It was just after nine o clock when Chris pulled off the road and into the drive way that lead to the main house. Christina peered out the window and into the darkness, at the solar lights that lined the gravel drive, and further into the darkness at the wooden fences that lined both sides.

"How big is this place?" Christina muttered, turning in her seat to look at Chris.

Chris shrugged, "Thirty or so acres."

Christina stared at him, "So you own a farm?"

"I think dad once called it a horse ranch,"

"... A horse ranch- wait, you didn't care about the farm life, last I remember. You left the chores to me, dad, and the farm hands, back when we were kids," Christina squinted. "What happened?"

"Change of heart," Chris answered, keeping his eyes on the gravel in front of him. "You're right, I may not have helped out, but I did enjoy it. Besides, it's in my blood. I'm not going to forget it so easily, especially when one of us the state champion at the state fair five years running."

There was a beat of silence, before Christina laughed softly, "I have missed the horses... I did miss Nighglider, too. Bet dad sold him, huh?"

"Nope," Chris grinned in the darkness, glancing at his younger twin. "He's in the stables here."

"... What," Christina gaped.

"A bit older than you remember him, but still got that fire only you could tame," Chris said. "If you want, I can take you down in the morning to see him."

"Yes!" Christina cried, launching herself across the seat with bright eyes, "Yes, yes, yes, yes, please, yes!"

"Okay, settle down! Consider it a deal!" Chris laughed as he pulled the truck to a stop in front of a two story country style house with a wrap around porch. The porch lights were on, and a few inside as well, "Either Nefertiti is still up or she left some lights on for us."

And at that, all excitement drained from Christina's body, "I hope it's the former."

Chris looked over as he cut the engine. The cab lights came on, "How come?"

"... I'm honestly rather nervous to meet her," Christina admitted, as she stuffed her phone and phone charger into her bag. She fiddled with the strap, "I mean... You kinda just dropped everything for me, you know?"

Chris snorted as he climbed out of the truck, "If anything, she'll understand more than anyone, considering her relationship with her own brother. Now come on. It's been a long day and I'm sure you'd like to sleep in an actual bed."

Christina hesitated, then nodded, "Yeah, you're right." She gave him a timid smile, "Besides, it's better to just rip the band-aid off, right?"

"Something like that," Chris smirked a little as he lead the way up the stone path and to the porch. Before he could even reach for the door, the lock clicked and it opened. The twins paused to take in the sight, one slightly more fond than the other.

The woman that stood in the doorway was Chris' height, easily, her brown hair thrown up in a messy bun and tan skin glowing in the low, golden light of the overhead lights. She wore a pair of sweatpants and oversized shirt, and held a glass of wine in the hand that wasn't gripping the door handle. She took a sip of it, running green eyes over the two.

"I honestly expected you not to be home for another hour," She mused, voice thick and warm with an accent.

"Surprise, Nef," Chris grinned, and reached out to wrap his arm around the woman's waist, pulling her in for a quick kiss. "I'm surprised you're still up. Don't you have work in the tomorrow, hon?"

"Called in after the double I finished this morning- Bast, no!" Nefertiti jerked and stumbled as a black shadow darted out the door. Chris let out a muffled curse as he jumped back.

"Damn cat-" Chris started, and stared as Christina suddenly swooped down and picked up the animal in question. A black cat with bright orange eyes peered up at Christina with a soft meow, "... The hell?"

"Um... cute kitty?" Christina blinked, running her fingers through silky fur. A loud rumbling sound started up, the cat purring in satisfaction as it's eyes fell closed, "Name?"

"... Bastet. But we call her Bast," Nefertiti took another sip of her wine, and stepped closer. Christina shuffled in place, looking back and forth between Chris and Nefertiti, before fixing her eyes on Bast, "And you are...?"

"... Christina," She answered. "Uh... Crissie or CeeCee is fine though."

"Nice to meet you," Nefertiti offered a small smile. She held her hand out, "I'm Nefertiti, Chris' wife. Nice to finally meet the sister in law I've heard so much about."

Christina juggled her bag on to her back, and settled Bast into the crook of her right arm before shaking Nefertiti's hand, "I... wish I could say the same about you. Chris told me a lot about you on the way here but..."

