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Equus	By : Deb Category: Gundam Wing/AC > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 2855 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing, it belongs to Bandai, Sotsu and associated parties. I do own the equines though, please do not take them without permission. Written for pleasure not profit.

Chapter List
- 28
- 29
- 30
“Equus”

Chapter 29

The remainder of the week passed quickly for everyone. Wufei and Meiran called around a couple of times to see Nataku and spend time with the mare, getting to know her a little better. Heero was quite happy for the Chinese couple to tend to the bay. Meiran always brought a treat of some sort with her for the mare and would hold her and talk to her whilst Wufei took great pains and delight in brushing her from head to hoof. Combined with the treatment Duo was giving her the mare was making a fast recovery.

Both Heero and Duo were always amazed when Wufei came to visit his horse. It was like you had thrown a switch on the mare. Nataku would leave her grazing and walk eagerly over to the gate as soon as she heard Wufei's footsteps. The Chinese man could do anything with her, but she still remained extremely wary of anyone else.

Heero and Duo were slowly being accepted by her, neither man having done anything to hurt her in any way and she was slowly starting to trust them too. Heero became more and more confident that Nataku would make a full recovery.

Quatre contacted Duo to let him know the court date for Leroy Saunders had been set for the following week. After further investigation, the Inspector had learned that Saunders had owned the dog now called Lucky for a little over eighteen months. Whilst they couldn't prove that Saunders had inflicted any injury on the dog itself, Quatre was fully intending to prosecute him for not having the animal's previous injuries treated properly. Lucky had also been booked in for surgery the following week to re-break and fix her leg.

The two geldings that had been removed from Saunders' property were also coming along well. Zechs was continuing to treat their injuries and Trowa had spent quite a bit of time with both. His naturally quiet demeanor had served him well and the two horses were starting to trust him. Catherine and Zechs gave Duo regular reports on how the horses were coming along.

The cat, which Trowa had dubbed 'Yowzer' due to his persistent howling when in a vehicle, had also settled down a lot. He was starting to fill out with the good food he was getting. Trowa was also careful to spend time with the cat in an attempt to have the cat return to a more domesticated state. So far it was working well and Yowzer was beginning to show signs of affection when gently petted.

With Nataku finally healed in the physical sense, Duo gave her the all clear to resume being ridden. After discussion with Wufei, Heero decided to saddle the mare up and try her out on the Sunday, that way Wufei could be there too and watch how things went.

Heero wasn't expecting miracles, his whole intention was to simply let the mare move around at the various gaits so he could get a 'feel' for her and see exactly what problems he would be dealing with that she had picked up through her rough treatment.

The Sunday was also Duo's day off and he was more than ready to be on hand to 'pick up the pieces' as he put it.

Heero was hoping there wouldn't be any pieces to pick up.

It was with mixed emotions that Heero fetched Nataku from the paddock and into the new stable block to saddle her up. Duo and Wufei were both there to help out if and where necessary. The mare was a little flighty, sensing something different was going on, but not detecting anything to fear.

Wufei took over the task of brushing Nataku while Heero fetched a saddle and bridle for her. The saddle was easily fitted, the bridle needing to be let out a couple of holes before the bit sat snugly in the mare's mouth. Heero was using a plain snaffle bit on the mare, it was the kindest bit in the equine world other than not using one at all and Heero figured it would be gentle on Nataku's mouth and also allow him to feel through the reins what her reactions were going to be.

He recalled Saunders having used a Spanish snaffle bit at the show, which in itself wasn't a harsh bit; it was all in how the rider used the reins. Yes, it was a stronger bit than what Heero planned to use, but in the wrong hands it could also be very cruel.

Nataku played nervously with the bit in her mouth. It wasn't uncomfortable, they never were until the human got on her back and started hauling on it. It felt slightly different to the one she usually had in her mouth, but Nataku had no doubt it could and possibly would hurt her once the human was on her back.

It took a little longer than usual for Heero to saddle up, mainly due to Nataku moving around a bit. Heero had expected this though and didn't chastise the mare, instead he kept his voice soft and encouraged her to stand still, following her all the time with the saddle and eventually getting it on her back and girthed up.

Both Duo and Wufei watched, feeling their respective hearts cracking as they witnessed the mare's attempts to evade being saddled. Whilst neither of them wished to put the mare through any distress, it was unavoidable. She had to learn that she wasn't going to be hurt and the only way to do that was by persisting in what they were doing and making sure they didn't raise their voices or show any form of temper.

