Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Time, Fault and Out ❯ Chapter 4 ( Chapter 4 )

Disclaimer: I don't own the G'boys, I just borrow them from time to time to play with and return them a whole lot happier, ne? Written for pleasure not profit.

 

Rating: NC 17

 

 

Pairings: 1x2x1, 3x4

 

Warnings: AU, OOC, Lemon, Yaoi, Angst, Fluff, Sap, Vet themes.

 

Summary: Set 2 years after Equinity. Heero is now riding for the Kushrenada stable as well as attempting to qualify Zero for the Nations Cup team and ultimately his dream of riding at the Olympic games. But life is never an easy ride.

 

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.

 

Fic 2 in the "Equine Intervention" Arc.

 

Dedication: To Klingonpoodle who gave me the plot bunny for the first fic and has since supplied my muse with its own plot bunny farm, and to 'Teddy Bear' my own courageous little showjumper whom Zero is based upon.

 

"Time, Fault and Out"

 

November. 2005 ShenLong

 

Chapter 4

 

Despite his exhausted state, Duo spent a fairly sleepless night. He got up four times to check the monitoring system he had set up between the house and the surgery, checking that Blackie was okay. The cat was still sleeping, partially due to the anesthetic still in its system and partially due to nature. Duo wished he could catch a few z's himself. When the alarm clock finally went off, Duo dragged himself out of the bed, much to Heero's surprise.

 

"You didn't sleep too well," said Heero softly as he took in Duo's disheveled and tired appearance.

 

"I was worried about Blackie. Sorry if I disturbed you."

 

"You didn't; but you should have," responded Heero as he brushed his lips over Duo's in a morning kiss.

 

"No sense in both of us losing sleep." Duo kissed back and then moved to the dresser to fetch clean clothes.

 

"What happened? Blackie okay?" Heero pulled on a pair of well worn sweats.

 

"The monitors showed nothing unusual but I won't be completely satisfied until I check him out properly."

 

"I'll come with you."

 

Duo smiled.

 

***

 

Duo gently pressed the stethoscope against the cat's chest, pleased when he heard the steady heart beat. He checked the casts on the back legs and then moved to the head. Blackie was starting to wake up and Duo stroked the animal's soft fur. "Hey, puss. How you doing?" The cat lifted its head a little and opened its mouth. A rather rusty meow was Duo's answer and the vet's eyes lit up, a wide grin plastered itself to his face as he turned to face Heero. "That's great," he said excitedly.

 

"I take it that Blackie is out of danger?" asked Heero as he watched his boyfriend at work.

 

"Strong heart beat, regular breathing and the temperature is just about normal. Face is swollen but that's to be expected. The best thing though, his jaw is working properly." Duo's face clearly showed the vet's relief.

 

"Good. I knew you wouldn't let the cat down." Heero wrapped his arms around Duo's waist and hugged his lover. "I'd better go put the horses out and feed them."

 

"Yeah. I'll go give Mrs. Marx a call and let her know how Blackie is doing. He's still got a long way to go and we're not completely out of the woods yet, but we are definitely headed in the right direction." Duo stroked over the cat's back and was rewarded with a rumbling purr.

 

Heero released his lover and went to complete his morning chores, Duo disappeared into the reception area to make his 'phone call.

 

***

 

During the course of the morning consults, Duo was constantly interrupted by the ringing of the 'phone. Usually he would field a few calls but for some reason he took more than usual today. He found it slightly irritating to say the least and on more than one occasion had left the answering machine to take the calls for him. Once the last client had passed through the door, Duo locked it and turned the sign around to 'closed' with a relieved sigh. Walking back into the reception area he began the task of returning the calls he'd missed.

 

With the calls dealt with, Duo eyed the computer. "Right, Nrobbuts, it's just you and me," he muttered as he booted up the computer and faced off with the innocent looking screen. Half an hour later, Duo hit the enter button and then stared in disbelief at the machine. "I don't believe it. I don't fucking believe it!" he cried out as a wide grin spread over his face.

