Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Going For Gold ❯ Chapter 41 ( Chapter 41 )

Disclaimer: I don't own the G boys, I just borrow them 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: www.gundam-wing-diaries.150m.com Anyone else please ask.

 

Betaed by Yami_tai *snugs*

 

Summary: Eighteen months have passed since Heero was advised he was short listed for the Olympic games team. With Zero going well and young Shinigami almost ready to make his showjumping debut, Heero looks set to reach his goal. Life though doesn't always play by the rules.

 

Dedication: To Leslie who gave me the original idea for Equinity.

 

Fic 3 in the Equine Intervention Arc.

 

"Going for Gold"

 

January. 2007 ShenLong

 

 

Chapter 41

 

Despite only having had a couple of hours sleep, Heero's internal alarm clock woke him at six-thirty as usual. He groaned for a moment as his sluggish brain tried desperately to kick start, trying to determine through the fogginess why he was so tired. Then he remembered.

 

Angel had foaled.

 

A happy smile stole over his face as he recalled the previous evening's activities - or rather the early morning ones. He turned his head to find his lover curled against his side, head just shy of Heero's shoulder. Knowing that Duo didn't have to work this morning as Hilde was doing the morning consults, he decided to slip from the bed and leave his lover to sleep.

 

Duo had been just great, not only in his handling of the veterinary side of things, but supporting Heero as well and Heero figured his lover was well overdue for a lie in. He managed to wriggle his way out from the bedclothes without disturbing Duo and quickly reached for a pair of jeans. Tugging them over his hips, he snatched a T-shirt from the chair where he'd tossed it and gave it a quick sniff. It wasn't too ripe so he pulled that over his head. Grabbing a sweater and socks, he stole from the room and headed for the kitchen.

 

Putting the kettle on to boil, Heero looked outside through the kitchen window. It was still raining, the sky heavy with clouds and the dawn having a desperate time trying to break through the dark of night. The kettle whistled, Heero racing to turn it off before it woke Duo. Whilst the tea steeped, he put on his socks and placed his boots by the back door. With the tea made, Heero continued to stare out the window as the sky began to lighten a little.

 

By the time he'd finished his tea, the rain was still coming down and the sky was as light as it was ever going to get. It didn't look like the rain would be letting up any time soon either so Heero decided to keep the horses in the stables for the day.

 

Shoving his feet into his boots, he grabbed his stockman from where it was hanging on the back of the laundry door to dry and put it on. He snagged his Akubra [1] and with everything set, opened the back door to make a mad dash across the yard to the stables.

 

Puddles lay everywhere, splashing against him as he ran for the cover of the stable block. There were far too many of them for him to avoid and despite his measures to stay dry, he ended up a little waterlogged around his shins. Not that it mattered. As soon as the stable door was rolled back, the scent of horse and hay hit his nostrils, the warmth greeting him like a sanctuary and Heero eagerly stepped inside.

 

Hearing his master's approaching footsteps, Zero let fly with a loud neigh, Shinigami joining in a moment later with his own greeting. Scythe gave a soft wuffle as did Angel. Unable to hold his curiosity, Heero headed straight for Angel's stable and not the feed shed as was his usual track in the morning. Reaching Angel's door, he paused and leaned over the top to peer into the stable. He hadn't turned the lights on in the stables so it was still a bit dark, but Heero's eyes soon adjusted and he was able to make out the lump of the foal curled up in the shavings fast asleep. Angel was standing over her baby, keeping a close eye on the youngster whilst she tried to doze a bit herself.

 

With a smile curving his lips, Heero stood and simply drank in the sight - until Shinigami interrupted his quiet moment by announcing loudly, he wanted his breakfast. With a sigh, Heero headed for the feed shed and collected the buckets with the horses' breakfasts in them. He fed Zero first, then Shini, the young stallion earning himself a smack when he tried to push past Heero and get to his food quicker. Scythe got hers next and then Angel.