"Doesn't do the same justice as listening to five years worth of stories?" Nefertiti raised an eyebrow, "I agree."

There was a beat of silence, before Nefertiti turned to Chris. Said man was looking down at his phone.

"Chris, why don't you go check in on the guys at the bar while I get Christina settled into her room?"

"Ah, I'm sure the guys have got it handled-" Chris looked up, and cut off, taking in the raised eyebrow Nefertiti was giving him, "Actually, that's not a bad idea. Bao did say Tyler had to call in due to his cousin." He was pocketing his phone and pulling his keys out as he spoke, "I'll be back later!"

Christina watched him go, before turning to look at Nefertiti, who looked faintly amused as she watched the truck pull off into the night. Her eyes flickered back to Christina, "Sorry about that, dear, but I just wanted to talk to you alone... and yes, get you settled in your room."

It was said in a polite tone, but none the less, Christina hugged Bast tighter to her chest.

When Chris arrived at the bar, it was packed. On stage, Kakeru Tategami, Ryuto Katashi, and Chao Xin Wong were playing one of their signature covers of an old classic Chris vaguely recognized, and on the floor all the servers were bustling around looking just a little frazzled.

Chris retracted his earlier statement, threw his jacket into the office in the back of the building, and dove headfirst into the fray. He snatched up a pen and pad, took a quick look at the server's chart, and then went off to take orders and serve drinks and food.

Two for Tuesday seemed to be especially popular tonight. Chris should have expected it, given the weather the day before had kept a lot of people from going out. Still, it was another two hours before things slowed down and the stragglers of the late night-early morning hours were the only ones that were present.

Chris sat down at one of the stools lined at the bar countertop, exhaled, and slumped down to lay his head on his arms. A moment later, someone was poking his shoulder. Chris growled a little.

"My sister is scarier," The person continued to poke until Chris reached out and grabbed their wrist. The blonde sat up to stare the redhead in the eyes, "When the hell did you get here?"

"Like, two hours ago, I think," Chris muttered. "Hand me a beer, Bao."

"So long as you don't get drunk," Bao waved a hand as he turned towards the cooler and pulled a long neck out. "Nef will have all our heads if you do." He slid the glass down the clear coated counter and Chris caught it before cracking it open, "Next question: why are you here? Shouldn't you be home helping your sister get settled in?"

Chris took a few gulps of the beer, before setting it down, "I think Nefertiti wanted to talk to CeeCee in private, so she ordered me out of the house."

"CeeCee, huh?" Bao raised an eyebrow.

"Christina," Chris corrected. "CeeCee is my nickname for her."

"Chris and Christina, huh? Man your parents were real original on naming you guys huh?" A brunette sat on the stool to Chris' right, looking amused, "So when do we get to meet this cryptid?"

"I'm curious about that as well," The seat to Chris' left became occupied by a green haired young man, looking far too mischievous for Chris' liking. "So, Chris? When do we get to see her...?"

"If I have my way, Kakeru, never," Chris deadpanned as he took another swig from his beer. "As a matter of fact, Ryuto might be the only one of you three she gets to meet."

"Love you too, Christopher!" From the stage, the white haired young man laughed, busy with packing away the stage equipment.

"Oh, now that's just rude," Chao Xin pouted. "If she's as half as pretty as you are handsome-" He cut off as Chris glared at him, "I mean... if she's half the woman you are- Uh- I'm sure Christina is a lovely young woman and-"

"Just shut up while you're ahead," Bao deadpanned.

"Yep, I'll do that," Chao Xin nodded and stood up. "Hey, Ryuto, need a hand with that?"

Kakeru laughed and shook his head, "Alright, blondie, you keep your secrets, but remember-" He pointed at Chris, serious, "My brother's a cop. I have connections. I can find out things."

With that, Kakeru stood up and skipped back towards the stage to finish breaking down the equipment. Chris watched him go, before finishing off his beer, stretching over the counter, and throwing the now empty bottle into the trash can just under the bar.

"I'll help you guys close up," Chris told Bao.

"You can help Tyler in the kitchen. Jack, Damian, and I got the bar," Bao waved a hand. "Hey, Chris?"

