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
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 – Completed May 2016 - ShenLong
"Rival Riders"
Chapter 51
True to his word, Duo headed into Salsbury as soon as the stores were open and managed to secure several tins of formula as a substitute for Comet's milk. After feeding the filly, Duo had managed to milk Comet again and got enough from the mare for two more bottles which he left in the dispensary fridge for the filly's next feed.
They tried again a little later to see if Comet would let the foal suckle, hoping that Comet may have gotten over whatever it was in her mind that made her reject the filly in the first place. It didn't work. The mare continued to push the foal away and both men resigned themselves to the fact that they would now become surrogate parents to the small foal.
Neither man minded that they would have to feed the foal every couple of hours, but it was more the 'mothering' side of things that had Duo concerned. Foals learned from their mothers, everything from their toilet habits to the pecking order in the herd situation. They learned how to be a horse, to communicate with each other, what was acceptable and what wasn't. With a foal having to be bottle fed, they missed out on a lot of that and quite often thought of themselves as 'human' – and that was something Duo wanted to try and avoid happening; not only was it not good for the foal, but it could also be quite dangerous for the human element.
"Morning Heero," June greeted as she arrived at the stables. "Something wrong? You look like shit if you don't mind me saying so." she added when she spotted Heero's face.
"Morning June," Heero returned. "Yeah, I feel like shit. Didn't get a lot of sleep last night."
"What's happened? Duo's okay isn't he? The horses?"
"Duo's fine, it's Comet." Heero went on to explain about Comet's foaling the previous evening and the rejection of the foal this morning. "Duo's gone into Salsbury to pick up some formula for her," he finished.
"Oh, Heero. I'm happy that Comet foaled alright and that the foal is okay, but I'm sorry she's rejected it. Is there anything I can do to help? Maybe take a turn with the bottle feeding or something?"
"There's not really much you can do unless you can convince Comet she really wants to be a mother," Heero replied. "As for sharing with the bottle feeding, that would be a help; thanks for the offer."
"No problem at all," June replied and then lost herself in thought for a moment. "Heero? You can tell me to mind my own business if you like, but have you thought about a possible surrogate mother for the foal?"
"Eh? I'm not sure I follow."
"A surrogate mare for the foal. I know of several times when a mare has lost a foal and someone has a foal that needs a mother for whatever reason, quite often the mare will accept another mare's foal as her own and feed it. Sometimes a mare that's already got a foal at foot will also take on an orphaned or abandoned foal. Duo would know more about it than what I do I'm sure, but it's just a thought."
Heero pondered on that for a moment. "June, that's a really good idea. Look, Duo should be back any tick from Salsbury and the foal is due for another feed now so how about you come up to the surgery stables with me and we can talk to Duo about it and discuss it some more while feeding the filly?"
"So it is a filly then?" June said with a delighted smile. "I thought it was when you said 'her' earlier. What color is she? Does she have any markings?"
"She's a chestnut and yes, she's got two white socks on her front legs," Heero replied.
"What's her name?" June asked as they walked towards the surgery stables.
"I haven't given her one yet," Heero replied sheepishly. "With everything that's been going on with Comet and all, I just haven't given it any thought."
"Well, you'll have to name her soon, you can't keep calling her the filly or the foal," June chuckled.
"You're starting to sound more and more like Duo every day," Heero grumbled.
"Then I'm in good company," June retorted.
"Who's good company?" Duo said as he walked out of the dispensary as the other two were walking into the stable block and caught the last bit of the conversation.
"I'm in good company," June said and went on to explain.
Duo snickered. "Yeah, Heero does have a habit of waiting for a while before he names the foals, although in this case I do have to side with him. We have been pretty busy and naming the filly didn't even cross our minds."
"I can understand that," June replied.
"Duo? June mentioned something about a surrogate mare for the filly," Heero said. "Do you know much about that side of things?"
"I haven't had a lot to do with the practical side of surrogate mares in the feeding of abandoned or orphaned foals, but I am familiar with it in the theological sense. You thinking it might be worth a shot?"
"If it would help the filly out than I'm all for giving it a try," Heero responded. "But how would we go about finding a mare that we could use?"
