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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.

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“Equus”

Chapter 30

“Stefan?” Heero echoed.

“Yeah.”

“Has something happened? Has he tried to hurt you or one of the horses?” Heero felt his heart rate increase. If anyone tried to harm one of his horses he'd gut them. If anyone had so much as tried to harm a hair on his lover's head Heero would personally dismember them - and then gut them.

“No, no,” Duo hastily replied, seeing Heero's temper beginning to rise. “No, he's not tried to hurt me in any way or any of the horses that I'm aware of.”

“Then what is it?” Heero calmed a touch.

“Like I said before, I'm not sure if I'm seeing things that aren't there but the guy seriously creeps me out.”

Heero's eyes narrowed as his mind scrambled. He jolted as he remembered the other day when he and Duo had been in the tack room enjoying a little 'extra'. He recalled Stefan bringing his horse into the stables just after they'd stepped out and his thoughts in regards to if Stefan had seen anything or had an idea of what was going on. So far Heero had to admit he'd not seen the other man try anything at all in regards to Duo.

“I could swear he's trying to come on to me, and although I'm not one hundred percent certain, I think he's been trying to touch me too.” There, he'd said it, put his concerns on the line. Now it was up to Heero to state what he thought.

“Touched you?” Heero growled, the sound coming from deep in his throat. “How so?”

Duo swallowed, he'd not seen this side of Heero before. Yes, he'd seen his lover when he'd been angry or upset, but this... This was something completely primal. “At first I wasn't certain if I'd felt his hand or not, but I'm pretty sure he's just touched me as in a brief caress of his hand along my shoulder, arm and today, my back. As soon as I turn around though, his hands are by his side and it's been nothing more than a fleeting brush, to the point where I wasn't sure if I'd felt it or simply dreamed it,” Duo replied honestly.

“I'll rip his fucking hands off!” Heero's eyes had taken on a deep blue color, to the point where they were almost black. The fury and rage could be seen in every line of his face and body, muscles trembling with the force of holding himself still and not giving in to his natural instinct to beat the crap out of anyone or anything that tried to touch what was his.

“Easy, Heero,” Duo soothed, trying to get his partner to calm down a bit. Heero was beginning to frighten him. “You can't go out there and rip the guy apart, you don't have anything concrete to prove against him and I don't want you behind bars for rearranging his limbs.”

Heero moved forward and wrapped his arms around the vet, holding him close against his chest in such a tight grip that Duo thought his ribs would crack. “Mine,” Heero stated fiercely. “You're mine and I won't allow anyone to try and touch you or make unwanted advances towards you.”

Feeling his insides turning to mush with the obvious depth of Heero's love and need to protect him, Duo managed to press a kiss to Heero's neck. “Think you could ease up a little on the choke hold there, buddy?”

“Aa, sorry.” Heero released his grip a little but continued to hold Duo in his arms. “You said you thought he was coming on to you? How exactly do you mean?”

Snuggling deeper into Heero's embrace, Duo thought for a moment before speaking. “He keeps saying things to me, things you wouldn't really say to someone who is just a friend or an acquaintance. Oh he say's hello and all that sort of stuff, acts like a normal person whenever anyone else is around, but if he happens to catch my eye when no one else is looking he leers at me, licks his lips and earlier he even winked at me and gave me what seemed to be a lustful stare.” Duo shuddered at the thought. “He speaks in terms that can have a double meaning and I know he's insinuating the other meaning as he looks directly at me when he says these things. He really gives me the willies.”

Even though he didn't want to hear it, Heero knew he had to. “What did he say earlier?” Heero asked through gritted teeth.

“Wufei and I were talking about Nataku and how it would take some time before she would be ready to go out and compete again, Stefan said it would take a lot of re-educating before she would be any good. I told him that you knew what you were doing and that you were a patient man,” Duo hesitated for a second and felt Heero's arms squeeze him gently in encouragement. “He said he was a patient man too. That's when he gave me a lustful look.”

