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 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 8
Heero was awake before the alarm had a chance to go off and seeing Duo still fast asleep, he turned it off and managed to extract himself from the bed without waking the vet. Picking up his sweat pants, shirt and sweater, Heero padded from the room and aimed for the bathroom.
Once dressed, he made himself a cup of tea and sipped at it whilst staring out the kitchen window to the paddocks beyond. There was a mist hanging over the ground, not thick, but enough to be visible. Finishing his tea, Heero rinsed his cup through and stepped outside into the chilly air.
Walking down the raceway between the paddocks the mist clung to his sweater, leaving a fine layer of moisture on the fabric. Rolling the doors to the stables back, the warmth of the interior soon thawed him out. Each of the horses looked up, Zero wuffling at his master, Shini gave a bang of his hoof against the stable door and several of the others all gave soft nickers of greeting.
Feeds were placed in the feed bins in the paddocks of those horses not going to the show, Heero leading the respective animals out to their paddocks and waiting breakfasts shortly after. The remaining four let their displeasure at being kept waiting for their breakfasts known by either neighing, snorting – and in Shini's case – banging non stop on his stable door.
"Behave, Shini," Heero scolded as he entered the gray's stable with his breakfast. A sharp smack followed when Shinigami tried to push forward and snatch a mouthful of his feed before Heero had finished mixing it up in his feed bin. "Back off and remember your manners!" Heero growled.
Shini lowered his head and moved back a touch, turning his soft eyes to his master and then reaching forth with his muzzle to push gently at Heero's back in apology.
With the feed now mixed, Heero stepped to the side and gave the stallion a pat. "Now you can have it." He chuckled as the stallion carefully moved forth and stuck his nose in the bin to eat. Shaking his head at the stallion's antics, Heero stepped out of the stable, closed the door and went to put the buckets away.
Having made up the evening feeds, Heero wandered back out and assembled the stable cleaning tools. He placed the poop scoop and rake into the wheelbarrow, grabbed the handles and wheeled it to the first stable to begin the task of cleaning. He was half way through the second stable when June appeared.
"Morning, Heero," she greeted.
"Morning," Heero replied.
Picking up the rake, June began to rake the shavings, leveling them off and leaving the stable neat for its occupant to return to. "Have you had breakfast yet?"
"No. I was going to get this lot done then go back to the cottage, wake Duo and cook breakfast," Heero replied, emptying out the next stable's water bucket.
"Then you get going, I can finish up all the stable work," June told him. Seeing Heero about to object, June cut him off before he could start. "By the time you have had something to eat, changed and are ready to go, I'll have all these done. I'd rather be doing these than sitting around waiting, which is what I will end up doing."
Heero gave the woman a grateful smile and handed over the water bucket. "Thanks, I'll go do that."
"Good." June took the water bucket and placed it with the others ready to scrub out.
"Won't be too long," Heero said as he walked out the door and back towards the raceway.
"I'll be here," June chuckled in reply.
#
The shower was running when Heero stepped back into the cottage which told him Duo was up. On the kitchen bench sat the preparations for their breakfast; eggs, bread, butter and milk along with a pot and bowl. Smiling to himself, Heero set the kettle to boil and began to put their breakfast together. By the time Duo stepped into the kitchen, the toast was almost done and the eggs on the point of turning into a fluffy pile.
Winding his arms around his husband's waist, Duo feathered kisses along Heero's neck. "Morning. Horses all fed?"
"Morning to you too, Duo and yes, the horses are all fed, those not going to the show are in their paddocks and June is finishing up the stable work."
"Mmm, I have to admit, having that extra pair of hands to help you in the stables sure does save a lot of time." Duo pressed another kiss to Heero's nape before releasing his lover and making their coffees.
Removing the eggs from the heat, Heero set them to the side and buttered the toast that had popped up. Placing two slices on each plate, he divided the eggs and piled them over the waiting toast. The pan was put into the sink to soak and Heero picked up the two plates and placed them on the table. Sitting opposite his partner, Heero added a little salt and pepper to his breakfast and dug in.
Once breakfast was finished, Duo washed the dishes while Heero changed into his riding attire, slipping a pair of coveralls over the top to keep himself clean. With his good boots in their carrier in one hand and his jacket in the other, he returned to the kitchen to find Duo fetching a couple of pieces of steak out of the freezer and placing them in the fridge to start thawing for their dinner.
"All set?" Duo asked and washed his hands.
"Hai. I've got everything so all we need to do now is load the horses on and we're off," Heero replied.
"You go on ahead then and I'll lock up here." Duo partook of a soft kiss. "I'll be down at the stables in a few."
"Okay." Heero stole another kiss before departing.
# # #
"He's working well, June," Heero praised as the woman brought Sandfire back to a walk and patted the chestnut neck.