"I'd suggest putting a call out for help. Maybe Duo could ring around all the local vet practices, they might know of someone who has a mare that would fit the bill. Then there's the stud farms, they're always worth a shot. You could always contact the local radio station and put out a plea for help there too," June said. "I also have a few friends that have horses so I can always give them a call. One in particular has a mare that's done this sort of thing before so I'll give her a ring too."
"Those are good ideas, June," Heero said. "What do you think, Duo?"
"I'm all for it. I don't have a problem bottle feeding the filly, but if we could get another mare to take her on that would be far better for the foal. How about we give her this next feed and then start ringing around?"
"Great! I'll go get the bottle."
# # #
"I really hope this works," Heero said as he nervously fidgeted with the hem of his t-shirt.
"I can't see any reason why it shouldn't," Duo replied.
"Well, I know that Sunray has fostered many foals through the years," June said with what she hoped was a reassuring smile.
"I can't thank you enough, June," Heero began. "If this works then at least we have a fighting chance with the filly."
"My pleasure, Heero. You two have done heaps for me over the years, if I can be of help now then just think of it as returning the favor." June turned slightly. "I think that's Maureen now."
June had called a friend of hers who had a mare that had fostered foals before – very successfully too, and as it happened, the mare had just had a foal weaned from her so she still had milk. Maureen, the mare's owner had listened to June's cry for help and promised to bring the mare over immediately.
The car and float pulled to a steady stop in the parking area by Duo's surgery stables. The three walked over to the car where a woman who looked to be in her early fifties was getting out. "June!" the woman said with a smile. "It's been a while."
"Maureen," June returned and gave the woman a hug. "Yes, it has been a while and thank you for bringing Sunray over."
"My pleasure, June." The woman turned to the two men who stood just behind June. "You must be Heero Yuy," she said and extended her hand to Heero.
Heero looked a little shocked that the woman knew his name, but he shook hands with her. "Yes, I am. It's a pleasure to meet you, Maureen and thank you so much for coming to our aid, you have no idea what this means to us all and the foal."
"You're welcome," Maureen replied. "You know, the photos of you don't do you justice, you're a lot better looking in the flesh,' she said with a laugh. Seeing the blush rapidly appearing on Heero's cheeks, Maureen continued. "I've seen your pictures in the paper and horse magazines. You're one heck of a horseman and it's an honor to meet you. June's told me a lot about you."
"Don't listen to any of it, it's all bullshit," Duo said with a wink as he stepped forward to rescue his husband from the awkward moment. "Doctor Duo Maxwell, Maureen. It's a pleasure to meet you and thanks again for bringing your mare."
"Doctor Maxwell, it's lovely to meet you too. I just hope that Sunray will foster your foal for you."
"There's only one way to find out," June said.
"True," Maureen replied. "Is the foal here?"
"Yes, she's out back of the stables in a yard," Heero replied.
"Well, I'll get Sunray off the float and we can introduce them to each other."
Within a few minutes the mare was off loaded from the float and stood calmly in the yard. She was a golden chestnut with a flaxen mane and tail standing around fifteen three. She had a calm gentleness about her but her eyes were bright as she took in her new surroundings.
"She's a lovely mare," Heero commented, "and very well behaved."
"She's a sweetheart to handle and a dream to ride," Maureen responded as she led the mare around to get the stiffness out of her muscles from being in the float. "Okay, let's introduce the pair of them."
Maureen and the mare followed behind June, Heero and Duo through the stable breezeway and out the other side to the yards. The foal spotted the mare and gave a shrill whinny of greeting, trotting across to the fence to say hello. Sunray's ears pricked up and she gave a low whinny in return. Maureen led the mare to the fence so the two could get to know each other with a barrier between them first.
"Now be nice, Sunny, she's a rejected foal and needs some mothering," Maureen told her mare. She needn't have worried though. Sunny extended her muzzle to meet the quivering one of the foal and the pair exchanged wuffles and snorts. After a few minutes, Sunny was doing her best to try and nuzzle the foal through the fence rails
"I don't think we're going to have any problems with acceptance," Maureen said quietly. "I'd suggest we take Sunny into the yard and let them get better acquainted."
"Okay," Heero replied. "Are you okay to handle her or would you prefer it if I was to hold onto her?" Heero asked.
"I'll be fine, Heero. Thanks for the offer though, but she knows me and I don't think there's going to be much in the way of argument between them," Maureen stated.