Once Nataku was ready, Heero put his helmet on and led the mare out to the schooling paddock. Duo held the gate open for them to pass through, closing it firmly behind them. He checked he had his cell phone with him too, just in case he needed to get assistance from anywhere in a hurry should anything happen.

“It's okay, girl. Nothing bad is going to happen. We're just going to take a bit of a ride around the paddock and see if we can work out what type of education you have and what needs work on,” Heero soothed and petted the bay neck.

The mare was sweating, despite the cool day. She was fully expecting the usual, rough treatment to start as soon as the human got on her back. Her muscles were tense, ears moving back and forth rapidly. Even when Wufei stepped up to her to give her a few reassuring pats, she couldn't help but fret.

With Duo holding her as still as possible, Heero let down the stirrups, put his foot in one and sprang into the saddle as quickly and softly as he could. Pushing his other foot into its stirrup, he gathered the reins and let Duo know he could let go.

Reluctantly Duo released his hold and stepped away to watch with Wufei from the fence.

Settling himself into the saddle, Heero kept his hands light on the reins and waited for Nataku to stand still. The mare was shifting a little underneath him, not quite sure what to do and waiting for the pain that usually accompanied her rider to start. Remaining still for a moment longer, Heero decided he needed to have Nataku walking if she was to start to settle at all. So far he could tell she was tense, waiting for him to jab her in the mouth or dig at her sides with sharp spurs.

Heero had made sure not to wear spurs or even carry a whip. He wanted Nataku to relax and begin to trust him, not fear him or the work that came when being ridden. It saddened him to know that the mare feared her work, he was used to his horses enjoying what they did. Lowering his weight a touch, Heero gently brought his lower leg to the mare's sides and squeezed. His hands were soft, giving the mare rein to enable her to move forward. Hesitantly, Nataku took a step forward.

“Good girl,” Heero encouraged and squeezed again.

This time Nataku began to walk, her mind still puzzled and waiting for the sharp pain she knew would soon be coming to her mouth. She chewed on the bit, trying to get it into her teeth and away from the sensitive corners of her mouth, but she couldn't. The bit had been fitted properly and was sitting in the right place so there was nothing she could do. Tensing, she continued to walk, tossing in a couple of jogging steps.

“Easy, girl. Just walking,” Heero said in his calm voice, lowering his weight and letting his legs move away from her sides so he didn't accidentally give her the aid to move faster. His hands still remained soft on the reins, although he did shorten them a touch, enough to apply a little pressure to Nataku's mouth, but not enough to harm her.

Nataku felt the weight lowering on her back and the gentle pressure to her mouth. She tossed her head but stopped jogging for a moment and began to walk calmly again. As soon as she was walking, the pressure on her mouth was gone. Nataku jogged again, the pressure returned, but it wasn't painful, just constant. She stopped jogging and started to walk again. The pressure immediately went.

This new turn of events had the mare confused. Usually when she started jogging she suffered several hard tugs on the bit in her mouth which cut into the corners of her gums. That was usually followed by a couple of hard kicks to her flanks, the sharp things her rider normally wore cutting into the sensitive flesh. This time there was none of that.

“So far so good,” Duo commented as he watched his lover and the mare.

“I agree, it is good that he is still on Nataku's back,” Wufei replied. “I'm not too sure that I follow what he is trying to do though.”

“I'm not all that clued up myself, Wufei, but I'd hazard a guess he's trying to get her to walk and let her know that she's not going to be hurt if she jogs,” Duo said as he continued to watch.

“I'd say you are right,” came a voice directly behind them followed by a soft caress along Duo's spine.

Duo jumped about six foot into the air with the words and fleeting touch. He whirled around, unsure if he'd felt a hand along his spine or not and frowned when he came face to face with Stefan.

“Sorry if I startled you,” Stefan apologized.

“Make a bit more noise next time,” Duo growled and moved slightly away from Stefan and towards Wufei.

The Chinese man watched the interaction and kept his face neutral. He wasn't sure what was going on, but it seemed as if Duo wasn't all that comfortable with this other man.

“I take it Heero is trying out the new horse?” Stefan said, ignoring Duo's snappiness.