"He feels good too," she said and dismounted.
"Course is open for walking," Duo informed the pair as he materialized beside Heero.
"Thanks, Duo. Come on, June. We'll take him back to the goose-neck and go walk the course." Heero turned and bumping shoulders with his husband, they walked back across the show grounds.
#
"Shit! Is this a jumping course or a gymnastics event?" Duo questioned as he looked around the brightly colored and varied jumps.
"It is a little on the twisty side," Heero agreed.
"That only makes it more interesting," June stated.
"When you look at it though, it's not a really difficult course, just one that will sort the educated from the uneducated." Heero glanced back over the course of jumps.
"Certainly will. It's a rider's course without a doubt," June muttered.
"If it's a rider's course then why are you bothering to take the horse with you?" Duo snickered.
"Idiot!" Heero gave his husband a light thump to the arm.
Duo just laughed.
The course would remain the same for all the jumping events, only the height and widths would change. Although Heero had walked it with June for Sandfire's D grade class, he would be certain to walk it again before Lunar's B grade event and both Shini and Wing's A grade event.
#
"Drop your weight a little more," Heero advised. "Better, just remember to keep the light, even contact too."
June circled the chestnut again, the gelding finally starting to drop his nose and relax his back, allowing the woman to sit deeper into him and collect him up more. Doing what Heero had said, June dropped her weight further, maintained a steady contact and applied a little more seat and leg. The chestnut responded by shortening his frame a touch and adding more elevation to his trot.
After another ten minutes of working around, Heero thought the pair were ready to pop over a couple of practice jumps.
"He seems to be going quite well," Duo commented as they walked ahead of June to where the practice jumps sat.
"That he is. He's settled well and the height of the course shouldn't worry him. If he listens to June there's no reason why the pair of them shouldn't make a clear round."
Sandfire did listen to his rider and the pair went clear in the D grade, putting them through to the jump off along with another four riders. Heero walked the jump off course with June, letting her know where would be the better places to try and save time. "I would go around the outside of jump twelve and give him plenty of room to straighten up and approach the triple square on. There will be time later, when he's more educated to take shorter runs such as on the inside of twelve. Don't worry about the time, concentrate on going clear if you can," Heero advised.
"I'll do that, Heero," June replied.
Having finished walking the course, June took Sandfire's reins from Duo who had been holding him and mounted up, moving the horse away to the side to warm him up a bit before the jump off started.
"What is the jump off course?" Duo asked.
"Jumps one, seven, five A, B and C, eleven and twelve," Heero replied.
"Tight," Duo muttered as he looked over the jumps Heero had stated.
"It is a tight one if you want to shave seconds off your time. There's opportunities to cut inside twelve from seven but you run the risk of not having enough impulsion for the triple. You can also make a very tight turn inside six, but again, you will need to have a lot of impulsion to clear eleven."
"I take it that June will be going the longer route then?"
"Yes. Sandfire isn't far enough advanced in his education to be taking such risks yet. There will be time for that later as he progresses."
"Well, I guess we will see how well he goes as they're starting the jump off now."
June didn't push the chestnut, she had listened to Heero's instructions and took the longer route, giving the horse more than enough room to build his impulsion and clear each fence. They managed another clear round but in a slower time. Of the other four riders in the jump off, three had elected to try taking the shortcuts and risks – the other one took their horse steady and went the longer way like June had done. Of the three, two made faults, the third one managing to go clear and thus winning the event. Although June's time was slow, it was enough to give them third place, the other slow clear having taken second and the two that had scored faults in their jump off finishing fourth and fifth.
Heero was more than pleased with the chestnut's result and praised June for her skills in riding and handling the gelding. June blushed under the praise, citing it had all been Sandfire and all she'd done was sit there and steer. Even Duo had snorted at that!
With the C grade event next and ten entries in the class, the trio headed back to the goose-neck to unsaddle and settle Sandfire before starting to get Lunar ready.
#
"How is she feeling, Heero?" Duo asked as Heero brought the mare to a halt before him.
"She's feeling quite fresh. I don't think she will have too much of a problem with the course." Heero patted the mare's neck and dismounted. "Has Carl arrived yet?"
"Yes, I spotted him and Marie aiming for June and Drumstick a couple of minutes ago."
"Then I think we should take Lunar back to the goose-neck and give her a short rest while we go and walk the course again."
"Right with you Heero."
# # #
"You be a good boy out there, Wing," Duo said softly to the young stallion and fed him a carrot.
Wing crunched the orange treat up and politely nuzzled the nice human's pockets for more.
"You can have more when you come out of the ring with a clear round," Duo informed the gray.