"Okay." Heero opened the gate and Maureen led Sunray into the yard. Immediately the filly came over and began to snuffle the mare. Sunny lowered her head and gave the foal a good sniff over in return. With her own foal only having been weaned off her two days earlier, Sunray still had an udder full of milk; an udder that was quite hot and uncomfortable. The filly, during her course of sniffing over the new mare, scented the milk and immediately made a beeline for the mare's udder. Her little head disappeared under the mare's flank and latched onto a teat, Sunny moved away a couple of steps and Maureen let her have her space. Moments later the filly's hungry muzzle was back and doing her damnedest to drink. Sunny moved again, this time turning her head to sniff at the filly that was trying to drink from her.
The process continued for a few minutes, the filly managing to get a few sucks in before the mare moved away. Despite moving, Sunny made no attempt to try and harm the foal. "It's okay, Sunny," Maureen soothed. "She's hungry and doesn't have a mum to take care of her." The filly made another two attempts, both met with the mare moving away.
"I don't think this is going to work," Heero muttered to Duo from where they stood outside the yard.
"Don't speak too soon, Heero. Have a little patience and faith. Mother Nature is a mysterious thing," Duo replied.
After standing and looking at the mare for a minute, the foal made another attempt to drink and this time Sunny allowed it. The mare gave a soft snort and turned her head to nip softly at the foal's rump. The filly's tail swished in response but she continued to suckle. Sunny rested a hind leg and lowered her head, her eyes closing slightly as she began to doze.
"I think we have success, Heero," Duo murmured.
# # #
By the next day Sunray had adopted the foal and was letting her drink willingly. In return, the filly looked to the mare as if she were her own mother and the pair had settled well. Once they were sure that the mare had accepted the foal and wouldn't harm her in any way, Duo gave Comet an injection to stop the production of her milk. Comet's milk supply would have decreased naturally without a foal to suckle, but it would have taken several days and she would have been very uncomfortable. Neither Heero nor Duo could see the point in letting the mare suffer when Duo could give her something to 'dry' her up.
Once Quatre, Trowa, Zechs, Hilde and Catherine learned of Comet's foaling and the problems the guys had had dealing with the aftermath, they had all paid visits, bringing various treats for the surrogate mare and also to cheer Comet up.
Assured that the mare and foal had well and truly 'bonded', Heero could see no reason for the pair to remain at the surgery stables and take up space that Duo would need for any other patients that were likely to be admitted. He decided to move the pair to his own stables. After discussion with Duo who also agreed it would be better for the pair to be back with the other horses. Heero enlisted the help of both his partner and June to move them.
"If I may suggest something, Heero?" June asked when informed of his plans to move the two.
"Of course," Heero replied.
"I think it would be a good idea to put Sunny and Flossie in the paddock next to Orion."
"Flossie?" Heero said, a funny look on his face. Behind him Duo snickered.
"Well, you don't seem to be in any hurry to name the foal and she needs to be called something," June stated with a defiant look.
"Flossie?" Heero repeated.
"If you ask me it suits her," Duo sniggered.
"But, Flossie? That's almost as bad as that cat you had in called Tiddles!" Heero huffed.
"Not quite as bad as that cat's housemate, his name is Widdles," Duo chuckled.
"I wonder if it was called that because it peed everywhere," June mused, "although if that was the case I guess it could have been worse, it could have been called Piddles."
Duo snorted and doubled over with laughter. Heero couldn't help the twitch of his own lips while June giggled.
When all three had managed to get their mirth under control, Heero gave a sigh and resigned himself to the name of Flossie for the filly. "Why put them next to Orion?" he asked.
"When I first got Orion I kept him at Maureen's place for a while. He knows Sunny and she knows him so it might help her to settle a bit better around your stables if there's a familiar horse by her."
"That makes sense. Okay, we'll put them into the paddock next to Orion then." Before anyone could make any further comments he picked up the halter and lead rope and went to catch the mare. "Flossie," he muttered to himself. "If it's not bad enough having Duo giving weird names to inanimate objects they have to give the foal a weird name too? Flossie my ass."
It took the trio considerably longer to get Sunny and Flossie back to the paddock next to Orion than it had when Heero and Duo had taken Comet and the filly to the surgery stables; mainly as Flossie was now in full control of her limbs and more than ready to investigate anything and everything she saw or smelt. With Heero leading Sunny, it was left to Duo and June to try and keep the filly following her foster mother and not straying too far away. Eventually they made it to the paddock and with a grateful sigh, Heero released the mare and closed the gate.