“Obviously,” Duo muttered under his breath and then realized he really should introduce Wufei. “Ah, this is Chang Wufei, Nataku's new owner. Wufei, this is Stefan Graves, he agists his horse with Heero and takes lessons from him,” Duo introduced.

The two men shook hands.

“A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Graves,” Wufei said with a small bow.

“You too, Mr. Chang.” Stefan released the Chinese man's hand and turned his attention back to where Heero was still getting Nataku to walk calmly for him. “It looks to me like Heero will probably need to go right back to basics with her, completely re-educate her. I'd say she will come good though and make a good jumper.”

“Thank you. My wife and I thought so too. We respect Heero's judgment and experience and when he said he thought she had potential, we decided to give her a chance. So far we have not been disappointed.”

“If Heero does go back to basics with her it could be a while before she is ready to compete again,” Stefan warned.

“Heero is well aware of that, as is Wufei,” Duo snipped. “Heero has been riding and training horses for years and he knows just how long it can take to educate a horse from scratch so he would know how long it will take to re-educate one that has had a nasty experience. Don't worry, Heero is a very patient man,” Duo finished.

Stefan gave Duo a lustful look and licked his lips. “So am I,” he murmured.

Duo couldn't help the shiver of revulsion that traveled the length of his spine and he turned his attention away from the other man.

Completely oblivious to the pair, Wufei spoke. “I take it that Heero is trying to show Nataku that she can do what he wants without fear of being harmed?”

“Something along those lines,” Stefan answered, redirecting his attention from Duo to the Chinese man. “Heero will probably be able to explain it in better terms than what I can.”

“Thank you.”

“You're welcome. I think I'll go get Comet and give her a good brush down before I ride her.” With a lick of his lips and a wink at Duo, Stefan turned and left the pair to continue watching Heero and Nataku.

The moment Stefan left, Duo visibly relaxed. Stefan seriously gave him the creeps. Duo made himself a promise that he would talk to Heero that night about his concerns regarding Stefan. He really didn't care if he was overreacting, the guy gave him the willies with his lustful looks and suggestive touches.

“Are you okay?”

Duo blinked and shook his head. “Sorry, Wufei, I was miles away.”

Wufei smiled. “I noticed. Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, everything is fine.”

*

Heero continued to work Nataku for another half an hour. By the time he called a stop to the work, Nataku had started to settle down and walk without jogging. Heero had tried the trot and canter with the mare, just to see what she would do and hadn't been disappointed with his assumptions. The trot had been fast and unbalanced; the canter...

Both Wufei and Duo had thought they were having simultaneous heart attacks when Heero had asked for the canter and promptly got a buck followed by a tearaway gallop. Resisting the urge to pull on the reins, Heero had to figure out how to slow the mare down without causing her any pain as that was what she was running from. A very tricky situation.

Heero remained calm and dropped his weight as deep as he could get it. He collected the reins up a little, applying a steady, even pressure to the mare's mouth, not several hard, yanks as she'd been used to getting, but a light but firm pressure that wouldn't cause pain. Keeping an eye on where the mare was galloping and steering her away from trouble, Heero didn't ask for anything from her other than the steady pressure on the bit to try and slow her speed. His voice was also brought into use, soft words cajoling the bay to 'steady up' and 'slow down'.

“Easy, girl. You don't have to run away, nothing is going to hurt you. Come on, slow it down a little, there's a good girl,” Heero coaxed as he continued with the constant, even pull on the reins. The wind was whipping past him and causing his eyes to sting – Nataku certainly did have a turn of speed on her! It brought another, long buried memory to Heero's mind, a memory of a chestnut gelding that had also galloped wildly with him.

But this was different, he told himself. Taurus had bolted from sheer fright. Nataku was simply trying to run away from cruelty.

The soft words slowly began to seep into Nataku's mind. She'd been expecting to feel the cruel bite of the unforgiving bit against her tender lips and gums, the sharp and painful jabs to her flanks from the spurs and the cursing and yelling in her sensitive ears.

But none of it happened.

Instead, her rider remained calm and still upon her back. She could feel his weight settling against her back muscles, enabling him to stay balanced with her lurching gait, the light resting of his legs against her flanks and nothing more than a steady, constant pressure on her mouth. The noise that came from him was soft and soothing, doing much to calm her frazzled nerves.

Confused by the turn of events, Nataku began to yield to the pressure and slow her mad gallop. The steady pressure to her mouth remained, as did the soothing words. She slowed some more. The pressure eased a touch and so it continued for another full circle of the schooling paddock. As Nataku slowed, Heero eased with his hands until the mare was trotting and then walking again.