 

Heero moved carefully in Angel's stable. He didn't want to startle the new mother or the foal, so he kept his movements to a minimum, just placing the feed in the feed bin and retreating to the door to watch.

 

The foal began to wake up. He could hear unfamiliar noises, the grunts of other horses and then the scent of a human. His eyes opened and he looked around himself. His mother stood just to the side, face buried in something. He could smell her scent and detected peace coming from her. Then his nostrils quivered as he caught the scent of the human from before and he turned his head. He spotted the two legged creature watching him and his nerve gave out. He managed to get to his feet and ducked around the side of his mother with a small whinny of fear.

 

Chuckling softly, Heero watched the display. At least the little fellow was a lot stronger on those legs now. A pair of eyes peered at him from behind the safety of Angel's hind legs and Heero couldn't help the grin. “Hey, little fellow,” he murmured softly.

 

Startled, the foal jumped back and hid again. Angel removed her head from the feed bin and gave a deep rumble from her chest, reassuring the foal that everything was okay.

 

Still unsure, the foal ducked his head underneath his mother's flank and found the teat. The warm milk soon soothed his fears away.

 

With both mother and foal occupied, Hero moved slowly around the stable, keeping to the outside wall and got himself into a better position to observe the new addition. The foal watched from a wary eye as he continued to suckle. When Heero made no attempt to approach him, he concentrated more on getting his stomach filled.

 

Able to see the foal in a much better light now, Heero ran his expert eye over the small form. He was pleased to note the long, sloping shoulder, short back and compact hindquarters. What he could see of the head, the foal had a large eye, short, tapering muzzle and good throat area.

 

“How is Junior this morning?”

 

The foal jerked at the sudden voice, Heero mimicking his action and almost falling over into the shavings. “Shit! Duo, don't scare me like that!” Heero growled softly and recovering his balance, headed for the stable door and his lover who was watching with an amused smile on his face.

 

“Sorry. I thought you would have heard me coming in.”

 

“Not with that rain pounding on the roof,” replied Heero as he stepped outside the stable to greet his lover warmly.

 

“Ah, forgot about that,” said Duo with a sheepish smile and then moaned as Heero kissed him.

 

“Why are you up so early?”

 

Duo shrugged. “I missed my huggy toy.”

 

“Huggy toy?”

 

“Yeah. I woke up and the bed was cold 'cause you weren't in it.”

 

Heero gave his lover a look of disbelief. “You had such a late night I didn't want to disturb you. I thought I'd sneak out and feed the nags and leave you to have a long lie in. You deserve one after all your efforts last night.”

 

“Awww, Heero. You're so sweet at times.” Duo gave his lover a sweet kiss. “Thanks for thinking of me, but a lie in is much better when I have you there to snuggle into.”

 

Heero felt his face heat a little with those words.

 

“How is Junior this morning?” Duo repeated his question from earlier.

 

“He's doing fine, from what I can tell. He's much stronger on his legs.”

 

“Good. I see he's located the milk bar without any trouble.”

 

“Oh, yes. He's got no problems at all when it comes to filling his stomach.” The pair gazed at the foal, head underneath Angel's flank and sucking enthusiastically. His little tail swished from side to side and occasionally he gave a stamp of a tiny hoof.

 

“What do you think of him overall?” Duo questioned. Whilst he had a basic idea of conformation and what made up a good horse, he was by no means an expert or even in Heero's league.

 

“He's good,” replied Heero. “Got a nice shoulder, compact body and really good hindquarters on him. In some respects, he's a little better put together than Shini.”

 

“Better not let Shini hear you say that,” Duo snickered.

 

Heero grunted. “I'll be interested to see what his personality is like; and his temperament.”

 

“Both Angel and Zero are kind natured, so by the laws of averages, he should be too.”

 

“I know. But look at Shini. Scythe's a sweet natured mare and yet Shini can be a little swine at times,” Heero replied.