"Thanks, June, Duo," he said.
"No problem, Heero. It was quite the adventure," June replied with a grin.
"Anytime, Heero," Duo said and turned to watch the fun in the paddock.
Having seen the newcomers approaching, Orion had ceased his grazing and wandered across to the fence. When Heero let the mare go, she immediately gave a soft whinny and walked over to greet Orion. The pair exchanged snorts, grunts and whinnies as they reacquainted themselves.
"I'd say they remember each other," June mused as she watched.
"I'd say you're right, June," Duo replied. "I think this was a good decision." Heero nodded by way of reply, he was busy watching Angel on the other side who was walking up and down the fence line and giving calls of her own to the new mare and foal.
After spending a little time with Orion, Sunray wandered across to the other side of the paddock to greet Angel. Both mares were similar in their nature and after a couple of squeals and lots of sniffing, they appeared to accept each other. Orion meanwhile was watching from his side, eyes never leaving the mare or the foal. The filly shyly extended her muzzle to Angel, the mare reciprocating. Sunny kept a watchful eye on the pair and it was clear to the humans watching that Sunny had really accepted Flossie as her own and would intervene if anything nasty were to happen between Angel and the foal. Nothing did though, Angel being a gentle mare in herself she more than accepted the filly and new mare into the 'herd'.
The rest of the horses all made their presences' known too and the paddocks became a symphony of neighs and whinnies back and forth. "I hope they cease that racket soon," Duo commented and stuck his fingers in his ears.
"It is getting a little tiring, isn't it," June stated.
"I think I have some ear plugs in the tack room," Heero said with a roll of his eyes.
"Well, I'm off, got lots to do up at the cottage and surgery," Duo said. "I'll leave you all to enjoy the opera."
"Wuss," Heero teased, his eyes dancing with mirth.
"And proud of it," Duo huffed. He gave a waggle of his fingers and high tailed it back up the raceway.
Heero shook his head at the fast disappearing braid and vet attached to it before being jolted back to the hear and now by June.
"You got a second set of ear plugs, Heero?"
# # #
Four months had passed since the arrival of Sunray and her fostering of Comet's foal. The mare had done an exceptional job in raising the filly, teaching her all she would need to know about herd situations, pecking order and how to be a horse. Flossie had thrived on the attention from her foster mother and since taking that first drink had never looked back.
She was growing in leaps and bounds, had an inquisitive nature, (not to the extent of her half brother Wing though, much to Heero's relief!), but was as gentle and sweet tempered as Angel. Flossie had also struck up a strong bond with Orion. The black seemed fascinated with the filly and spent many hours hanging over the dividing fence just watching her play.
Being as June knew the mare from when she'd agisted at Maureen's, Heero was quite happy to let the woman look after her whilst she was on Heero's property. June would feed her morning and night, spend time brushing her over and generally fussing around her. Sunray enjoyed the attention and was more than content to stand there and be brushed for as long as June's arms could manage. By spending time with Sunny, June was also spending time with Flossie and the filly began to form a strong bond with June.
Duo gave an amused smile as he watched his husband from the corner of his eye. The television was on and for all intents and purposes, it seemed that Heero was deeply engrossed in the movie that was playing; but Duo could tell different. Gently he nudged Heero's knee with his own causing Heero to jump slightly.
"Your coffee's getting cold," Duo said with a smirk.
"Ah." Heero leaned forth and picked up the coffee mug. "Yuk, that's cold," he said with a grimace.
"I did give it to you about half an hour ago," Duo stated. "What's got you so distracted?"
"Who said I was distracted?" Heero replied.
"I did. You can't tell me the movie is all that engrossing. Come on, Heero, I know you better than that. What's on your mind?"
Heero sighed and put his cold coffee back on the table. "I was thinking..."
"Should I be afraid?"
"Duo!"
"Sorry." Duo held his hands up in surrender. "I'll be good."
"Thank you. As I was saying, I was thinking about Flossie, her future, June and Orion and finding something suitable for June to replace Orion as a competition horse." Heero paused, lost in thought again.
"And?" Duo pushed gently. He had an idea where this was going, but wanted Heero to confirm his thoughts.