Feeling Heero needed to know it all, Duo didn’t give his lover the chance to speak, he continued on. “When he first started agisting here he made a few suggestions, sort of like testing the waters so to speak. I told him I was already seeing someone and I thought that would stop him, but it hasn't.” Duo gave a sigh. “It's not like I've tried to encourage him or anything,” he added quickly. “I really don't know what else I can do other than to tell him outright to piss off and leave me the hell alone, but he's a part of your business, your livelihood and the last thing you need is for me to be rude to your clients and for you to lose business or even worse, have him spreading nasty rumors around.”

“Oh, Duo.” Heero drew his lover closer and raised the vet's head. Leaning forward he placed his lips against Duo's and kissed his partner deeply. “You think I care about stupid gossip? Look at what Relena tried to do to us, what she put you through; did it work? No, it didn't. Duo, I appreciate you trying to protect me and the business, I think that is very noble of you, but I won't let Stefan ruin my business or our relationship. Our love is strong enough to overcome anything and we will overcome this – together.”

Feeling as if a great weight had been lifted off his shoulders, Duo gave a loud sigh of relief. “Thanks, Heero.”

“For what?”

“For believing me.”

“Duo, why shouldn't I believe you? You've never lied to me, you've always been up front and honest, even when you knew it would be painful to say and for me to hear. Of course I believe you.” Heero's face turned pensive. “Just wait until I see that low down, sniveling little piece of horse shit. I'll soon let him know he's not welcome around here.” A soft touch to his arm had Heero looking into concerned amethyst.

“I don't think that is such a good idea, Heero.”

“Why not? That bastard should think himself lucky I don't rip him to shreds.”

“There's only one problem, Heero. We don't have any proof. If you go and start accusing him of coming on to me, or tell him to leave because of his interest in me, all he has to do is deny it. It's his word against mine. Plus if you do that, he's going to know we're together, that we're both gay and he could do a lot of damage to your reputation,” Duo said, pleading for Heero to think things through and not go off half cocked.

A loud sigh escaped Heero as he weighed up Duo's words. “You're right,” he said and slumped down a little in the chair, pulling Duo with him. “I don't give a damn about my reputation, hell, Relena did her best to destroy both mine and yours and look what happened. Many of our friends and those people that are important to us career wise don't care; actually, the majority of them support us.”

“Yeah, I know,” Duo smiled.

“In any case, how would he come off trying to ruin me by spreading rumors that I'm gay? All I'd have to do is countermand it by letting people know that yes, I am gay and so is he as he tried to come on to my boyfriend,” Heero said with a snicker.

Duo laughed. “That is a good point, but I still think we should be careful.”

“What would you like me to do, Duo?” Heero asked. He knew what he wanted to do, but logic and Duo's reasoning dictated otherwise.

“I'm not sure. I know that I don't want to be alone with him at all.”

“Do you want me to take him to one side and have a word with him? Tell him that you are off limits? Or should I simply kiss the living daylights out of you in front of him?”

“Actually – Pardon?” Duo wasn't quite sure he'd heard Heero right.

Heero chuckled and repeated what he'd said.

“As much as I'd love you to do that, I don't think it would work; he'd probably ask to join in,” Duo replied, the sarcasm in his tone. “I think it would probably be best to play it cool for now.”

“Okay, I'll respect your wishes. If Stefan is around I'll make certain that you're not left alone with him at any time. I'll be keeping a much closer eye on him from now on too.” Noting Duo's mouth about to open, Heero hastily continued on. “I won't touch him or let him know I'm onto him. I'll just watch him closely and if I see him try anything at all, then all bets are off.”

Duo knew he really couldn't ask for any more than that and he reached for Heero's lips, kissing his lover deeply. “Thanks, Heero. I really do appreciate you keeping an eye out for me with him. He just makes my skin crawl. Like I said, I'm not completely certain it isn't my imagination, but I feel a lot better for having talked to you about it.”

“You know you can come and talk to me about anything at all, don't you, Duo?”

“Yeah, I know. God I love you so much.”

“Want to show me just how much?”

“Mmm. Now that's a come on I don't ever want to refuse.”

“Good because I want to come on you.”

“Heero!”

The rider laughed and after stealing a sensual kiss, pulled his lover to his feet and dragged them both to the bedroom.