 

"What don't you believe?"

 

"Shit! Hilde, don't do that, you nearly gave me a heart attack!" Duo spun around in the chair, his heart racing as he faced the other vet who smiled at him.

 

"Sorry," said Hilde as she pushed off the door frame. "What are you disbelieving now?" she asked as she walked over.

 

"This," said Duo as he gestured to the computer.

 

Hilde stopped and looked at the computer. "Well, bugger me."

 

"No thanks, I've got Heero."

 

Hilde gave her boss a condescending look. Duo threw his hands up in the air in surrender, a wide grin on his face and mischief in his eyes. "You offered," he said with a smirk.

 

"What did you do?" she asked as she returned her attention to the computer and ignored the comment.

 

"Dunno. I just followed the instructions again, like I always do, but for some reason it all worked." Duo positively beamed as he looked at the computer screen and the data all neatly displayed on it. For once he'd managed to input all the client files and morning's work onto the data base and not lost a thing. It was all there in black and white. Duo felt like cheering.

 

Hilde looked amazed, although she'd never been able to understand why Duo had so many problems with the thing in the first place. The man was a brilliant vet but for some reason he couldn't seem to get the hang of simple electronics.

 

"I feel like I could kiss it," said Duo, his face smug with success at last.

 

"I wouldn't recommend it, you might fry its circuits," snorted Hilde.

 

Duo laughed.

 

"I expect you to be able to repeat this from now on, you know."

 

Duo's face fell and he abruptly changed the subject. "I need to check on Blackie, you coming?"

 

Hilde snickered as she followed her boss to the kennels.

 

***

 

Heero's arms ached, his fingers were sore and despite the gloves he wore he knew he had blisters forming. "Take it easy, you idiot," he growled softly to the horse beneath him. Taurus bucked and fought for his head. Heero sat down hard in his saddle and used his seat and legs to drive the animal together. He held a firm contact with the animal's mouth as he guided the horse to the start of the small jumping course.

 

Seeing the first jump looming ahead of them, Taurus began to pull harder, fighting for his head and eager to jump. Heero held him in check until the last possible moment and then let the reins slip a little through his fingers as he followed the forward movement of the horse with his body. Taurus bounded forth and leapt over the jump with inches to spare. Landing on the other side, the horse was frustrated to find his rider preventing his planned surge forward and so instead of galloping away to the next fence he was forced to slow his pace.

 

"No you don't, you swine," muttered Heero as he took up a firmer contact with his reins and slowed the animal's pace. "Steady, boy. Take it easy, this isn't competition yet, you know." Heero brought the horse around and set him up for the second fence. The second obstacle was cleared in much the same fashion as the first and Heero was once again tested to his limits in bringing the horse back under control before lining up the third fence.

 

The war between horse and rider continued over the next two fences, Heero determined to keep Taurus at a steady pace while the horse was equally determined to fight for its head and tackle the jumps in its own way. The double loomed before them, Heero concentrating hard on bringing Taurus in on the correct stride. There were only two strides in-between the two fences so it was important that Taurus take off and land correctly over the first element if he was to have any chance of clearing the second element.

 

They took off over the first part, landed safely and within two strides, Taurus was propelling himself through the air over the second element. Heero was hard pressed to stay with him, the huge leap the horse put in over the second obstacle almost unseated him. Realizing his rider was slightly off balance, Taurus snatched the reins and made a dash for the next fence. Unable to do much other than try to rebalance himself, Heero pushed his weight back into the saddle and then attempted to bring the horse back under control; no easy task when Taurus was determined to fight for his freedom.

 

Being left with no alternative, Heero crossed his reins over the horse's neck, forming a 'bridge' with them and then proceeded to work that 'bridge' down the animal's neck. It was an old trick that riders used with a horse that pulled. Jockeys tended to use it the most when riding the racehorses to the starting gate but it came in very handy in the other equestrian sectors. With the 'bridge' working its way down the horse's neck the animal was in effect fighting against itself. The further down the neck the bridged reins went the more the pressure was applied to the bit in the horse's mouth. The horse would have no choice but to flex its jaw and yield to the pressure, bringing its head lower and back towards the chest, thus slowing the pace.