"Flossie is going to be a good horse as she grows up. She has a good conformation on her, nice hocks, short back and will make a very good A grade jumper from what I can tell."
"Isn't that what you were hoping for when you put Comet to Zero? A good A grade jumper?" Duo asked.
"Yes, that was the plan."
"So, what's changed?"
"Nothing really," Heero said and fiddled with his hands. Duo waited patiently, knowing his husband well enough to see he was trying to formulate the words for what he wanted to say. "Like I said, Flossie will be a good horse, but.."
"But what, Heero?" Duo coaxed.
"This is probably going to sound awful, but I don't know how else to put this into words."
"Try just saying what's on your mind." Duo clasped Heero's hand in his own and stroked his thumb across the back of it. It appeared to calm Heero a little and the rider began to speak, letting his mouth ramble on.
"I don't think I'm going to have the time to put into Flossie when she's ready to be broken in and educated. I still have Shini to qualify for the next Olympics and Wing is gaining more and more experience and confidence with each show he goes to. It won't be much longer before Wing is as good, if not better than Shini. Once he reaches that stage I hope to retire Shini to stud and let Wing take over as my top horse. I'll also have Missy out competing and with the clients' horses to jump and campaign as well, it's not going to leave much in the way of time for Flossie. I was planning on selling a few of the foals I breed from Angel and Comet and I think I really need to reevaluate what I plan to do with Flossie."
"I agree with you, Heero. There's a lot of hard work coming up for you and I also think you need to take a long look at what you have now, what you want to do with it all and where you want to be in another five or so years." Duo gave a sly look. "Now tell me the rest." When Heero raised an eyebrow at him, Duo snickered. "I know there's more so you'd better spill, Yuy."
Shaking his head, Heero gave a soft smile. "I was thinking about offering Flossie to June. I think she would be an excellent replacement for Orion as a competition horse and Flossie already adores June. June is what Flossie needs, a sympathetic rider and given the bond they have I can see them both going on to bigger and better things."
Duo grinned. "I'm not the one you have to convince. I happen to agree completely with you. Those two would be good together." Duo could almost see the relief rolling off his husband.
"I'll speak to June tomorrow and see what she thinks."
"Good idea, now come here so I can kiss you senseless and have my wicked way with you."
Heero happily surrendered.
# # #
True to his word, Heero approached June the following day with the proposal. At first June was totally stunned, unable to form a coherent thought. Once the information sank in though, she was unable to stop the flow of words.
"Are you sure, Heero? You did breed her for yourself, another horse to compete successfully on and I wouldn't want to take that away from you."
"I'm sure, June," Heero replied with an amused smile. "I'll have more than enough to occupy my time with Wing almost at the top of his game and Missy to bring on."
"It's really generous of you, Heero, but do you think I'd be able to do her justice? And you too? I don't want to let either of you down after all the time and effort you've put into teaching me. I don't know if I'm good enough to break her in and school her well enough to take her to A grade..."
"June..."
"What if I mess her education up?"
"June..."
"I'd hate ruin a perfectly good horse..."
"JUNE!"
"Errr, yes, Heero?"
"Will you shut up and listen for a moment?" June gave a sheepish smile and went quiet. "Thank you. I'm not going to have the time to put into her, the time she deserves so I will be selling her anyway. I wouldn't have offered her to you if I thought you weren't capable of bringing out the best in her. You're more than good enough to break her in and educate her, I'll still be giving you lessons and I'm more than happy to work with the pair of you once you get her started off. That's if you still wish to remain here and work for me."
"Of course I want to stay here and work for you, Heero, but the price you're asking for her-"
"If it's too much I can lower it. I'm more concerned with her having a good home than the money side of things," Heero cut in with a frown.
June laughed. "No, I was about to say the price is too low, she's easily worth double that and you'd get it no problem if you were to advertize her."
"She might be worth double the price, but I'm not about to fleece my friends and as I said before, I'm more concerned with the home she has than the price she fetches." Heero gave June a look that clearly said he wasn't going to argue any further over that.
"Okay, Heero, you win. I'd love to have her if you're really sure about this. I will need to speak to Geoff though and make sure he's okay with it before I can commit to the sale," June replied.
"Good. You speak with Geoff and let me know what you decide. There's no rush, she's not going anywhere."
