?" Duo mused when they broke for air.
"I have no idea, but I guess we will find out when we go to the camp."
"I wonder if Zoe or Michael have been selected, or if any of the others will be people we know?"
"I'm not sure about Zoe. The last time I caught up with them, Shortcake was only just in B grade. Zoe wanted to take her time with her and bring her through the grades slowly," Heero replied and released his husband to pick up their coffees.
Following Heero through to the lounge room, Duo flopped onto the couch, Heero sitting down beside him. "When is the camp?"
"Another four weeks away yet, plenty of time to organize things. Would you be able to get away from the practice to come with me as my groom again?" Heero asked, draping an arm around Duo's shoulders.
Snuggling against his partner's side, Duo did some quick, mental calculations. "I can't see why not. The practice isn't too busy right now. I'll speak with Zechs and Hilde tomorrow and see if we can rework the roster to give me that week free. You might want to see if Wufei or Meiran might want to be Nataku's groom though, she is their horse after all."
Understanding that Duo didn't want to step on anyone's toes, Heero nodded. "I'll bring it up with Wufei when he comes over on the weekend to discuss all the details further. I can't see him wanting to take on that role though, neither one of them has as yet, they seem quite happy to let you handle that side of things and just come to the shows for support. Not that there's anything wrong with that, I think they're more comfortable with letting you deal with the groom side."
"Well, either way I'm happy to be the groom or not. I'll still be coming along to the camp. That reminds me, are you going to stay for the week or commute each day?"
"Not sure. I guess I really should commute as I have a stable full of horses here that still need looking after. I'll probably leave Nataku there for the week though."
"That sounds like a better idea to me. You'll have June here though to look after the horses."
"True, but it's rather a lot to ask of her." Heero thought about the woman who had started out as a client, engaging Heero to educate and campaign her horse Orion for her whilst she was pregnant and then raising her child. Max was now two and a half and June had taken Orion back on. She'd asked Heero for lessons, opting to continue to keep Orion at Heero's stables and Heero was only too willing to teach her. With the stable's popularity increasing, Heero found himself with more work than he could handle. Discussing his increasing work load with Duo one evening, Duo had suggested he take on a working pupil. After giving the idea some thought, Heero had agreed. June seemed an obvious choice. She already knew the routine of the stables, often helping Heero out and looking after the horses if Heero was away for any length of time and he knew she was only working part time at her current job, a job she wasn't all that happy doing. He put the offer to June the next day and after thinking about it and talking to her husband, June put in her notice at her current job and accepted Heero's offer.
They thrashed out the finer details, finally coming to a workable arrangement that suited both of them. June helped out with the stable work and the general care of the horses, both Heero's animals and those equines that were kept at the stables. She also helped Heero with working the horses and Heero had allocated a youngster to her to start educating. It was along similar lines to when Heero had worked for Treize, only instead of paying June a wage, Heero gave the woman free agistment and a free lesson on Orion each week; he also gave her lessons on the other horses she worked for him.
It was an arrangement that suited both parties perfectly.
"I'll speak to June in the morning," Heero said and stretched. "I think I'll go to bed."
"Now that's not a bad idea at all," Duo smirked and ogled his husband.
Heero rolled his eyes.
# # #
Heero was just starting to put the horses out in the paddocks when June arrived for work the following morning. Strolling back between the paddocks, he spotted the familiar car pulling into the stable parking area. Seconds later a human missile came running down the raceway and Heero braced for impact. June grabbed her boss in a bear hug, body fairly humming with excitement.
"Morning June," Heero managed to breathe out. "Any particular reason for the excitement?" he asked, amused as the woman let him go and stepped back sheepishly.
"Sorry about that, but I am just so excited! I've had the most marvelous news and I couldn't wait to tell you. I had a letter from the EFA last night. Orion's been picked for the short list for the Nations Cup team."
tbc...