 

Taurus soon found this out as the pressure increased in his mouth and he was forced to lower his head. He still fought though, stubbornly refusing to give in, even when his lower jaw was practically buried in his chest. Eventually he slowed and finally came to a walk, only then did Heero relax the reins and allow the horse to stretch out.

 

"I think that will be more than enough for you today," said Heero as he walked the animal around, cooling him off before taking him back to the stables. "You're a silly thing. You have lots of potential if only you would listen," Heero continued, speaking to the horse in a soothing manner. "Keep going the way you are and you'll never make it in the ring."

 

Taurus cocked back an ear and jogged a few steps. Suddenly he threw up his head and gave a snort. Heero looked over to the gate where Treize was leading Tall Geese through, the ever present shadow, Short Duck, following right behind them. The mini pony found himself a patch of grass he seemed to like and planted himself there. There was no fear of him getting in the way while the horses were being worked, he simply grazed his way around the outside of the paddock. As long as he could see or smell his companion, he didn't care about anything else and would keep his muzzle buried in the grass.

 

Heero nicknamed him the 'Lawnmower on legs' much to Treize's amusement.

 

Having cooled off Taurus, Heero took him back to the stables and handed him over to one of the grooms to untack and brush down. Sandrock was waiting for him so Heero took a moment to grab a drink of water before mounting up and heading back out to the schooling paddock again. Sandrock and Taurus were the two horses Treize had given to him to school and bring on, hopefully taking them through the various grades until they reached International standard. The show season would be starting soon and Heero was looking forward to it. Both Taurus and Sandrock would be starting off in the D grade competitions and if they proved to be as good as Treize and Heero hoped, they should be at B grade by the end of the season. Heero had his doubts about Taurus, the animal was certainly hot headed and needed to calm down a lot more before he could be considered 'good'. Sandrock, on the other hand, was almost the complete opposite. The horse had a wonderful 'jump' on him but was inclined to be a bit on the lazy side. He was what Heero termed an economical jumper, only putting in enough effort to clear the jumps with millimeters to spare.

 

If Taurus could be calmed down enough he would be a formidable force in the speed events; but that would be a long way in the future. Heero sighed softly to himself and began to warm Sandrock up.

 

Treize had finished working Tall Geese and was walking the horse around to cool him off. He took the time to watch Heero and 'Sandy'. The young rider had caught Treize's eye when he'd spotted him and ridden against him a couple of seasons ago. The man had the determination and drive, combined with skill and a natural understanding of his horse to enable him to go to the top of the equestrian ladder. Having done some research on the 'newcomer', Treize discovered enough to know that this was the young man he'd been searching for to take on as a riding student.

 

Treize had a large stable of horses all at various stages of their careers. There were too many for him to work and keep in show condition, not to mention compete on as well, so Treize often had promising young riders working for him. The pupils learnt a great deal from Treize and in return, Treize got his horses schooled and jumped at the shows. As the animals progressed to the higher levels of competition and depending on the current rider's level of skill, Treize would either leave the horse in the rider's care for them to take on further or he would take over the horse himself. Many of his riders tended to leave though once they achieved A grade standard and went out on their own. It didn't bother Treize though as he was always on the look out for more riders with potential.

 

Treize had seen that potential in Heero; and in the horse he rode. Knowing that Heero had done all the work on the gray himself impressed the Olympic rider further, to the point where he knew he could help Heero attain his goal of International competition and benefit with his own string of showjumpers as well.

 

So far all had been working out quite well. Treize watched as Heero began to take Sandrock over some low schooling fences, adjusting the horse's stride where necessary. He was pleased to see the big animal listening and responding. The work Heero had put into the big bay over the past months was certainly paying off, pity the same didn't appear to be happening with Taurus.