"Yeah?" Chris, halfway towards the kitchen doors, turned to Bao, who was staring at him pensively, "What?"

"Are you happy she's back?"

Chris paused, surprised at the question. But then, he thought about it for a moment, considered Bao's own history with his sister, and then gave the redhead a grin, "Yeah, red. I really am."

After a breakfast consisting of biscuits and gravy, eggs, bacon, a pot and a half of coffee, Chris kept good on his promise and lead Christina towards the barn. It sat at the bottom of the hill, just to the east of the house and near the two story guest house.

"Of course, there's Nightglider," Chris explained over a mug of coffee and looking half awake. "But then there's my old mare, Ginger. And then we also board a lot of people's horses, too, so there's a lot of people in and out. Of course, we have hired a half a dozen or so farm hands."

"You actually own a horse," Out of that entire spiel, that was what Christina fixated on. "Who are you and what have you done with my brother?"

Nefertiti had loaned Christina a pair of denim shorts for her that morning, and that paired with the black tank top and one of Chris' old flannel shirts was sending the older into flashbacks of summer days where she wore similar outfits. The only thing missing from the get up was a pair of boots, but Nefertiti had declared she was taking Christina out for lunch and shopping that afternoon, so that would probably be fixed by dinner.

"Ha ha, funny," Chris rolled his eyes, as the barn loomed over the two in the morning sun. "Come on, let's get you introduced to everybody and the horses."

It took the better part of thirty minutes to show Christina around the barn itself, and introduce her to the farm hands- Gingka Hagane, a transfer student who was working while in college; Sophie Devareux, a friend of one of the boarder's who had fallen in love with the beauty of the farm; Tithi Habenero, a teen from New Mexico but had moved away to carve his own path; Kenta Yumiya, the adopted brother of Ryuto and Ryuga Katashi; Ian Garcia, a college student who had cut ties with his family in Brazil to pursue his own career in engineering; and finally there was Masamune Kadoya, the resident troublemaker whose cousin worked for Chris at the bar.

"Nice shiner you got there, Kadoya," Chris commented on seeing the younger man. "You made Tyler miss work last night, from what I hear."

Masamune looked sheepish, at least, poking at his black eye, "Yeah, man, I'm sorry about that. I'll figure out a way to make it up to you."

"You'd better," Chris deadpanned. "Tyler's a hard worker and I'd hate to fire him over your stupidity."

Masamune paled, chuckled nervously, and scrambled off to do... something.

"Bit harsh?" Christina asked.

"With that guy? Hell no," Chris snorted. "Come on, introduction time to the horses."

Chris went down the length of the barn, naming off names that Christina absorbed like a sponge did water.

"Antonius, jumper, owner is Julian Konzern,"

"Phoenix, pleasure ride, owner is Gingka, actually,"

"Lady, therapy horse, owner is Yuu Tendo,"

"Moonriser, former police horse, owner is Kuro Blackheart,"

"Lightning, trail rider, owner is Tyler Blackout,"

"Ginger, rodeo competitor, owned by yours truly," Chris gestured to the final stall on the end of the left side of the hall. Inside, a red Thoroughbred munched on some hay, giving the siblings a look that seemed to say 'What do you want?'. She stretched out her long neck over the stall door and snuffled at Christina, rubbing her forelock against the blonde woman's shoulder for a few seconds, and then turned back to her breakfast.

"She's beautiful," Christina breathed. "How long have you had her?"

"About three years, give or take," Chris answered. "She's about seven, herself." He turned on his heel and let out a three note, high whistle. Across from Ginger's stall, there was the rustling of hay, a loud whinny, and then a black head and mane appeared in the doorway, ear pricked forward, "And there's your pride and joy-"

"Nightglider!" Christina cried and bolted across the barn hallway, only to skid to a halt and throw her arms around the neck of the animal, "Oh, it's so good to see you again, you big, gorgeous, lovely boy!"

As Christina continued to baby talk the black stallion, Chris could only stare. After a few moments, Christina turned from the horse to smile broadly at Chris. With a smirk Chris said, "Glad to know that I play second fiddle to a horse when it comes to you."

Christina stuck her tongue out at him, eyes bright, "When's the last time someone rode him? He looks pretty fit."