Turning, he looked back into the arena where Heero was walking the course for the A grade event. Lunar had gone clear in her class and finished fourth after the jump off. Carl had been thrilled with his mare's result and full of praise and compliments for Heero on his riding and handling of the mare. Now it was the turn of the A grade horses and Wing was third to go, Shini was tenth in a field of twelve.
They had left Shini tied up back at the goose-neck, still saddled but with his light rug over the top. Once Wing had finished his round Heero would fetch the older gray and start warming him up whilst Duo took charge of Wing and walked the other stallion around.
"Thanks for holding him, Duo," Heero said as he returned from the ring.
"My pleasure. I take it the course hasn't changed much since you last walked or rode it?" Duo couldn't help but tease.
"Other than the height and width, no it hasn't," Heero replied, choosing to ignore his husband's teasing.
The steward began to call for the first riders to be ready as the last of the competitors left the ring. Heero mounted up and took Wing off to the side to loosen him up again.
Heero wasn't expecting much from Wing, the youngster had only been upgraded to A grade in the last couple of months and was still finding his hooves over the bigger fences. He planned on taking the youngster easy and let the time and faults worry about themselves.
Soon enough the steward was calling Heero's number and with a pat to the gray neck, Heero rode over to wait by the entrance. Duo appeared beside him.
"How does he feel?" Duo asked.
"Calm and responsive."
"Good. You be careful out there, Heero."
"I will." Heero gave his lover a gentle smile, the one he kept purely for Duo.
"Number three?"
"Hai, I'm number three."
"You're in now."
With another smile to his lover, Heero closed his legs against Wing's sides and the gray moved forward and into the ring. Duo stepped to the side where he could watch the pair easily, June, Carl and Marie returned from the food vending vans and joined him, Carl offering Duo a hot dog.
"How do you think the two grays will go?" Carl asked.
Duo swallowed his mouthful of hot dog before replying. "Shini should go clear, but in Wing's case, it's anyone's guess. He's still adjusting to the difference in heights, but as it's not an overly large course height wise, he should manage to get around okay." Duo turned his attention back to the ring where Heero and Wing were cantering their circle and waiting for the bell to go.
The bell rang, Heero sat down and collected Wing up, turning the gray to the start flags. "Just listen to me and do your best, Wing," Heero muttered to his horse. Wing cocked back an ear, his eyes fixated on the jumps ahead.
Like his half brother, Wing loved to jump. It didn't matter what the jump was made of, barrels, hedges, rails and even hay bales; Wing didn't care, he was more than happy to jump anything and everything his master rode him at. Settling himself into a steady canter, Wing listened carefully for the aids from his master to tell him what to do.
The first jump appeared before the pair, Wing lengthening out a touch and clearing it easily. Once he was back on the ground, Heero was there with his seat and leg, asking the gray to shorten his stride and make a right hand turn. Wing listened carefully, making a turn and lining up the second jump. They cleared it with room to spare, Wing giving a snort as he landed. With pricked ears he lengthened out again for the third jump; a spread.
"Doing well so far, Wing," Duo muttered and began to shred the wrapper from his hot dog.
Wing sailed over the spread and as he landed he felt his rider's weight moving to the left a touch. He landed and picked up his left canter lead, Heero using his seat and leg to confirm he wanted the young stallion to turn to the left.
"Easy, Wing," Heero soothed as the youngster began to pull a little. Wing could see the hedge jump ahead and was eager to jump it. "The triple is next and you will need all your energy for that." Keeping a firm contact with the stallion's mouth, Heero pushed the horse together and they cleared the hedge.
"Now comes the real test," Duo mumbled.
"They're doing fine, Duo," June said and reached to take the shredded wrapper from Duo's hands. The vet gave her a sheepish look. "Keep that up and we won't need to buy confetti for Carl and Marie's wedding," June snickered.
"That's an idea," Carl piped up. "Maybe if we bring a few sheets of colored paper to the next show and give to Duo he can make all the confetti for us."
Turning his head, Duo did his best to glare down his nose at Carl.
"Ah, maybe not then." Carl gave a snicker and turned his attention back to the ring.
"Steady back, Wing," Heero muttered and dropped his weight deeper into the saddle, keeping a steady contact with the horse's mouth and using his legs to drive Wing's hocks further under his body. The triple lay ahead, the first element was an upright set of rails with two strides to the second element – a spread. Once part B was jumped there was only one stride to part C which was also a spread. Given there was only one stride between the last two elements and that both were spreads, it would certainly test the horses out in not just their jumping ability, but their stamina as well.
Softening his back, Wing lowered his nose and let his master collect him up. The energy was contained in his powerful hind quarters, ready to explode as soon as Heero allowed it.
Part A appeared in the stallion's line of sight and Wing gauged the height and picked his take off point. Hind legs came under the body and pushed the youngster into the air, front legs tucked themselves in close as the horse flew into the air and over the first element. Once Wing landed safely, Heero was there, seat and leg driving those hocks back underneath, containing and building the energy.