 

Treize shook his head as he thought about the unruly chestnut. True, the horse did have a great jump on him with plenty of scope but none of that would be any good if the animal wouldn't obey its rider. Treize was no fool, he could see it was only Heero's skill that had managed to keep the horse together so far; but what would happen if Taurus found himself with a less experienced rider on his back? Treize shoved that thought out of his mind. He had no intentions of selling the horse, he wouldn't even entertain the idea of putting his honest and reliable reputation at risk by selling an unruly animal. No, he'd rather put the horse down than risk having someone hurt. He was prepared though to give the horse a chance. As long as he thought Heero could control him, Treize would let Taurus continue his education.

 

Tall Geese gave a whicker through his nostrils bringing Treize back from his thoughts. He looked down to see Short Duck ambling over and smiled. Urging Tall Geese forwards, Treize rode over to be within shouting distance of Heero and 'Sandy' and proceeded to offer advice.

 

* * *

 

When Heero returned home that afternoon he found Duo humming away to himself as he folded the laundry. Leaving his boots at the back door, Heero wandered through the kitchen and along the hall to the bedroom, following the sounds of the humming until he located his boyfriend. "Hey," he said softly as he entered the bedroom and walked over to place his arms around Duo's waist.

 

Duo turned around in those arms and wrapped his own around Heero's shoulders. Duo tilted his head in invitation and was rewarded with a tender kiss. "How was your day?"

 

"Pretty much the same as usual. What about yours? How's the cat?"

 

Duo feathered kisses along Heero's jaw, taking in the scent of sweat and horse mingled with Heero's own musky, male odor. "Blackie is doing fine and we're hoping to remove the drip tonight."

 

"You seem to be in a really good mood," observed Heero. "What else has happened?"

 

Duo snickered. "Can't keep anything from you, can I?"

 

"No. Now, are you going to tell me or am I going to have to torture it out of you?" Heero pressed a few kisses of his own to Duo's throat and licked along the vet's ear.

 

Shivering with the sensation, Duo moaned softly. "That could all depend on what sort of torture you have in mind."

 

Knowing exactly where his boyfriend's thoughts were going, Heero changed tack and began to tickle Duo instead. Writhing and panting, Duo laughed and did his best to fend off the tickle attack, collapsing into a boneless heap on the bed amongst the socks when Heero finally ceased. "Going to tell me now or do you want more?" Heero's eyes held a certain amount of mischief in them as he loomed over his prone partner.

 

"I give up, I'll tell you," said Duo in-between giggles. Calming himself, Duo sat up. "I finally got Nrobbuts to cooperate."

 

Heero's face changed to a look of shock and then incredulity. "You did?"

 

"Yup. I loaded all the data on there like I usually do and this time the damn machine didn't swallow it but filed it all in the right places. And guess what?"

 

"What?"

 

"It's all still there! I can call it back up onto the screen when I want." Duo gave a lopsided grin.

 

To anyone else it would seem ridiculous to make such a fuss out of a simple thing like loading data onto a computer; but Heero knew this was a major triumph for Duo, who was, to put it simply; computer illiterate. "That's great!" Heero dove in and kissed the vet senseless.

 

Surfacing for air, Duo smirked. "Hopefully I can repeat the performance tomorrow."

 

"I know you can."

 

After a few more minutes of kissing and a little necking, Heero allowed Duo to get up off the bed and gave him a hand to finish folding the laundry and put it away.

 

"You going to be working Zero this afternoon?" Duo asked as he placed the pile of boxers into his drawer.

 

"Yeah. I was going to take him out for a bush ride." Heero turned around and caught the look on Duo's face. "You want to come with me? Scythe could do with some exercise and I haven't got the time to ride them both."

 

"Actually, I was gonna ask if you'd mind if I rode with you and we went for a bush ride."

 

Heero quirked an eyebrow. "Something on your mind?"

 

Lowering his eyes, Duo replied, "Yeah. There's something I've been thinking about all morning and I wanted to run it by you and see what you thought. I'd rather not discuss it here though as we can be interrupted by the 'phone and other shit, I'd rather talk about it where there isn't anyone else, human or electronic, to disturb us."

