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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
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Chapter 32
“Good boy,” Heero said as Shinigami followed his master into the goose-neck. Stepping back out, Heero bent to raise the ramp, Duo right there to help him.
“Got everything?” Duo asked as he slid the bolts of the ramp into place.
“Gear, hay, clothes, water buckets, horses... Hai, I've got everything,” Heero replied as he listed the items verbally and mentally.
Duo snickered. “I guess it would help if you had the horses, beats the hell out of jumping those obstacles on your own two feet.”
“Something tells me I wouldn't clear much if I had to jump by myself,” Heero deadpanned.
“I'll follow you to the show,” Duo said and checking no one was around he pressed a quick kiss to Heero's lips.
With a warm smile, Heero turned to get into the cab of the goose-neck, Duo heading back towards the cottage to pick up his own car. Frank chose that moment to arrive and gave Heero a friendly wave. Heero waved back and rolled the window down to speak with Frank as the other rider brought his car to a stop beside him.
“You all loaded and ready to go?” Frank asked.
“Hai. My classes start a little earlier than yours so I need to get going now.”
“Okay. If I don't see you before Orion's class, good luck.”
“Thanks. You be okay to load up by yourself? Duo is going to follow me down to the show but he's still here if you need any help,” Heero said.
“I'll be fine. Thanks for the offer though. I'll see you at the show then.”
“No problem. Catch you there.”
Frank moved his car out of the way and Heero let the clutch out on the goose-neck. Moments later he was pulling onto the road and heading for the Baxendale show.
* * *
June and Duo stood in the collecting ring with Orion whilst Heero was walking the course. Duo was carefully studying the many jumps, trying to figure out which could pose a problem to Orion. June was busy petting her horse and talking softly to the gelding.
Stopping to take one last look around the course, Heero satisfied himself he knew the order and was happy with his intended line and track. Returning to the collecting ring he smiled at Duo and June.
“How is it looking?” Duo asked as soon as Heero was within hearing range.
“Not bad. It's fairly well flowing, although there are a couple of questions asked and those are mainly between ten which is the triple and twelve, the oxer.”
“How do you think Orion will go?” June asked.
“There's no reason why he shouldn't clear everything. The way he's been progressing at home, this course is well within his capabilities. The hard part will come in the jump off if we get that far.”
“How so?” Duo demanded.
“Well, the jump off is jumps one, two, four A, four B, six and twelve. It's between six and twelve where you could lose it. If you look at the jumps, six and twelve are both jumped in the same direction which isn't a problem in itself, the problem lies in the fact that the jumps are offset to each other.”
June squinted at the jumps in the ring, Duo following her example and studying what Heero had just said.
“I see what you're saying,” Duo muttered. “Jump six is several feet off to the left of jump twelve.”
“That's right. As soon as the horse lands the rider is going to need to get the horse to leg yield across to the right in order to get to jump twelve in the center; and there's only seven strides between the fences to do it in.”
“Well, that could be fun,” June stated with a grin. When both men turned to look at her, she cocked her head to the side. “It will soon sort out those that have been educated and schooled properly to those that haven't.”
Heero shook his head. “You do have a valid point there.”
“No point in asking if Orion can do it, if I know you two he's had all that sort of education and then some,” Duo sighed.
“Hai, he has, but that doesn't mean he will be able to do it in the strides we have between the jumps. In any case, I suggest we concentrate on getting a clear round first and worry about the jump off if we get there.”
“Too true. You'll be a good boy though, won't you, Orion,” June insisted as she petted the gelding some more. Orion wuffled and gave his mistress a gentle nudge with his nose.
“They will be starting in another five minutes so I'd better finish warming him up,” Heero said and took the reins from Duo.
“If you're not back already I'll come get you when the fifth rider goes in,” Duo informed his lover.
“Thanks.” Heero turned the black and rode away to finish his warm up.
*
“Heero Yuy? You're next,” the steward announced.
