Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Equinity ❯ Chapter 17 ( Chapter 17 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Disclaimer: I don't own the G boys, I just borrow them from time to time and return them a whole lot happier, ne?

Rating: NC 17

Warnings: Sap, angst, yaoi, Lemon, AU, OOC

Pairing: 2x1

Summary: Heero is a successful up and coming Showjumping rider with his promising new horse Zero. A fall at a show renders the animal injured and it is up to Duo Maxwell the new vet to treat the horse.

Dedication: To Klingonpoodle who gave me the plot bunny for this fic. *huggles* This one's for you hun!

Many thanks to my beta Yami_Tai.

Archive: http://gundam-wing-diaries.150m.com

http://sweetlysour.net.

http://adultfanfiction.net

http://www.theforsakenwk.com

http://www.templeofthegoddess.com/files/gwyaoi.html

Notes: All the information on showjumping, horses, etc is taken from my own knowledge of the sport having been a competitor and now judge for many years and is written from an Australian perspective. The rules and regulations are courtesy of the E.F.A Handbook. (Equestrian Federation of Australia) Should you have any questions just e-mail me.

Many thanks to Yami_tai for the title! *hugs*

" Equinity "

October 2004 ShenLong

Chapter 17

Three weeks had passed since Heero started working at Fairbrothers. Heero quickly fell into the routine of the office, working Monday to Friday from nine until one. He started out slow, the boss giving him the more boring jobs to begin with, but Heero didn't mind. He gathered that his boss was doing it for two reasons. Firstly to ease him into the company and not stress his injury and secondly to see how well he coped. So far Heero had managed quite well and Mr. Fairbrother seemed happy with his work. After leaving his job, Heero would head out to Duo's and help the vet with any afternoon surgery and the evening consults as well as the treatment of Zero.

Zero.

A smile found Heero's lips as he thought about his horse whilst driving through the country lanes on his way back to his cottage. With Duo's patient treatment, Zero was showing good signs of improvement. He was hardly limping at all now and the swelling had just about disappeared. This though, Heero knew was the crucial part. Many riders had make the mistake of thinking that the injury has healed and begin to tone down their treatment of the injured animal and then put the horse back into work only to have the animal completely break down after a week or two. No, it was vital that Zero continue with his treatment until all traces of lameness were gone and then continue for at least another two weeks afterwards. Heero knew he was still looking at roughly two months before he could start to give Zero any sort of work at all, and then it would be very slow and non taxing.

He frowned a little as he drove down the main road that would lead him to his own village. Duo still hadn't given him the account for Zero's treatment and whilst he knew that Duo had said he wouldn't bill him until the horse was sound again, Heero couldn't help but worry a little over how much it would be. Oh, he knew that Duo had no intentions of charging him what he should; he'd already had words with the vet about that, stating that Duo was to charge him the same as he would any other client. Just because they were a couple didn't mean that Heero was about to take advantage of the vet's generous heart. Even if Duo only charged him for the drugs, feed, stabling and costs of the x-rays and nothing for Duo's time, the bill would still be large. Heero guessed from what he knew of Duo's pricing from the work he'd done for the vet that the bill should be towards the higher end of the hundreds by now. He just wished that Duo would give him some indication and then at least Heero could start to pay some of it off. Even with his part time job at Fairbrothers, Heero was beginning to worry about his financial affairs.

He hadn't said anything to Duo about his money, or rather diminishing bank account. With the bills he had to pay the money didn't go far and Heero was getting concerned that he wouldn't be able to pay his vet bill. He pulled into the driveway of his cottage and cut the engine. He tended to spend most of his time at Duo's now, rarely sleeping here in the cottage anymore. It just seemed easier. Most evenings after the consults were finished they would eat dinner together and then collapse exhausted onto the couch for a little bit of a cuddle and watch some television before going to bed. Sometimes the cuddling led to a little petting but so far they hadn't ventured past fondling each other and the occasional, mutual masturbation. Heero was content enough with that. He wouldn't deny that he'd like more; hell, he'd have to be a complete moron not to want Duo in every way possible; but that was up to Duo. Heero wouldn't push the vet into anything he wasn't comfortable with; Duo would let him know when the time was right to take things further.