 

"Sounds serious."

 

"It is in a way. Look, standing here chatting isn't getting things done. Would you mind catching the horses while I change? I'll meet you in the stables in a few and help to saddle up."

 

"Sure." Heero took another kiss. "I'll see you there shortly. Do you want me to let Hilde know we're going for a ride?"

 

"Nah, I'll do that while you get the nags."

 

"Okay." Heero left and went to fetch the horses, his mind puzzling over what it was Duo wanted to discuss. Duo finished off the last of the laundry, slipped on a pair of sweats as he didn't have any jodhpurs, and flatly refused to buy any after declaring them to be completely indecent, then contacted Hilde via the intercom to let her know he was going out for a ride with Heero.

 

* * *

 

The thick canopy of trees offered the pair a measure of shade as they rode along one of the many bridal trails surrounding the village of Salsbury where Duo had set up his veterinary practice. It was late afternoon and the sun was dropping lower in the sky but it was still quite warm. Scythe and Zero walked happily side by side, relaxed and on a loose rein as their riders also relaxed.

 

"What is it you wanted to talk about?" Heero asked as he shooed a fly away.

 

"I've been thinking..."

 

"I gathered that much."

 

"You want to hear this or not?"

 

"Sorry."

 

"As I said, I've been thinking, and contrary to belief, no it didn't cause a major brain melt down."

 

Heero snickered.

 

"The practice."

 

"What about it?" asked Heero.

 

"With most of your time taken up with getting Zero fit and ready for the season, as well as the time you need to spend at Treize's, it isn't fair to ask you to continue to do the accounts and play the role of vet nurse."

 

"I don't mind," Heero interrupted.

 

"I know you don't, Heero, and please don't take this the wrong way, but there are times during consults when I, and I know Hilde does as well, need to have someone manning the reception area or give us a hand with a patient. You can't always be there to do that."

 

Heero thought about Duo's words and knew they were true. He couldn't always be there to help out and if he was honest with himself, he was running himself ragged trying to keep up with it all. "What do you suggest?"

 

Duo gave a small sigh of relief, at least Heero was willing to hear him out. "You know Trowa's sister?"

 

"Catherine?"

 

"Yeah. She was a great help with Blackie and I know she hasn't had any formal training but I'm sure she would be an asset to the practice."

 

"From what Trowa was saying she's at a loose end at the moment with the circus and all being burned down," Heero said as his thoughts turned course to follow where he thought Duo was heading.

 

"My proposition is this," began Duo, deciding it was probably easier to just come out and say it. "I thought of offering Catherine a job as a receptionist and vet assistant. That way she can answer the 'phones, take bookings and be available to help when we need assistance."

 

"You just don't want to have to face Nrobbuts again in case you fail," teased Heero.

 

"Well, there is the matter of logging all the accounts and stuff onto the demon as well," grinned Duo. "What do you think? It would free you up much more to continue with your career."

 

"I think it's a good idea, Duo. Although..."

 

Duo could sense what Heero was about to say and beat him to the punch. "I'd still expect you to check the accounts weekly and monthly as well as do the books for me."

 

Heero breathed a sigh of relief. He'd been hoping Duo wouldn't want to dispense with his services completely. He felt a small twinge of unrest knowing Catherine would be taking over the duties he'd come to think of as his own but he had to be realistic here and Duo needed someone there for the consulting hours for the practice to run efficiently. "I'd be more than happy to continue to do the bookkeeping and keep track of the accounts for you, Duo. I think you should approach Catherine and Trowa with this idea as soon as possible."

 

"You think she will take it up?"

 

"There's only one way to find out, but I'm sure she will be pleased you've asked."

 

"I'll give Trowa a call when we get back and see if Catherine can come over tomorrow for a chat," said Duo as he picked up his reins and urged Scythe into a trot.

 

Following behind on Zero, Heero thought it was a wonderful idea and hoped that Catherine would accept the job offer.

 

~ * ~

 

tbc...