Heero sat astride Orion and watched the seventh rider. So far there had been one clear round and lots of four faults. Most riders appeared to be collecting the faults at jump eleven, Duo had a theory as to why and decided to run it by Heero and see if he was correct.
“Heero? Most people are getting faults at jump eleven, would that be because they have just jumped a triple and haven't got enough impulsion to clear the wall?”
Heero smiled at his lover, impressed with Duo's improved knowledge of the sport he loved so much. “Yes, you're pretty much correct. By the time the horse has cleared parts A, B and C of the triple, it's running out of energy. There isn't a large number of strides between part C and the wall to get that energy back. The wall is a pretty impressive jump and with the lack of impulsion the horse is having a hard time clearing it.”
Duo looked quite pleased with himself.
Rider seven completed his course with a total of eight faults, his horse having taken a dislike to jump nine and given his rider a refusal followed by knocking the top rail down when he approached it the second time.
The usual calls of good luck followed Heero into the arena and then it was just him, the horse beneath him and the course of jumps. Saluting the judge, Heero turned for the start flags and once the bell went, he rode through and began his course. Back in the collecting ring, Duo and June watched the pair intently, Duo doing his best not to nibble on his fingernails and June rubbing her slightly swollen stomach and trying to remain calm.
Orion was enjoying himself and settled into a steady canter. The rider on his back was calm and well balanced, the aids he gave were easy for Orion to interpret and the gelding was more than happy to do whatever was asked of him. The first three jumps were cleared easily, the double being the first challenge on the course. Heero kept the black balanced and brought him into part A on the perfect stride. Orion sailed over part A, took two strides and cleared part B with a good couple of inches to spare. He was rewarded with a quick pat and encouraging words from his rider.
“So far so good,” Duo muttered.
The confidence that Orion was projecting had transferred to Heero and the pair were in fine tune with each other. Jumps five, six and seven were also cleared, jump eight, the Swedish oxer demanded a little more 'reach' from the gelding and as soon as they landed Heero was there with his seat and leg to drive the horse together and build up some of the impulsion they had lost. The barrels were ahead of them and following that was jump ten; the triple. If they were to have any chance at clearing the triple and following wall, Heero needed to get the energy back in Orion's hindquarters.
Fortunately Orion was a good pupil and had paid attention in his lessons. He allowed Heero to shorten his stride a little and pushed his hindquarters underneath his body, effectively gaining more energy where it would be needed the most. The barrels appeared before him and Orion pushed off to clear them with ease. Once he was back on firm ground he felt his rider's weight dropping deep and lightened his forehand. His stride shortened again and once more the power was building in the hind end.
“Please clear it, please clear it, please clear it,” June muttered.
Duo gave the woman a glance fro the corner of his eye and could sympathize with her. His stomach felt like it had a hoard of migrating butterflies inside.
Orion sized up the jumps ahead and lengthened out his stride when Heero gave him the aids to do so. They flew over part A, landed and took a stride before leaping into the air and over part B. That was also cleared and another two strides before Orion was launching into the air again. The big black made the jumps look easy, but to those that knew horses, they could see there was a very experienced hand guiding the horse.
Both June and Duo heaved sighs of relief when Orion landed cleanly over all three elements of the triple. With just the wall and oxer left, it would be a tension filled few minutes for the pair.
“Steady,” Heero soothed and brought Orion back to hand. The triple had taken a bit out of the black and Heero was determined to give the horse as much room and opportunity as he could to recover and build the impulsion again. The wall sat ahead and Orion lined it up perfectly. The black body lifted into the air and passed over the jump, front legs taking the brunt of the landing From the wall it was a left turn to come into the final jump; the oxer.
Heero took the horse out wide and gave him every chance to recover. “Last one,” Heero said under his breath, concentration never wavering as they bore down on the final fence. Orion lengthened out and shot into the air, his body made the perfect arc over the jump, hind legs clearing the fence with a couple of inches to spare. The sound of thudding hooves could be heard across the arena before the crowd started to applaud and cheer.