* * *

Duo didn't get much time to spend with Heero in his stables for the next few days, the practice was very busy and with the end of the financial year fast approaching, he also had all his books to finalize, stock take to do and all the other countless items associated with taxation time. Lucky for Duo, Heero still kept the books for him so there wasn't as much to do in that area, but he still needed to get other things in order ready for Heero to do their taxation returns.

Saunders was due to appear in court on the Tuesday, both Zechs and Quatre promising to let Duo know how the case went. It was Zechs' day off and the vet was planning to attend the court case. Although he shouldn't be required in regards to the cruelty charges as he'd already submitted his reports, he figured he may as well attend as one never knew. There would also be the charge of assault against Quatre to be heard and Zechs felt certain he would be needed in that part of the case.

Normally an assault charge would be heard separately and in a different court, but as it was tied into the cruelty case, both the police and the court had agreed to have it heard at the same time.

“It won't move any faster.”

“Huh?” Duo blinked owlishly and focused on the female.

“I said, it won't move any faster,” Hilde repeated with a nod in the direction of the clock that sat on the wall in the reception area.

“I wasn't watching it, just staring off into space,” Duo replied.

“Sure you weren't; pull the other leg, it plays Jingle Bells,” Hilde quipped.

Duo snorted.

“How do you think it's going?” Hilde asked in reference to the court case. “You want a coffee?”

“I have no idea, I've not heard anything at all from Quatre, Zechs or Trowa. Yes, I'd love a coffee please.”

Hilde made them both a coffee and after handing Duo his, she plunked down in the spare chair and fixed her boss with her blue eyes. “I'm sure it will all go in the Society's favor,” she said in reassurance.

“I think it will too. Actually, given the reports and the video I took at the show of how he was abusing Nataku, I'm positive he will be found guilty of cruelty. Just what the judge will do about it though is what I'm more interested in.”

“What sort of penalties could he be looking at?”

“There's many. Penalties range from jail time to hefty fines. There's also the possibility that the judge can ban him from ever owning an animal again.”

Hilde let go a soft whistle. “Wow. I hope they chuck him in jail, ban him from owning an animal ever again and toss in a fine of several hundred thousand dollars too.”

“Don't want much, do you?” Duo chuckled.

“After what I've seen and heard of this guy I think that's going easy on him,” Hilde huffed. “Assholes like him shouldn't be allowed to keep a pet ant. Maybe they should turn the tables on him, put him in the animals' place and see how he likes being treated the way he's treated his animals.”

“I hate to remind you of this, but slavery is no longer legal.” Duo was doing his best to keep a straight face.

“More's the pity.”

They sat in silence for a few minutes, the ticking of the clock the only signal that time was passing before Hilde broke the silence again.

“Aren't you operating on the dog that was rescued from this guy tomorrow?”

“Yeah. Trowa is going to bring Lucky over tonight if he gets time, otherwise he'll bring him first thing in the morning,” Duo replied absently, his mind still focused on what was happening in the courts.

“Would you like a hand?”

“Catherine is going to help out in the nurse side of things and you're on call.”

“So? We don't usually get much in the way of call outs or home visits in the afternoons and I'd like to assist. If we do get a call out I can always leave you to carry on.”

“You sure you wouldn't mind?” Duo had to admit, the operation would go a lot quicker with two of them operating.

“Of course not. I'd like to get some more experience with the finer side of surgery. I take it you will need to pin and plate the leg?”

“Yeah. If it's to heal properly this time it will need pinning and plating.”

“I've not done a lot in that area so it would be good experience for me.”

Duo couldn't deny that. “Okay, you're in.”

“Thanks, boss.” Hilde gave Duo a wide grin.

Duo's cell phone chose that moment to ring, causing the vet to jump slightly in his seat. Fishing in his pocket, Duo pulled it out. “Doctor Maxwell.”

“Duo? It's Trowa.”

“Trowa? How's it going? What's happening? Did you guys get a conviction?” Duo had sat bolt upright in the chair when Trowa's voice came over the line. He put the phone on speaker so Hilde could listen in as well.

“Whoa! Slow down there a little, Duo,” Trowa chuckled.