"Heero, you're the best." June grabbed her boss and mentor in a hug, one that Heero had no problem reciprocating.
#
June spoke with her husband Geoff that same day and he agreed with June that the foal would be an excellent buy. Heero was still happy with the sale to go ahead and June paid for the filly within a couple of days. Once the payment had been made, Heero had the paperwork drawn up and June found herself the proud owner of Flossie.
After everything had been finalized and the 'dust' settled, June decided it was high time to give the filly a proper name. Flossie was alright as a stable name went, but for competition she would need a proper name.
"I don't know, Flossie seems a good enough name for competition, it's short and sweet," Duo stated, leaning on the fence with June and Heero watching the filly caper around the paddock.
"It's okay for a stable name, but I don't think it would suit a future gold medalist," June commented. "Could you just imagine the announcement? 'In gold medal position we have June Bailey riding Flossie?' Kind of puts a dampener on the whole thing."
"Sounds like you're riding something from a dental advert," Duo snickered.
"Well, there is that too."
"Gold medalist?" Heero questioned with a twinkle in his eye.
"Well, yeah. You gotta think big these days, at least that's what you're always telling me," June huffed.
Heero laughed. "Nothing wrong with aiming high. I've taught you well, grasshopper."
"Hey! That's my line," Duo laughed.
"Consider it on loan," Heero quipped.
"Hmmm... Let's see," June muttered, her mind going back to the filly and possible names. "There's Comet, her mother, Zero the father and I already have Orion..." After a couple of minutes, June brightened up. "I know, Solar Flare."
"Eh?" Duo said and turned to look at the woman.
"Solar Flare, that's what I'll call her for her show name. She can still be Flossie around the stable." June gave a smug grin.
"Actually, that sounds really good," Heero said as he thought the name over.
"I agree," Duo stated. "Simple, but effective." The three pondered on the name in silence for a while before Duo and Heero excused themselves and left June at the paddock to make their way back to the cottage. On their way, Duo spoke up again. "By the way, the mail's in,' he said to Heero.
"Okay. Anything interesting or just more bills?" Heero replied. It was a little unusual for Duo to bring up such a mundane topic so Heero figured there must be something important in there.
"I had a letter from my mom."
That got Heero's full attention. "Is everything okay?"
"Sort of," Duo replied and then sighed. "She's fine, nothing to worry about there."
"Then what is it?"
"She's going to be coming out for a vacation."
Heero raised an eyebrow. Duo hadn't spoken much of his past and his parents. All Heero really knew was that Duo's dad had enjoyed his horses, but his mother hadn't shared the passion. Unfortunately Duo's father had been killed by a drunk driver and Duo's mom had packed up house and moved back to the city as soon as the funeral was over. "That's good... Isn't it?" he ventured.
"Heero, she's planning on staying here, with us," Duo replied.
"Oh. That still shouldn't be a problem though, should it?" Heero wasn't too sure what was going on with his husband.
Duo sighed again. "It shouldn't be, but I haven't exactly told her about us."
"I see." Heero frowned and moved closer to Duo, wrapping his arms around the vet's waist. "When does she plan on coming?"
"In a few months," Duo said and leaned his head against Heero's shoulder.
"Don't worry, Duo, I'm sure she will be fine with everything."
"I don't know," Duo stated. "I've never spoken to her about my being gay and all so I have no idea how she will react."
Heero ran a hand down the back of Duo's head and along the thick rope of hair. "No matter what happens, Duo, we will always have each other. We've been through a lot together and no doubt there will be a lot more to challenge us in the future, but know this..." Heero pressed a kiss to the crown of Duo's head. "I'll always be here for you, we can face anything together and come out stronger for it."
"God, I love you so much," Duo murmured and reached for his husband's lips to kiss him senseless. Duo knew that regardless of what his mother thought, Heero would remain by his side, just as he would remain by Heero's...
~ Owari ~
This is the end of this fic in the Equine arc. I hope everyone enjoyed reading it, I had a lot of fun writing it. Thank you to all who have reviewed, your feedback means a lot to me. Will there be a sixth fic in the arc...? At this stage I'm not sure, it all depends on if people want another fic in this universe and if the muse comes to the party with a suitable plot..
In the meantime I hope to get both High Rolling and Bound finished... (crosses fingers)
*hugs and Gundam Pilots to you all*
Shen :-)