"Last time anyone tried, they got bucked off," Chris shrugged. "So usually someone just runs him on a lunge line, and he's one a strict diet too. That's how he looks so good."

The spark that Chris had missed in his life flared up in Christina's eyes, and she glanced over at Nightglider. He snorted and bobbed his head up and down, knocking a hoof against the stall door if the banging was anything to go by. Christina turned back to Chris, and opened her mouth.

"All your old stuff is in the tack room," Chris told her. He watched as she took off down the hallway, sipping from his coffee. He walked over to stand in front of Nightglider, watching as Christina disappeared into a room on the other end of the hallway, "Whatcha think, Glider?"

Nightglider snuffled at Chris' pockets, looking for treats, before snorting and turning away to circle around in his stall.

Chris smiled, "Yeah. Thought so."

Within the hour, Christina had Nightglider brushed down, saddled up, gone through some warm up exercises, and was in the dirt arena. Three barrels were set out in a triangular shape, Christina trotting the horse through motions that Chris was familiar with. He held his third cup of coffee for the morning and a stopwatch in his other hand. Nefertiti had joined the two just a bit ago, sitting on the wooden fence and looking like a goddess in the mid morning sun.

Screw Chris for being sappy, alright? He loved his wife.

"Wanna see if he's still got it?" Chris called with a grin, holding up the stop watch.

Christina pulled up to a halt in front of him. Nightglider snorted and pawed at the dirt, restless, and Christina smirked, "Bold of you to assume he doesn't."

"Prove it then, sis," Chris smirked back. "Let's do a couple of runs."

Christina stared him down, before nudging the black stallion in the sides. He jolted, launching into a trot. Christina led him around in a full circle, and years of experience had Chris hitting the stopwatch right as Christina urged Nightglider into a full gallop.

She came around the first barrel smoothly, and Chris watched in pride at the air of ease around his sister, the wide smile on her face as she raced around the second barrel and went thundering for the third.

"Alright, that's good, that's good- kick it, kick it bring him home!" Chris cheered as Nightglider bolted back across the arena and back through the first two barrels. Chris barely remembered to click the stopwatch. He glanced down, then smiled up at Christina as she trotted over, "Sixteen-one!"

"Nice!" Nefertiti cheered, waving at Christina, "Chris wasn't lying- you are good!"

"Christina Cadelle is more than good- she's a champion," A voice said, and both Chris and Christina looked over to see the crowd of people that had gathered on the far side of the fence, closest to the barn. The person who had spoken was a blond haired man, dressed in a high dollar riding ensemble. His shoulder length blonde hair was pulled back in a short pony tail, everything about him screaming 'too good for you'.

"Morning to you too, Julian," Masamune snarked off. "Why do you care about the Western riding world? Aren't you the king of the EU or something?"

"I keep my eye on talent, unlike some of you do," Julian Konzern replied, coolly.

"What was that?!" Before Masamune could step towards him, a taller man with brown hair and eyes snatched him by the collar of the shirt and yanked him back, "Oi! Ian, lemme go!"

"No," Ian Garcia deadpanned. "Tyler told me to keep an eye on you this morning, and I intend to."

"Wanna go again?" Chris grinned up at his sister.

"Duh," Christina smiled back. She nudged Nightglider again, and Chris clicked the stopwatch again, stepping back to lean against the fence next to Nefertiti.

Chris clicked the stopwatch at fifteen-nine.

"Closest thing I've ever got to my record time in years," Christina breathed, heavily, eyes bright and expression glowing.

"No one's ever managed to beat that fourteen-eight, and you know it," Chris snorted, finishing off his coffee. "Alright, go cool the horse down and get yourself cleaned up. I think Neffy's ready to take you out for the afternoon."

"You know me so well, babe," Nefertiti drawled, swinging her legs over and hopping off the fence. She leaned on the top bar and kissed his cheek, "I'll see you later."

"Don't overdo it," Chris teased as Nefertiti walked away.

"Who, me?" Nefertiti fluttered her eyelashes, "I would never."

Somehow, Chris highly doubted that.

The next chapter involves a shopping trip and more introduction of characters. Hope you enjoyed this one and will leave a review!