 

“Ah, he's not so bad. He's not vicious, just a little playful.”

 

“Yeah, he is.”

 

“Although Trowa would probably disagree,” Duo mused.

 

Heero laughed. “Trowa's too soft with them and Shini figured that out pretty quick. Horses aren't dumb, if anything they're a lot smarter than some humans and they will take advantage when possible. Shini knows Trowa lacks handling experience with horses and he pushes to see how far he can go and what he can get away with. If he were truly vicious, he would have hurt Trowa by now. Although, if that were the case, I wouldn't let anyone handle him.”

 

“I know,” Duo replied and wrapped his arms around Heero. “Thought of any names for him yet? We can't keep calling him Junior or 'the foal'.”

 

Heero thought long and hard, staring at the foal. “Let's see,” he mused. “Zero for the father...”

 

“Angel Wings is his mother,” added Duo helpfully.

 

Heero gave him a glare. “I know who his mother is.”

 

“Don't forget his grandparents; Peacemillion and Feather. Ummm, I'd add Zero's parents too if I knew their names.”

 

Shaking his head, Heero gave a snort.

 

“Hmmm... What about Angel Feathers? Peace Angel? Zero Angels?”

 

“Baka!”

 

“Zero Feathers?” Duo began to snicker.

 

“Sounds like you're talking about a bald bird,” Heero sniggered.

 

“What about Zero Peace? Once you get him going in the ring no one will have any peace,” Duo laughed.

 

“Might as well call him Zero Wings and be done with it,” Heero snorted.

 

“Nah, you call him that and he'll never fly over anything,” chuckled Duo. “Ohhh...”

 

“What?” Heero stopped his own snickering as Duo's face changed to a thoughtful look.

 

“Try reversing that, Heero.”

 

“What? Zero Wings?”

 

“Yeah.”“Wings Zero?”

 

“Drop the 's'.”

 

“Wing Zero?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

Heero pondered the name for a moment. “Wing Zero. Does have a nice ring to it and it rolls off the tongue easily.”

 

“I like it,” said Duo. “Sort of like carrying on his father's legacy, flying over stuff and all that shit.”

 

“I like it too. Okay, Wing Zero it is. We can call him Wing for short.”

 

* * *

 

With the rain still pounding down, Heero decided to give Treize a call and let his boss know he wouldn't be coming into work that day. The weather was part of the factor, Wing, the other.

 

Treize agreed regarding the weather. It was far too wet to work the horses, besides, it would be dangerous too given the condition of the ground in the schooling paddocks. Treize didn't have enough funds to build an undercover or indoor work area yet. It was in his plans to do so and then the horses could be worked regardless of weather conditions, but as yet, his finances weren't quite up to it.

 

When Treize heard about the new foal, he bombarded Heero with many questions, Heero answering them all as best he could. Promising to call around later that afternoon when Zechs had finished work to take a look at the new addition, Treize hung up. Heero replaced the receiver and mused over his boss. However, daydreaming wasn't on his current list of things to do, and he once again lifted the receiver to dial the number for the Barton Animal Shelter to let Trowa know he had another addition to the family that Trowa was welcome to handle whenever he liked.

 

“Barton Animal Refuge. How can I help you?”

 

“Hey, Trowa, it's Heero.”

 

“Heero, good to hear your voice. What's up?”

 

“I just called to let you know that Angel had her foal early hours this morning.”

 

“Heero! That's great news. What is it? What color? How's Angel?” The questions flowed from Trowa's mouth and down the line.

 

“Hold on a second, Trowa,” Heero laughed. “Angel is fine, no trouble with the birth. It's another colt and he's a dapple gray.”

 

There was a short silence on the other end of the line.

 

“Trowa? You still there?”

 

“Ah, yes, I'm still here.”

 

“Is everything okay?”

 

“Fine, Heero. Umm... Heero?”

 

“Hai?”