“Nice way to start the day off.”
Duo went six foot into the air and spun around. June also jumped, although not as impressive as Duo in her leap.
“Shit! Carl! Don't sneak up on me like that, you just took several years off my life,” Duo groused.
“Not to mention nearly made me go into early labor,” June growled.
“Sorry, guys. I didn’t realize you hadn't seen me,” Carl apologized.
“It's okay,” Duo said feeling his heart rate return to normal.
“Clear round for Heero Yuy riding Orion,” the public address system announced.
Heero rode out of the ring and into the congratulations of his lover and friends.
*
The jump off for the D grade event was hotly contended. Besides Heero's clear round there were four others and Heero was second to go. The first rider in the jump off had ended up with four faults, his horse having run out to the left of jump twelve. As Heero had stated earlier, that would be the big problem on the course – getting the horse to leg yield across to bring it in line with jump twelve.
With the wishes of good luck in his ears, Heero rode into the ring, determined to have his horse listening to him all the way. Orion could do this, if Heero kept his wits about him. They saluted the judge and waited for the bell to ring. Once it did, Heero sent Orion through the start flags and on course.
Jumps one and two were cleared easily enough, Heero making a sweeping, right hand turn and passing between jumps three and nine to bring Orion into jump four A with plenty of impulsion. The gelding was eager and had a pretty good turn of speed on him. Heero had been working on taming that speed and combining it with sharper and sharper turns. Orion was steadily improving in that area and now was when all that education came to the fore.
Orion didn't hesitate, he dug his hind legs into the ground and made a lovely turn to bring himself into part A on the correct stride. They flew over the first element, the black full of impulsion and eager for the second part. That was also cleared and Heero took a gamble in riding the black on the inside of jump five and not around it as the previous rider had done.
The gelding responded well to Heero's aids, turning when asked and shortening his stride. Jump six, the hedge, rose before them and Orion put in a huge leap. He had no intentions of letting his legs get caught up in that rough looking brush!
Immediately they landed, Heero dropped his weight and applied a strong left leg, making sure to keep his right leg resting lightly against Orion's other side. A slightly firmer inside rein with the outside one supporting it told Orion he wasn't to turn but rather move across to his right.
“Come on, Heero,” Duo muttered as he gnawed on a thumbnail. “Push him over.”
“That's it, Orion, do as Heero's taught you,” came June's quiet voice.
“That's it, guys. Shift on over and show them all just how it should be done,” Carl encouraged in a slightly louder voice than the other two. Both June and Duo turned to look at the man who stared back at them both and gave a sheepish grin along with a shrug of his shoulders.
Obeying the aids his rider gave him, Orion began to move to the right whilst still moving forward. Heero's eyes were on the jump ahead and once he felt Orion had moved over enough he leveled his reins and leg pressure. Keeping a light feel on the gelding’s mouth, Heero pushed those powerful hind quarters underneath the body to build the impulsion.
Orion grunted as he took off, tucking his legs against his body as he sailed over the oxer. Seconds later he was touching down and once all four hooves were back on the grass, Heero aimed for the finish flags and urged the black into a gallop. They flashed through and stopped the clock, the crowd immediately cheering and applauding. Duo, June and Carl three of the loudest.
“Clear round for Heero Yuy on Orion in a time of 43:22. That puts Heero Yuy into first place with three more riders to go.”
“Good boy,” Heero praised and patted the black neck as he brought Orion back to a steady canter and aimed for the arena exit. Once he was back in the collecting ring he was surrounded by his very happy 'support crew'.
“Great ride, Heero.”
“Orion has improved so much with you, Heero. I'm so pleased I asked you to take him on and that you did,” June said, her eyes suspiciously moist as she fed her horse several carrots.
“That was just wonderful to watch, Heero. Even I can see how much Orion has improved and I don't know all that much about horses and their schooling,” Duo said, the warmth in his voice genuine and the heat in his eyes telling Heero he would be congratulating him further once they were alone.