Heero got out of the car and walked towards the house. His shoulder was healing nicely and the doctor had removed the sling a couple of weeks ago. The strapping was still there, although not as strong as before and he was doing slow exercises with the shoulder that the physiotherapist had given him. So far everything was looking good. The shoulder was losing a lot of the stiffness that had come from it being immobile for so long and he was slowly utilizing his hand again. He put the key into the lock and turned it.

Opening the front door and stepping inside, Heero noticed the piece of paper lying on the floor. He bent to pick it up and scanned the writing. His heart almost stopped and he felt a cold chill spread through his body. He read the words again before walking through the cottage to the kitchen to get himself a drink and analyze the letter. With his glass of cold water in his hand, Heero sat at the kitchen table and read the letter again, unsure at first if he wasn't hallucinating. Having read the paper three times now and the words hadn't changed in any way; Heero knew it wasn't a trick of his eyesight. He put the paper down and rested his head in his hands. //What the fuck was he going to do now?// He looked at the paper again and the words seemed to leap off the page at him.

”Notice of Termination of Lease"

There was no denying it, the paper clearly stated he was hereby given fourteen days in which to vacate the premises. Running his fingers through his bangs, Heero sighed. His rent was usually deducted straight from his bank account and as far as he knew, he'd had enough money in there to cover it. He couldn't understand what had happened, why the landlord would want to terminate the agreement. He was certain that the rent had been deducted when he'd checked his balance a couple of days ago. Another sigh escaped his lips and he scraped the chair back as he stood and went through to the lounge room where his lap top resided. Booting the machine up, he logged onto the Internet and called up his bank account details. When the information finally scrolled up on the screen, Heero felt his blood run cold. His account was in a very sorry looking state.

He checked the past month's incoming and outgoing transactions and soon discovered where his money had disappeared to. Besides the rent, which had come out, there was a debit for insurance, a payment to his credit card and the monthly installment on the loan for the purchase of his horse float. Given the outgoing expenses and what income he had from his part time job, he was falling roughly three hundred dollars short of meeting those expenses each month; and that three hundred dollars had to come from somewhere.

Unfortunately that somewhere was his savings.

Heero growled to himself for being so blind as to not have taken greater notice of his own financial affairs. He was an accountant, dammit! He was supposed to be able to keep track of finances. How the hell could he possibly do a good job on other peoples accounts if he couldn't even balance his own books? He knew he'd been distracted, all the stress and worry over Zero and getting a job, then there was his relationship with Duo as well, but Heero knew he couldn't blame any of that for the sad state of his financial affairs. He'd done this to himself, he had no one else to blame but his own ignorance for not having taken more notice of his monetary situation.

But that wasn't going to solve his problem. He shut down the lap top and picked up the 'phone. He needed to ring the landlord and find out what the hell was going on.

***

Duo pushed back from the computer and rubbed his temples trying to ease the headache that was slowly invading his brain. Grimacing slightly he quickly logged in the last of the information and then shut the machine down. Since Heero had modified the program he found it much easier to use the contraption and having Heero working the reception area of an evening was also a great help. Still, he didn't expect Heero to do all the work so Duo tried to have all the morning client details logged into the thing before he left the surgery for lunch and his afternoon surgery or visits. So far he hadn't done too bad a job, if he did say so himself.

Giving a stretch to his aching shoulders, Duo stood up and exited the surgery, heading back to the house to make lunch. Heero would be here soon and Duo couldn't deny the thrill that passed down his spine with the thought of his boyfriend. Duo had grown accustomed to having Heero around and had to admit that he liked it. It was nice to have someone to share a meal with, discuss the day's activities over a cup of coffee whilst curled up on the lounge chair watching an old movie. The affection that Heero lavished upon him was also welcomed; Duo had never been properly courted before and he adored the way that Heero treated him. Whilst he wasn't treated like a girl, Heero let him know in subtle ways that Duo was cared about, that Heero respected him and his opinions and didn't try to belittle him or put him down in any way. He'd suffered through that before and came to the conclusion that it was his hair that caused the problem. Most men that he'd dated seemed to see him as feminine and therefore submissive; they soon found out though that Duo didn't simply drop his pants and spread his legs because they expected him to. No, those types had quickly found out that Duo was far from submissive.