 

“No offense or anything, but, well, please don't ask me to handle him.” Trowa's voice was just above a whisper and held a touch of uncertainty to it.

 

Heero couldn't help it, the laughter exploded from him with Trowa's words. Once he'd managed to calm himself enough to talk, he addressed Trowa's concerns. “Don't worry, Trowa. He's a just a little thing right now and not capable of doing anyone any harm.”

 

“They all grow up to have teeth,” Trowa deadpanned. “Big, white teeth that bite.”

 

“I've said it before, Trowa. Shinigami's a big baby, you're just not firm enough with him, that's all.”

 

“Baby?!” Trowa snorted. “I've got news for you, Heero. That animal has a distinct dislike for me and love of sinking his teeth into anything fleshy; usually my arm. I thought horses were supposed to be herbivores.”

 

“They are, Trowa. They don't eat meat.”

 

“Could have fooled me,” Trowa muttered. “Tell that to the rabid equine. Somehow I don't think he read the same book.”

 

“Look, if it makes you feel any better I promise I won't ask you to handle him at all.”

 

“Thank you,” Trowa replied with as much dignity as he could.

 

“Would you pass on the news to Quatre, please?”

 

“I'll do that. Would it be okay for us to call around later on to have a look at the new baby? Knowing Quatre, he'll want to come over as soon as he hears the news.”

 

“You're both welcome any time,” Heero replied.

 

“Okay. We will see you later on then. Bye.”

 

“Bye, Trowa.” Heero replaced the phone in its cradle and wandered through to the kitchen where Duo was just finishing up making their breakfast.

 

Seeing Heero, Duo gave a cheery smile and set the two plates on the table. “Grub's up,” he announced.

 

“Arigato,” Heero replied and took his place, Duo flopping down opposite him.

 

“Make all your calls?” Duo asked as he reached for the salt and shook a little over his eggs.

 

“Yes. Treize and Zechs will call around later once Zechs' finished work. Trowa said he would let Quatre know and they would probably be around this afternoon some time too.”

 

“Okay. I'll pop up to the surgery after breakfast and let Hilde and Catherine know. I'll bet they will both want to come down to the stables straight away and see the new baby. You know what women are like.”

 

Heero huffed and rolled his eyes. “Doesn't matter what baby it is, human or animal, for some reason I will never be able to fathom out, women always go soft when it comes to a baby.”

 

“I'm with you there,” Duo snickered.

 

They ate the rest of their meal in companionable silence, each lost in their own thoughts. Once breakfast was finished and the dishes done, Heero went to give Zoe a call and let her know of Angel's foaling and to see how Periwinkle was getting on with her pregnancy. Duo headed for the surgery to fill the other female population in on the new addition.

 

Heero thought he had the better end of the deal.

 

So did Duo.

 

Hilde and Catherine were overjoyed at the news and predictably went into 'mother' mode. Both insisted on going down to the stables to have a look at the foal, Duo persuading them to wait until Heero had finished with his phone call first.

 

With the call out of the way, Heero met the three in the kitchen and pulling on his boots, splashed his way from the house to the stables. The rain had eased a little, but was still coming down at a fairly steady rate.

 

“If it doesn't stop raining soon you'll need a row boat to get from the house to the stables and paddocks,” Hilde muttered as she sloshed her way along.

 

“Might be an idea to get in some scuba gear,” Catherine mused, latching on to the teasing Hilde had started.

 

“Floaties might be a good investment. Either that or maybe you could be breeding a new type of sea horse,” Hilde snickered.

 

Heero did his best to ignore the teasing, Duo found himself laughing at the mental picture of Zero, Scythe, Shini, Angel and the new foal all wearing rubber masks, snorkels and flippers.

 

Once they arrived at the stables, the teasing stopped as both women went into full blown mother mode, cooing sweetly over the baby. Heero rolled his eyes, Duo snickered.

 

“He's so cute. Just look at his bushy tail.”