Blushing from all the praise, Heero dismounted and mumbled about it all being Orion and what a great horse he was to ride.
The group waited in the collecting ring for the remaining three riders to complete their jump offs and what a tight competition it was. In the end the third rider scored four penalties, the fourth and fifth riders both going clear with times of 40:36 and 44:10 respectively.
“Ladies and gentlemen, the results of the D grade Table A event. In first place with no faults and a time of 40:36 seconds, Tom Witherspoon riding Ohio. In second place with no faults and a time of 43:22 seconds, Heero Yuy riding Orion. In third place with no faults and a time of 44:10 seconds, Amanda Shingle riding Cressida.”
The spectators showed their appreciation as the placegetters rode into the ring to collect their rosettes and prize money. June was simply over the moon with her horse and promised him a truck load of carrots for being such a good boy.
The course would remain the same for the C grade championship in which Lunar was entered, the only change being to the height and width of the jumps. Heero knew he'd only need a quick walk around it to double check his line and track before the event and took advantage of the few minutes he had between events to grab his lover and drag him into the goose-neck on the pretense of making a quick cup of tea. No sooner had the door closed behind them when Duo found himself enveloped in a warm, strong embrace. He turned around and located his lover's lips, sealing their mouths in a hungry kiss.
“God, I love you so much,” Duo whispered when they broke apart.
“I love you too, so much it hurts,” Heero replied. “I just wish I could hug and kiss you out there and not have to sneak off to do so. I want the world to know I love you, Duo.”
“You say the sweetest things, Heero,” Duo replied, his eyes shimmering and body melting at the loving words. “I wish we could too, but it's just not possible, or practical.”
“I know. Doesn't mean I have to like it though.” Heero stole another kiss.
“I'll make it up to you when we get home,” Duo said with a saucy wink.
“You'd better,” the rider growled.
There was a knock at the door followed by; “Hey, any chance of a cuppa for a poor, pregnant lady?”
Heero shook his head. “There goes our privacy.”
Duo snickered. “At least she knocked.”
* * *

“All set?” Duo asked as Heero brought the chestnut mare to a halt beside him in the collecting ring.
“As ready as we will ever be,” Heero replied. “How are the scores looking so far?”
“Two clear rounds and quite a lot of four faults. Most faults were accrued in the same place as the D grade event,” the vet stated with a grin.
“You be a good girl and listen to Heero,” Carl told his horse and gave the mare a carrot. Luna crunched it up eagerly and politely asked for another. “No more until you come out of the ring,” Carl informed the horse. “How is she feeling, Heero?”
“Fresh, eager an raring to go,” Heero replied honestly.
“Good luck.”
“Thanks.”
The rider on course finished his round with eight penalties and Heero was called to enter for his round. The usual cries of good luck followed him into the arena and once more he was facing the course of jumps.
Lunar was a different type of jumper to Orion and Shinigami. Orion was bold and forward going, Shini the same, although a little cautious too, but that was the experience of years behind him. Lunar tended to want to look at the jumps as she approached and relied heavily on her rider to let her know where the take off point was. Whilst she was a clean jumper, she didn't have that vital 'spark' or competitive spirit to make a top class jumper. But that was okay, Carl wasn't interested in International competition, he was happy enough in knowing the mare was giving her best and enjoying competition.
Heero rode a careful and precise round, bringing Lunar into each jump on the correct stride and giving her every opportunity to clear the jumps. The mare was attentive to his aids, lengthening and shortening her stride as asked and taking off at the exact point Heero asked her to.
They came out with a clear round.
Carl was overjoyed and showered the mare with pats, praise and several carrots. Heero also heaped praise on the mare and hoped that Duo had managed to put away a few carrots for Shinigami later. The gray would not be happy at all if he didn't get his orange treat for jumping.
“Great round, Heero.”
Heero turned in his saddle to see Frank standing there with a smile on his face. “Thank you. I see you arrived safely.”