“Sorry, I've been thinking about the case all afternoon and wondering how things were going. Hilde's here too and I've put you on speaker.”

“Well, it's all over now. Judge has just handed down his findings.”

“And?” Duo couldn't help the impatience in his voice.

“All good news. In relation to the charges of cruelty against the horses, the judge found him guilty and fined him ten thousand dollars. In regards to the dog, he was found guilty of not providing adequate veterinary care and fined two thousand dollars. As for the cat, he was found guilty of not providing proper food and care, that's another fine of two thousand. He's also received a suspended jail term of two years and ordered to perform a hundred hours of community service. He's also been banned from owning another animal and having anything to do with horses in a capacity that would require him to ride or handle them.”

This time it was Duo who let go the whistle. “That's great news, just what he deserved. Seems Quatre got a good judge this time then?”

“Yeah, he did. Judge Featherstone is a great believer in the punishment fitting the crime.” Trowa let a small laugh escape.

“Trowa? What's so amusing?” Duo asked.

“Just something the judge said when handing down his sentence. He told Saunders he should be grateful that the laws had changed. If he'd had his way, Saunders would have been publicly flogged for treating his animals, especially the horses, in such a manner.”

“Shame they have changed the laws,” Hilde muttered. Duo mouthed 'Barbarian' at the female vet and Hilde simply shrugged. She wasn't apologizing for her feelings, those animals hadn't had the chance to protest their treatment so why should he get off lightly. A flogging was still to light a punishment in Hilde's book.

“That video footage you took at the show of him beating up on Nataku really sealed the guy's fate, Duo. The Society had a good case going into court, but having that footage meant it was an excellent case. Quatre's really over the moon about it all.”

“Speaking of Quatre, where is he? I thought he would have been the one on the phone, not you; no offense,” Duo said.

“Trust me, he would have been but he's needed to sign paperwork and tie up any loose ends with the case. Zechs is also with him as he's got to sign some papers too.”

“What about the assault charge? Has that been heard yet?”

“Yes, it has. Saunders was charged with assault and obstructing an Inspector. The judge found him guilty and gave him a suspended sentence of a year, plus a fine of one thousand dollars. Oh, he also has to pay all court costs.”

“Sounds like this creep got what he deserved then.”

“Pretty much. Once Quatre's finished we will be on our way home. I'll still bring Lucky over tonight if that's okay?”

“That's fine. How about you and Quatre come for tea? We can have a bit of a celebration,” Duo offered.

“That sounds good. I'll have to check with Quatre first, but I can't see why not.”

“Good, that's settled then. I'll see you guys around seven-thirty?”

“Look forward to it. Thanks, Duo. Bye.”

“Bye.” Duo ended the call and slipped his cell back into his pocket. He noted Hilde looking at him with an amused smile on her face.

“What?” he said.

“You only invited them to dinner so you don't have to explain everything that went on to Heero.”

“What can I say? You caught me out,” Duo snickered.

“Cant say I blame you, I'd have a shit load of trouble remembering all that too,” Hilde said with a giggle.

“Lesson one, Hilde. There's always a method to my madness.”

* * *

Groaning, Duo rolled over and pulled the blankets over the top of his head. “Too early,” he mumbled.

“Too early? It's nearly eight, Duo,” Heero chuckled and reached to pull the covers back a touch.

“Mornings should be banned,” came the muffled reply.

“It's your own fault,” Heero reminded him and picked up the mug of coffee he'd brought in with him. “I brought coffee.”

“Coffee?” A bleary eyed Duo poked his head out and yawned. Shoving himself up, he managed to grab the mug from Heero and take a couple of sips.

As the caffeine hit his system, Duo began to wake a little more. “What time did I end up making it to bed last night?”

“A little after two this morning,” came the dry reply.

“Why didn't you chase me off to bed earlier?”

“I tried, but you were having such a great conversation with Quatre that you waved me off.”

“Oh yeah.” Duo pondered on that for a moment. Dinner had been successful, Quatre explaining in detail the entire court case to both Heero and Duo. After dinner they had retired to the lounge room to talk some more and had continued on for some time.