 

“What lovely eyes he has, and such a nice color.”

 

Wing gazed back at the humans hanging over the stable door. He couldn't sense any reason to fear them and his mother seemed perfectly okay with them, even going over to the door to accept food from them. Wing still wasn't too sure and stayed at his mother's tail, using it to hide behind when he felt threatened.

 

Having spent a good fifteen minutes admiring the foal, the women reluctantly left the stables to return to the surgery and the morning consults. Heero decided to stay a while in the stables and clean them all out. With the horses all confined to their respective stables there was quite a bit of extra work to be done. Duo followed the women and split off to the house to catch up on some laundry, hoping that Daisy the dryer would be in a cooperative mood.

 

* * *

 

That afternoon the rain eased off quite a bit and Heero was able to put Shini, Scythe and Zero out for a couple of hours in the paddocks. Angel didn't like being left in the stables by herself and let her annoyance be known - loudly. She neighed and called for the other horses until Heero thought he would go deaf. In the end he decided to hell with it all and he put Angel and the new foal out into the yard he'd built for Zero when he was recovering from his fractured leg. The yard was close enough to the stables that he could keep an eye on the pair, yet big enough for them to get some exercise.

 

It also shut Angel up as she could see and smell the other horses.

 

Wing was a little hesitant at first to leave the stable, but once his mother's tail disappeared from his sight, he was quick to follow. With a bellowing neigh, he shot out the stable, calling continuously for his mother. Angel answered him with a low whinny and Wing decided it was far safer to stay by her side. He baulked again when he spotted the entry to the yard, but his mother walked through calmly enough and Wing didn't want to be left without his mother so he had no choice but to follow.

 

Once both mare and foal were safely in the yard, Heero closed the gate and watched for a moment, just to be sure they were going to be okay. Angel walked around for a minute, sniffing the ground and smelling the lingering scent of Zero. It had been some time since Zero had been in the yard and the grass had grown back quite a bit so there was something for her to nibble at. There were also a lot of puddles on the ground.

 

Wing seemed fascinated with his new surroundings and once he was sure his mother wasn't going to disappear on him, he began to check things out. He walked over to the strong rails and sniffed cautiously at them. When they didn't show any signs of attacking him, he grew a little bolder and pushed his nose against them. The rails stood firm. Realizing these things weren't about to move, Wing quickly lost interest and hunted around for something else to check out.

 

Seeing his mother with her head to the ground and munching on the grass, Wing began to wonder what this stuff was that had his mother so interested. He lowered his head and mimicked what Angel as doing. There was only one problem - he didn't have any teeth to bite the grass. He snorted and then tried again, this time he managed to sink his gums into a particularly soft, wet patch of grass and pulled hard. With the amount of rain that had fallen, the ground was pretty wet and the soil surrounding the grass gave way. Wing found himself with a mouthful of wet, soggy grass and a lot of sand to go with it. With look of disgust, he quickly spat the offending stuff from his mouth.

 

Watching from the gate, Heero couldn't help but laugh.

 

Wing needed to get rid of the gritty sand still in his mouth but despite rubbing his muzzle against his leg and poking his tongue out, the gritty stuff remained.

 

“What on earth is he doing?”

 

The voice caused Heero to jump and he quickly turned around to find Quatre and Trowa standing just behind him.

 

“Sorry, didn't mean to startle you. I thought you would have heard us approaching,” apologized Quatre as he moved to stand beside Heero and lean on the rail to watch the foal.

 

“That's okay,” replied Heero. “He's got himself a mouth full of sand when he tried to eat some grass,” Heero continued, answering the blonde's question.

 

“I didn't think he could eat grass this young.”

 

“He can't, he doesn't have any teeth yet. He thought he'd try and pulled up a great clump of grass and sand.”

 

Trowa began to laugh. “Maybe that will teach him.”

 

“At least you will be safe for a while,” commented Heero with an amused smile.