Duo allowed a smile to grace his lips. Heero hadn't treated him any other way than as an equal and a man. He quickly went out to the paddock to check on Zero, the horse was making a wonderful recovery, much better than Duo had hoped. Still, these next couple of weeks could be crucial. The treatment still had to be continued despite the horse's seemingly 'normal' state. To relax now could prove the undoing of an otherwise complete recovery; and Duo wasn't about to let Heero down. He knew just how much Heero hoped to compete in the higher grades, how his goal was to catch the eye of the selectors and Duo was as equally determined to see Heero's goal come to fruition.

He checked Zero's leg, the bandage remaining off now during the day, and suffered the horse's searching of his person for carrots. His vegetable garden was almost ready to be planted and Duo had no doubt that the first thing he would be planting in it would be carrot seeds. How the hell Heero managed to keep up with the horse's obsession for the orange vegetable was beyond Duo's understanding. He'd never known an animal to love the things so much! If Zero didn't get at least four a day he would sulk. Duo hadn't believed Heero when he'd first told him about the horse's ability to sulk but he'd soon had his eyes opened when they had run out of carrots and Duo hadn't been able to get his order into the feed store before the delivery time cut off.

To see the gray stallion standing in the corner of his stable, head lowered and a sour look on his face had amazed him. What was even funnier was when Heero went into the stable and Zero kept turning away from him, completely ignoring his master. When Zero discovered that Duo didn't have any carrots either the horse had stuck his head in the feed bin and refused to budge. Needless to say, Duo made sure not to run out of carrots again.

"There you go, my son," said Duo softly as he gave Zero the carrot he'd put in his pocket prior to coming out to check the horse. "Nearly all better. Keep this up and you can go back into work in four weeks." Duo idly patted the horse's neck as he spoke.

Zero responded by blowing through his nostrils and looking hopeful.

"Sorry, no more for now," chuckled Duo and giving the horse on last pat he turned to go back to the house, glancing at his watch as he walked. It was nearly one thirty. Duo washed his hands and made himself a toasted sandwich, leaving the items out to make one for Heero when he got back. He'd said he was stopping back at his cottage after work so Duo didn't expect him until after two. Cleaning up from lunch, Duo thought he might as well do some washing as he hadn't anything booked in for surgery that afternoon. He collected the hamper from the bathroom and took it through to the laundry and set it on the floor, sorting through the clothes and popping them into piles. With the clothing sorted he placed a load in the machine and added the soap powder before closing the lid. Pressing the buttons to select the water level, temperature and length of wash, he pressed the start button.

Nothing.

"Huh? Come on, Gertrude," he said to the washing machine, "fill up and get washing."

The machine remained stubbornly silent.

Duo fiddled with the settings, changing them around, turning the switch off and then on again but the machine refused to fill with water. "Fucking heap of shit!" growled Duo as he gave the machine a thump and began to lift the lid. Suddenly the machine gave a grinding sound and the water began to flow through the pipes and into it. Unfortunately Duo had just opened the lid enough and the force of the water as it hit the pile of dirty clothes caused some of the water to shoot back up and hit him square in the face.

The water he could handle.

It was the soap powder that went with it that he objected to.

"Agghhh! Ow! That fucking stings!" he yelled as he dropped the lid to the machine and clutched at his eyes trying to wipe them free of water and soap powder. That wasn't working and so with watering eyes, Duo managed to blink his way back through the house to the bathroom where he bent down over the sink and ran cold water over his burning eyes, flushing the soap powder out. At least five minutes had elapsed before Duo felt he'd gotten all the soap from his eyes and he shut the tap off. Grabbing a towel, he gently wiped at them and then checked for damage in the bathroom mirror.

"And you said that vanity wasn't one of your faults."

Duo blinked and gave a startled look. He stared at the mirror and saw Heero's form, leaning against the door jamb, arms crossed reflected in it. "Uh."

Heero chuckled and uncrossed his arms stepping into the bathroom. "What happened?" He could tell something was wrong, the redness of Duo's eyes was a dead giveaway.

Giving a sheepish smile, Duo turned around to face his boyfriend. "Umm... Minor altercation with Gertrude."