Heero had made his excuses around ten and gone to bed, after trying to get Duo to wind the evening up. Trowa had similarly been yawning and showing signs of fatigue, likewise doing his best to subtly get the blonde to call it an evening; but Quatre and Duo had been far too involved in their conversation and waved the other pair off. In the end, Heero had dug out a pillow and blanket for Trowa who had ensconced himself in an armchair to doze and gone to bed himself.

Now Duo was paying for his late night and Heero had no sympathy for his partner.

“Breakfast is in the oven keeping warm, I'm heading down to the stables to get the work done and start on the horses. Don't forget you have consults in an hour,” Heero said as he stood up and leaned in for a kiss.

Returning the kiss, Duo was still doing his best to wake up. “Yeah, thanks. Sorry about last night, guess we got too carried away with our chatter.”

“It's fine, Duo. Trowa's the one I feel sorry for.”

“Huh?”

“After sleeping in that armchair for a few hours he's going to have a stiff neck this morning.”

Duo chuckled. “I see what you mean.”

“I'll talk to you later.”

“Okay.”

Heero left to carry on with his horses, Duo managed to drag himself from the bed and take a shower.

*

Arriving at the surgery with five minutes to spare before consults started, Duo was met by Hilde and Catherine and a barrage of questions. Duo fended the pair off, promising he would fill them in on all Quatre had to say after consults were finished. Despite wheedling and cajoling, Duo stood firm and the two women had no choice but to wait.

Consults flew by for both vets, most of them being routine things that were easily dealt with. Soon enough the final client was leaving and Duo was turning the sign around to closed. Once the consulting rooms were cleaned up, the waiting room tidy and all the information stored on Nrobbuts' hard drive, the two females rounded on Duo and demanded to be filled in.

Over a cup of coffee Duo explained everything that Quatre had told him the previous evening. Both Hilde and Catherine knew the rough outline; Hilde from having been present when Trowa made his call and Catherine because she'd called her brother and demanded the basics, but neither had all the facts. Once Duo had finished recalling all he could they felt much better about the entire situation.

Normally none of them got this involved in a case. Usually when they were called to assist in a cruelty or neglect case, they treated the animal, filled out their report and then carried on with their lives; Quatre and Trowa were left to tackle the other side such as the court proceedings and rehabilitation of the animal. But this time it was different, this time they had witnessed first hand the type of cruelty inflicted when Heero had set eyes upon Nataku at the show and bought her.

This time they had a vested interest in the outcome.

Although Hilde still grumbled it was a shame that public floggings were no longer an option, everyone else was happy with the result.

“Trust me, the society will be keeping a close eye on this fellow to ensure he never has dealings with an animal again that could result in cruelty. I guess you could say he's a marked man.” Duo finished his coffee and looked to the pair.

“At least the horse population can rest easy,” Catherine said.

“Yep, they can and you can bet that Heero and the others will be sure to spread the word around of what's happened in regards to this guy.”

“Shame we couldn't publicly name him and his crimes,” Hilde muttered.

“Ah, that's where you're wrong,” Duo said in a smug tone.

“How so?”

“The R.S.P.C.A. will be notifying the EFA of the charges and result against this fellow. He's a registered member and as such the EFA needs to be informed. You can bet that they will also be wiping him from their membership list and keeping an eye out for him should he try to re-join.”

“But what if he decides not to join but compete again anyway?” Catherine asked.

“He won't be able to compete officially, you need to be registered to do that and that would tip off the EFA immediately. If he tries to compete unofficially the R.S.P.C.A. will soon find out and come down on him. Basically he's screwed.” Duo couldn't help the grin.

“All I can say is he got what he deserves.” Catherine collected the now empty mugs.

Duo stretched and stood up. “Amen to that. I guess we should go get started on this operation then.”

“Right with you, Duo.” Hilde stood. “I'll go get the patient and meet you in the operating theater.”

“Thanks.”

~ * ~

tbc...

All information on animal cruelty and penalties for such were taken from the R.S.P.C.A. web site :

http://kb.rspca.org.au/What-are-the-penalties-for-animal-cruelty-offences_271.html

and: http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/wa/consol_act/awa2002128/
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Equus