 

Quatre snickered. “Yeah, without any teeth, he can't bite you.”

 

Deciding to ignore the pair, Trowa turned his attention back to the foal that had managed to get rid of the sand and was now intent on investigating one of the many puddles in the yard. “Now what's he up to?”

 

Wing had discovered a puddle and was studying it intently. He could see his reflection in it and dropped his muzzle a little closer to try and sniff this other foal. His muzzle touched the surface of the water and instantly, Wing recoiled, shaking his tiny head.

 

The three men watching all began to laugh.

 

Wing tried again, a little miffed at what had happened and determined to show this other foal just who was boss. He stretched his head forward again and snorted. Ripples shot across the puddle and some drops burst upwards as the foal's breath hit the surface. Again Wing jumped back.

 

“Quite an amusing fellow.”

 

“Treize! Zechs! Good of you to come,” said Heero as he spun around at hearing his boss' voice.

 

“So this is the result of the last eleven months and a crash course in horse mating?” teased Zechs.

 

Blushing, Heero turned away for a moment, just in time to see Wing stamp his hoof in displeasure at his reflection. Only thing was, Wing stamped his hoof right in the middle of the puddle. Water sprayed everywhere, coating the foal in a shower of droplets. With a squeal, Wing shot back to his mother's side and ducked his head underneath her flank, looking for the udder and reassuring milk that was there.

 

“He's a fine foal from what I can tell,” said Treize in an attempt to ease the rider's obvious discomfort.

 

“I'm pleased with him,” replied Heero. “Would you mind taking a closer look and give me your honest opinion on him, please?”

 

“I'd be honored,” Treize replied.

 

Heero opened the gate and the four men followed him into the yard. All were careful to stay a little away from mother and son, letting Heero and Treize get a bit closer for Treize to fully appraise the foal.

 

Running a critical eye over the baby, Treize noted every detail and made mental notes. Behind him, Zechs was doing a similar thing. Quatre was simply in awe of the baby, whilst Trowa was still nursing his injured pride. Wing was too busy sucking away to pay much attention, but he did keep one eye on the humans, ready to bolt if he needed to.

 

After studying the new foal, Treize stepped back with a thoughtful look on his face.

 

“So, what's the verdict?” Heero prompted.

 

“He's got some lovely lines to him, Heero. A good shoulder and a nice, short back. His hind quarters are just perfect for jumping.”

 

“How do you figure that?” Quatre asked. “I'm just curious to know as I've not had a lot to do with conformation of a horse and I'd like to know exactly what you mean.”

 

“I'll try to put it in simple terms for you,” smiled Treize. “His shoulder blade slopes towards the ground on a good forty-five degree angle which means a long reach with his front legs. A short back means he will have strong muscles there to carry a rider easily. As for the hindquarters, essentially they are the 'motor' of the horse; they are what drives the animal forward and of course, enable him to jump. He has loads of area there for good muscle development and again his bone structure gives a good angle which in turn means better flexibility.”

 

“Thank you. I think I understand a little better now,” Quatre replied and made a mental note to ask either Heero or Duo to show him some pictures of a horse's anatomy to make the explanation just that little bit clearer.

 

“Does he have a name yet?” Trowa asked.

 

“Yes. Duo and I decided on a name for him earlier today,” replied Heero.

 

“And that would be?” Zechs prompted with an amused smile.

 

“Wing Zero.”

 

“Interesting choice,” mused Treize.

 

“Well, congratulations again, Heero. He's a lovely foal,” said Zechs. “Now, if you will all excuse me, I'm going to find Duo and talk 'shop'.” With those words said, Zechs departed to find Duo and discuss the foal's birth. The remaining four continued to discuss the foal and the future Heero had planned for him.

 

~ * ~

 

tbc...

 

 

[1] Akubra: This is an Australian type of hat worn by all different walks of life and has become synonymous with the Australian Outback. For more information on this Aussie icon visit here: http://www.akubra.com.au/