"Gertrude?" /Who the hell was Gertrude?/ Heero thought to himself. He didn't recall Duo having a patient by that name, although it could be one of his patients' owners names but why the red eyes?

"Yeah, Gertrude; the washing machine."

"Your washing machine is called Gertrude?" Heero resisted the temptation to roll his eyes. First it was Nruobbuts for the computer, then Fido for the vacuum cleaner and now Gertrude for the washing machine? If Heero didn't know the vet any better he'd be seriously considering a psyche evaluation for the man

"I was putting a load in to wash but Gertrude didn't want to play ball and wash. I thumped the thing and lifted the lid. Unfortunately she decided to cooperate and began to fill with water."

Heero raised an eyebrow.

"Uh, some of the water spurted back up and kinda got me in the face, along with a dose of washing powder."

Heero couldn't help it. The look on Duo's face as he confessed to being attacked by a washing machine was too cute for words. He broke into laughter.

"That's right, go ahead and laugh at my expense," huffed Duo and pouted.

That only made Heero laugh harder. "You have to admit, Duo, it is funny. You, being attacked by a washing machine." Heero dissolved into another fit of laughter.

Shaking his head, Duo watched as Heero chuckled away. Soon he was joining in with the mirth. When he thought about it, it was kind of amusing.

Getting his laughter under control, Heero finally managed to regain enough breath to speak properly. "Are you all right?"

"I'll live."

Feeling a little annoyed with himself for finding Duo's predicament funny, Heero approached and gently took Duo's face in his hands. "Here, let me see." He studied the vet's eyes carefully, noting the redness there. "Does it still sting?"

"No. I think I managed to flush all of the soap out."

"Looks sore," stated Heero. "Got any eye drops?"

"In the first aid box under the sink."

Heero fetched the first aid kit out and found the drops. "Tilt your head back a little," he said and then proceeded to squeeze the small bottle, depositing two drops into each eye.

Duo blinked as the drops landed and tears began to form, leaking from the corner of his eyes to run down the side of his face.

"They should help," Heero said as he replaced the bottle in the first aid kit and put the kit back under the sink. He turned back to the vet and gently caught the seeping tears with his thumb, brushing them away from Duo's skin. "Want me to kiss it better?"

Duo gave a soft moan.

Heero leaned forward and tilted Duo's head slightly. Gently he pressed his lips to Duo's closed eyelids, first kissing one and then the other eye before trailing down to Duo's lips and kissing them.

"Mmm... My lips weren't hurt," he murmured softly as he wound his arms around Heero's waist.

"Just making sure. Didn't want them to feel left out," replied Heero huskily.

"I think I might need a second course of treatment."

"I agree." Heero swooped in again, taking Duo's lips in a gentle kiss.

When they finally parted Duo was feeling a lot better. He checked his eyes again, the drops really were soothing and despite the redness he felt a lot more comfortable. "Thanks, Heero."

"You're welcome, Duo. Now, would you like me to sort Gertrude out for you?"

"Nah, she's behaving now so I think we leave well enough alone," grinned Duo. "Come on, I'll fix you some lunch and you can tell me all about your morning."

Heero felt his blood run cold again. His morning. He knew he should tell Duo what was going on, but he didn't know how. He followed the swinging braid of hair out to the kitchen.

***

Heero ate the toasted sandwich that Duo made for him and tried to keep the conversation away from his own morning, asking Duo about his instead. The braided vet was only too happy to fill Heero in on the varied patients he'd seen so far today. He had Heero laughing again when he was telling him about Mr. Bradshaw and his dog Toby. Seemed Toby didn't like the vet hospital and being a rather large Rotweiller, he was also a very strong dog.

As Duo described how Toby had high tailed it out the door, dragging a Mr. Bradshaw behind before the man had even had a chance to get into the surgery properly, had the tears running down Heero's face.

"So you didn't even get a chance to find out what was wrong with Toby?"

"Nah, he was pretty much out of there before I could even say hello. I guess I'll be getting a 'phone call to make a home visit if Mr. Bradshaw can't get him back in for evening consults," replied Duo as he sat opposite Heero, chin resting in his hand as he watched his boyfriend eat. Duo could tell there was something on Heero's mind, the man was a little preoccupied. Oh, he was listening to Duo all right, he just wasn't volunteering any information about his own morning which Duo found to be unusual. Filing it away in his mind to ask Heero about later, he left the man to continue eating and went to put the finished washing on the line.