Wing launched into the air again, the width of the spread not offering too much by way of a challenge to him. Front hooves bit deep into the turf as he landed, his master immediately there and encouraging him to re-balance and draw his hind quarters back under. They took the one stride and launched into the air once again.
"Please clear it, please clear it, please clear it," Duo whispered to himself.
Wing grunted with the effort of having to clear another spread fence in such a short space, but he gave it his best, gray hide drawing taut over hard muscles as the stallion shot into the air once more. Landing safely, he pecked a little but recovered quickly.
Knowing how much the triple had taken out of his horse, Heero brought Wing around on a slightly longer track to jump six to give the stallion a little extra time to recover and get his impulsion back. Whilst Heero diligently worked his horses and had them fit for competition, Wing wasn't as fit as his half brother or as experienced. The younger gray was still learning and it would take at least a year of competing in A grade before his fitness would improve along with that experience to equal that of Shinigami.
But he was still game to try anything his master asked of him.
The upright rails lay ahead, Heero breathing a sigh of relief for the simple jump that followed such a taxing one. It would give Wing confidence and allow him to regain some impulsion before the final fences which were all a little more testing.
A clean pair of heels were shown over the jump and Heero was once again riding his horse together for the oxer which was next.
"Very nicely ridden," June commented as the pair on course cleared all three elements of the triple.
"He's half way there," Carl said to no one in particular.
"This is so exciting," Marie said and squeezed Carl's arm.
Duo opted to remain silent and simply chew his fingernails – a habit it seemed he would never be able to break.
The oxer was cleared and Heero asked the gray to make a sweeping turn to the right which would bring them to jump eight; the hay bales. Lucky for Heero, Wing didn't object to jumping his supper, unlike Shini who still had his moments despite having jumped hay bales on many occasions.
The pair cleared the hay bales and cantered on towards jump nine which was the parallel bars. Wing dug deep and pushed his tiring body into the air and over the jump, landing clean on the other side and following his master's aids to make another right turn.
Feeling his horse starting to tire, Heero did his best to give the stallion as much room as he could to re-balance and gather some of his impulsion back. "Good boy, Wing. Three to go and we're finished," Heero encouraged. A gray ear flicked back as Wing gathered himself together and aimed for the planks. They were set a little lower than the previous jump which gave Wing further encouragement and didn't take quite so much out of him. Heero was thankful for that as the hogs back and wall were still to come and both were formidable jumps.
"That's it, keep it going, Wing. Almost home, you can do it, boy," Duo encouraged softly from the collecting ring.
Stepping a little closer to the vet, June gave Duo's arm a light squeeze. "They're doing just great," she said quietly.
Duo gave the woman a small smile.
Picking his take off point, Wing gathered himself together and launched into the air once more. His hind legs tipped the top pole of the hogs back and caused it to rock in the cups, fortunately it decided to stay there and the pair remained clear.
"Last one, Wing," Heero encouraged. He kept his concentration fixed on the wall, the last jump between them and the finish flags. Sitting deep, Heero rode the gray forward, seat and leg pushing the horse together whilst his hands held the forward momentum steady.
Haunches strained to push the body into the air, muscles bunched and flexed as the gray left the pull of gravity and soared into the air. The red bricks of the wall passed safely beneath them, forelegs coming out and taking the brunt of the landing. Once Wing's hind legs had touched down Heero gave the horse his head and urged him through the finish flags.
"Clear round for Heero Yuy riding Wing Zero," the commentator announced. "Our next competitor is Shane Brown riding Champagne."
Out in the collecting ring Duo was almost bouncing on the spot. "Yes!" he crowed as Heero passed through the finish and the announcement of a clear round was made.
Carl, Marie and June were all similarly cheering and applauding.
"Good boy!" Heero praised the young stallion as he sat down and gathered his reins up to bring the gray back to a trot and exit the arena. Entering the collecting ring, he patted the sweaty neck and began to look for Duo.
"Way to go, Heero," Duo congratulated once Heero brought the gray to a halt.
Wing began to snuffle around the nice human's pockets. He knew he'd done well and that usually meant he got several of those orange treats. He wasn't disappointed either. The nice human gave him lots of carrots to munch on.
"You were a very good boy, Wing," Duo said to the gray as he fished in his pocket and fed the horse his loved reward.
"Fantastic round, Heero," June congratulated.
"He's certainly got a jump on him, Heero," Carl stated and patted the gray neck.
"Thank you," Heero replied and dismounted. He was still uncomfortable with all the praise and didn't think he would ever get used to it. "He was a very good boy."
"Now you just have to go clear on Shini. Can't let the up and coming beat the tried and tested now can we?" Duo teased.
Heero shook his head.
tbc...