“That's better, Nataku. A slow walk is all we want,” Heero praised as the bay came back to hand and settled into a walk. Conscious of his hands and the pressure to Nataku's mouth, Heero kept his hands light, using just enough seat and leg to keep her moving forward and engaging her hindquarters, but not enough to push her out of her natural cadence.

The mare began to relax further, the fear of getting a sharp jab in the mouth receding. Slowly but surely her early lessons from when she'd first been broken in and properly schooled and ridden were starting to come back to her.

Having ridden her around at a walk for a good ten minutes, Heero thought she'd cooled off enough to bring the lesson to a stop. Turning her head, he rode her towards Wufei and Duo. A lowering of his weight, light squeeze of his legs and a soft pressure to the reins brought Nataku to a smooth halt before the two men. Relaxing and releasing the reins, Heero gave the bay neck several pats. “Good girl,” he praised.

“How was she?” Duo asked as his lover and the horse came to a halt. “Well, I mean I know what I saw, but how did she feel? What's you're opinion?”

Heero dismounted before replying and when he did, he made sure to look at both Wufei and Duo. “She did pretty much what I expected. She's frightened of her mouth more than anything.”

Wufei frowned, clearly not understanding. Duo had a little bit of an idea of what Heero meant, but wasn't too sure he was on the right track.

“Do you think you could put that into simple, everyday human speak?” Duo asked with a smile.

“Sorry, I tend to forget at times. Basically, it means she's so used to being jabbed in the mouth and hurt, that she's frightened of the bit. She thinks that every time a rider takes up the contact on the reins that it's going to hurt, thus she tries to run away from that pain.”

“I follow what you're saying, Heero. Can she be trained out of that?” Wufei questioned.

“Hai, I'm sure she can. All I was doing today was getting an idea of what she knows, what she doesn't know and exactly what it is she's afraid of. Now I know all that, I can start to work with her to get her to overcome those fears and begin to trust her rider again.”

“Then she is worth persevering with?” Wufei found a carrot piece in his hand and looked at Duo who had put it there. Duo nodded towards the mare and Wufei offered her the carrot.

Nataku took the offered treat and crunched it up.

“I think she has a lot of potential. It is going to take some time to gain her trust and re-educate her, but I'm still certain she will make a good A grade jumper. I intend to go right back to basics with her. I tried a little of that out with her today and she was responding favorably,” Heero explained. “All I'm asking her to do is to walk forward in a calm and balanced manner. Every time she jogs, I apply a gentle pressure to the bit to get her to slow down. Once she slows back to a walk, I released the pressure. I'm hoping she will begin to figure out that by doing what I want the pressure is gone and even if she tries to run away, jog or ignore my aids, there won't be any pain, just the constant pressure to do what I ask. I'm pretty sure she's had a decent education, now it's just a case of trying to get her to remember that education.”

“I'm sure she will prove you right, Heero,” Wufei stated and petted the mare.

“I certainly hope so,” Heero said. “She's done enough for today though. Now I know what I'm dealing with, I'll be working with her just about every day. For now, she's earned herself a rest and lots of carrots.” Heero gave the mare another pat and began to lead her from the paddock and towards the stables.

Walking along the breezeway, they met Stefan coming the other way with Comet all saddled up. Heero exchanged a few words with the other rider, Duo opting to continue on ahead and ignore the man. With Nataku unsaddled, rugged and put back out in the paddock for a while, Wufei departed, promising to contact Heero during the week to see how the mare was progressing.

Heero still had a couple of horses to work, Duo decided he really didn't want to be around the stables when Stefan came back, or out in the schooling paddock where the rider currently was, so he made his excuses to Heero and headed back to the cottage to catch up on some chores.

The unusual behavior of his long haired lover didn't escape Heero's notice, but before he could question his partner, Duo had left.

* * *

Smokey whizzed around the kitchen floor, skirting the table legs and diving behind the trash bin. Seconds later she shot out again and pounced on the mop for a moment, clawing furiously, then took off running to hide behind the trash bin once more. The entire procedure was repeated again and again.

Shaking his head at the cat's antics, Duo continued to try and mop the kitchen floor, occasionally sending Smokey skidding under the table when she pounced at the wrong time.