Duo didn't get a chance to talk to Heero until later that afternoon when they were tending to Zero's leg. Duo was rubbing the liniment in whilst Heero stood at the horse's head, feeding the usual carrots to the greedy animal.

"You're awfully quiet this afternoon, Heero. Anything wrong?" Duo began the conversation cautiously.

Heero jolted out of his musings as Duo spoke. "Uh, sorry. Just thinking."

"Want to share?" asked Duo as he straightened up and fetched the bandage.

Heero chewed on his bottom lip for a moment, contemplating if or how he should tell Duo.

"Look, if you'd rather not tell me that's fine. I don't mean to pry," said Duo softly as he bandaged the horse's leg. "I just thought that if you've got a problem or something then it can help to share it, sometimes two heads are better than one when it comes to finding a solution."

"It's okay, Duo,” began Heero softly. "I want to tell you, I'm just not sure how to."

Duo felt as if someone had poured a bucket of cold water over him. It sounded distinctly like Heero wanted to break up with him. Had Heero found someone else? Is that what he was trying to say? That he'd met someone whom he liked better? Or would perhaps offer Heero the sex that Duo couldn't seem to give yet? He sighed as he tied off the bandage. "Heero..." Duo began but wasn't sure how to voice his words.

Heero led the horse out of the crush and into his stable.

"Heero..." Duo tried again. "Look, if you've found someone else and you want to break up with me then that's okay, I understand..."

"What?!" Heero was absolutely stunned. "NO!" Heero spun around and grabbed Duo by the arm. "No! I haven't found anyone else. How could you think that?"

"Well, usually when someone says that they don't know how to tell someone something it usually means that they're breaking up with you." Duo looked positively miserable.

"Oh, Duo." Heero pulled the vet into his arms and held him close. He ran a hand along the vet's back as he nuzzled against Duo's throat. "No, I haven't found anyone else, I don't want anyone else, I only want you, Duo. I'm sorry if I gave you that impression. Duo, I've fallen completely in love with you, you're the only person I've ever cared about like this."

Duo felt his heart swell and tears find his eyes. Heero loved him? If that was the case then what the hell was it that Heero was having trouble telling him? "Are you going to tell me what's wrong then or am I going to have to torture you?"

Heero drew in a shaky breath and pulled back a little from the embrace. He lowered his eyes and began to speak, deciding the best thing to do would be to just come out and say it. "I have to find somewhere to live. My landlord has given me fourteen days to move out."

Of all the things that Duo had expected Heero to say, this wasn't one of them. "Why?" he blurted out before he'd had a chance to organize his thoughts.

"He's selling the property." Heero had called the landlord and spoken with him in depth as to the notice of termination. The landlord had been sympathetic but as he'd told Heero, his age was going against him and he wanted to move into a retirement village.

"What for? I thought you had a long lease on the place," stated Duo.

"So did I," replied Heero dryly.

"Come back up to the house, Heero. I think we need to sit down and discuss this properly and the stables aren't the place to do it." Duo gently led Heero back to the house and settled him on the couch. Sitting down next to him, Duo took Heero's hand in his own and stroked his thumb over the back of it. "Okay, now start at the beginning and tell me what's going on."

"When I stopped by the cottage today on my way home there was a `Termination of Lease' paper waiting for me. At first I thought it was a joke, then I thought that maybe my rent was in arrears but I checked my bank account and it's been paid. I rang the landlord." Heero paused for a moment and looked at Duo. "He's getting on in years and can't cope with the house he's living in anymore. He wants to move into a retirement village but in order to do so, he has to buy one of the units there. Putting it bluntly, he needs to sell the property and his house to be able to afford to move into the retirement village."

"Ah." Now Duo understood a little better.

"That's not all of it though."

"Oh?" Duo quirked an eyebrow.

"I don't have enough money to be able to afford to rent another place with acreage for Zero, not on the wages I'm getting from Fairbrothers. I need to either find another job, sell Zero or move to a small house and agist Zero out, something I can't really afford to do either." Now that he'd admitted the sad state of his financial affairs Heero didn't feel any better.