“Maybe I should attach you to the mop handle,” Duo mused. “Either that or put rags on your paws so you can clean the floor for me with all that energy you have.”

Smokey ignored him, she was having far too much fun chasing the mop around the floor. Eventually the game came to its end, mainly as Duo had finished his moping. Smokey sauntered through to the lounge room and curled up on the sofa for a well earned rest. Duo emptied out his bucket of water and rinsed the mop through before setting it against the outer wall of the cottage to dry.

It didn’t take long for the floor to dry and soon Duo was getting a head start on their dinner preparations. As he peeled and chopped vegetables, his mind ran through what he wanted to talk to Heero about. He knew he would have to approach the topic carefully, Stefan was a client of Heero's and Duo still wasn't completely sure that Stefan had crossed the boundaries. The last thing Heero needed was to be losing clients due to a wrong accusation.

But Duo wasn't convinced about Stefan's motives. He was pretty sure the other man had touched him, maybe not in a sexual way but touched him none the less. Then there were the double meanings to his words and the looks he'd been giving Duo. Whilst Duo didn't want to do any damage to Heero's business, he couldn't stay quiet any longer either.

He gave a soft sigh. Probably the best thing to do would be to tell Heero everything that had happened since Stefan joined the stables, let Heero know of his concerns. Then they could come up with a solution together.

A familiar head of chocolate hair appeared, still slightly in the distance walking up the raceway between the two properties and Duo smiled to himself. Minutes later the back door opened and Heero entered the cottage, padding in socked feet to where Duo still stood by the kitchen window, chopping vegetables.

A pair of strong arms wrapped themselves around a slender waist and Heero pressed a kiss to the back of Duo's neck. “Need a hand?”

“Nah, I'm fine,” Duo replied. “Dinner should be ready in about half an hour so there's time for you to take your shower first.”

“You saying I smell?” Heero did his best to sound affronted.

“No, you did,” Duo replied with a grin.

Heero took a whiff of his armpits and scrunched up his face. “Ah, I am a little ripe. Sorry.” He pressed another kiss to the nape of Duo's neck in apology. “I'll go shower then.”

Duo couldn't help the snicker.

By the time Heero had taken his shower Duo had almost finished cooking their dinner. Wandering back into the kitchen and rubbing a towel through his damp locks, Heero sniffed the air appreciatively. “Smells good.”

“Be an angel and feed Smokey will you?” Duo asked as he tripped over the cat yet again.

“Sure.” Heero dropped the towel to the back a the kitchen chair and scooped the cat up. Smokey head butted her master under the chin. “Come on, you, time for dinner.” Opening the fridge door, Heero removed the small portion of wrapped chicken meat and carried both it and the cat through to the laundry to feed the feline. Returning the the kitchen he found Duo plating their meals and quickly set the condiments and flatware on the table.

As they ate they discussed Nataku and the other horses, Heero doing his best to explain to Duo the work program he thought would suit the bay mare the best. He also stated he thought Nataku could be ready to compete again at the start of the next season. Given they were roughly around half way through the current season it would be around six to eight months before Heero would attempt to take the mare out and compete.

That was all dependent on how she came through her retraining.

As they chatted, Heero couldn't help but notice that Duo seemed a little 'off'. He couldn't put his finger on it exactly, but his lover seemed distracted in some way. With the meal finished, Duo went to take his shower before Heero could question him on what was wrong, leaving Heero to do the dishes.

It was another hour before the pair were cuddled up on the couch in the lounge room watching the television and thoughts of Duo's distraction had temporarily left Heero's mind. Duo, however, was still trying to sort his thoughts into some sort of order and figure out how to start the conversation he needed to have with Heero. Eventually he gave up and decided to simply 'go with it'.

“Heero?”

“Hai?”

“I need to talk to you.”

Heero switched his attention from the television to focus completely on his boyfriend. “What's wrong?”

Picking up the remote, Duo turned the volume down to a low buzz and took a deep breath. “Look, I don't know if I'm overreacting, seeing things that simply aren't there or if there is something to it. I just know it doesn't feel right and I'm worried.”

“Err...” Heero was feeling a little confused. “Duo, what exactly is it you're trying to say here?”

“I'm not explaining myself properly, am I?” Duo gave a sheepish smile.

“Not really,” came Heero's response with a wry grin. “What is it that's bothering you so much?”

“Stefan.”

~ * ~

tbc...
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Equus