The implications of what Heero was saying hit Duo like a brick wall. "Your financial situation that bad, hey?" Duo really wasn't intending to pry, it wasn't any of his business what Heero did with his money.

"Let's just say it's been healthier. Some accountant I am, hey? Can't even keep track of my own incomings and outgoings," Heero sighed and dropped his head. What the hell must Duo think of him now?

Duo sat in silence for a while, contemplating what Heero had just said. He already knew what he was going to do; the problem was going to be getting Heero to accept his proposal. Duo thought about how best to put his proposition to Heero without the other man being offended or thinking that Duo was offering him charity. Finally making up his mind, Duo spoke.

"Heero, I've been thinking. Now, before you object or say anything at all, hear me out, please."

Heero frowned but nodded anyway. He had a rough idea of what Duo was going to say but he could at least extend the courtesy of hearing the vet out before he voiced his opposition. "Okay," he said softly.

"There isn't much you can do about the rent situation, if the landlord wants to sell the place then other than putting in an offer for it yourself there isn't any other option but to move. Now, you're already spending most of your time here at my place and I have the spare bedroom there so why don't you move in permanently? There's the stable block and paddocks out the back so Zero will be okay and he's settled in pretty well already. I'm not too sure about your furniture though, I don't really have a lot of room but we can work something out in that department later."

Heero was about to object when Duo carried on.

"It really would make more sense, Heero. You will be able to save some money on rent..."

"I won't sponge off you, Duo. You've already done far too much for me as it is," Heero protested.

"I wasn't suggesting anything of the sort, Heero. What I was going to say was the work you do for me in the surgery of an evening you flatly refuse to take payment for. Why don't you continue to work with me and instead of me paying you a wage, you work for your board and lodging?"

"You mean you would have me stay here and feed me in return for me working for you in the evenings?"

"That's the general idea. I really need an assistant in the office and you're so good with that damn computer that I think I'd be lost without you. If you do go getting another job or a full time position I'll have to employ someone and pay them so it makes sense to pay you in the form of a place to stay. What do you think?" Duo chewed on his lip as he tried to study Heero's face and get an idea of what the other man was thinking. Heero's face remained blank so he didn't really get much indication at all as to how his proposal had been accepted.

Heero thought about what Duo had said; the words really did make sense, now if only he could persuade his pride to take a back seat. What Duo was offering him wasn't charity, wasn't a hand out. It was nothing more than a business proposition. "Are you sure?"

"I wouldn't have offered if I didn't mean it, Heero." Duo gave his boyfriend a warm smile.

"Okay, I'll accept, but on one condition."

"And what's that?"

"You let me pay for Zero's feed and agistment."

"Feed, yes. Agistment, no."

"Huh?"

"That horse of yours can put away carrots like a plague of rabbits so I don't mind you paying for the feed in the least. The agistment though, no. He's no trouble at all to have here, Heero, and now that your shoulder is nearly healed you're doing most of his stable work anyway. Besides, if he wasn't in the paddock keeping the grass down I'd have to get out there and mow it so it doesn't become a fire hazard so he's doing me a favor by eating it."

Heero chuckled. "I don't know what to say, Duo."

"Just say yes," replied Duo in a breathy tone. "I'd love to have the pair of you here on a permanent basis, Heero." Blue eyes that were misted with tears were suddenly staring at him and Duo felt himself warming all over. He leaned in close, pausing with his lips scant millimeters from Heero's. "I love you too, Heero," he breathed and then took the accountant's lips in a passionate kiss.

When they broke apart for air, Heero couldn't believe how tight his chest and throat felt. Never in all his days had he come across a person quite like Duo. He studied the vet's face intently, reading nothing but sincerity there. "Yes," he whispered softly and kissed the vet's lips this time. "Yes, Duo, I'd love to move in."

"Good. I'm glad that's settled then. Now, when do you want to start moving your stuff over?"

Heero smiled. Trust Duo to be the efficient one and start organizing him straight away. As Duo continued to chatter idly about moving Heero's things so Heero's mind wandered to how much his life had altered in the past few weeks. He wouldn't have changed any of it.

~ * ~

tbc......