“Yeah. Jester's tied up and munching. He was no trouble at all to float here, I just hope he stays calm in his class and listens to me.”
“He will. He's improved a lot these past few weeks and so have you. There's no reason why you shouldn't go out there and win today,” Heero said in a confident tone.
“It would be nice to win, then he'll only need another three points to be upgraded to A grade.”
“This course is well within his capabilities.” Seeing Frank's interest grow, Heero dismounted and began to explain the course in more detail to Frank, letting the man know where the areas of concern were and what to look out for. Whilst Heero and Frank chatted, Carl took Lunar and walked her around to keep her warm. Duo went in search of June who'd said she'd smelt donuts on the air and had gone to track them down.
Frank appreciated Heero's sharing of information and made a note to watch as many riders as he could jump the course and also the jump off course. The C grade came to a close with there being four riders in total making it through to the jump off; Heero was the third rider to go clear.
The first two riders were clearly out to win, unfortunately the first rider had four faults at Jump twelve, the rider not having gotten the horse to move over quite enough and the bay had done his best to jump but knocked the top pole flying. Their time wasn't too bad though, 42:29. The second rider went clear and in a fast time of 39:18.
Then it was Heero's turn.
Knowing Lunar wasn't a horse that could cut corners or spin on her hind legs very well, Heero opted to go for a steady pace and give the chestnut all the help he could. They started out at a good canter and cleared jumps one and two easily. Following the same line he'd taken with Orion earlier, Heero passed between jumps three and nine, keeping the mare balanced and forward going. They cleared part A of the double and scraped over part B.
With the real test coming up, Heero sat deep and drove the mare together.
“I don't think I can watch,” Carl moaned.
“Here, have a donut, it will give you strength,” June said with a smile and offered the man the open bag.
Carl blinked and Duo had to hide the smile on his face, even Frank snorted but managed to turn it into a cough when June looked at him.
Heero rode the mare around the outside of jump five to give her that little bit extra room to come into six correctly. Using his seat, leg and hands, Heero held her together until the last second and then let her go.
The mare dug deep and launched into the air, soaring over the jump and landing clean on the other side.
Carl was almost turning blue with excitement and Duo had to remind him to breathe.
Using his legs and hands, Heero asked Lunar to move across to the right whilst still traveling forward, the mare obeying after a moments hesitation. Heero could see jump twelve and did his best to line them up straight for it, but Lunar hadn't moved across as quickly or as much as Orion had and they came into the jump slightly to the left and half a stride out. Lunar did her best and shoved gamely off the ground, reaching for the height and width of the jump. For a moment it looked like they would pull it off, but then the mare's hind fetlock grazed the pole and sent it rolling out of its cups and to the ground.
“Unfortunately that is four faults and a time of 41:32 seconds for Heero Yuy riding Lunar Eclipse,” the announcer informed everyone.
Arriving back in the collecting ring, Heero was full of apologies for his mistake, but Carl dismissed it completely, telling the rider it wasn't Heero's fault, or Lunar's, it was just one of those things and the mare would improve further as Heero continued to ride and train her. Despite the four faults, Carl was as proud as punch with the mare and Heero had to agree that she had done pretty much everything that Heero had asked of her.
The fourth rider in the jump off went in and completed a clear round in a time of 41:16. Once the scores and times were added up, Heero had finished in third place. In one way he was pleased as it meant Lunar would get to stay in C grade for a little longer and that could only be a good thing in building the mare's confidence.
With the C grade over with, Heero could relax and watch for a while. He wasn't required until the A grade event and that meant he could watch Frank compete and spend a little time with his lover.
As soon as they stepped inside the goose-neck and closed the doors, Duo pounced. He wrapped his partner in his arms and proceeded to kiss him senseless. “You have any idea how damn proud of you I am, Heero?”
“If that kiss is any indication, I'd say you're pretty proud,” Heero returned and swooped in for a kiss of his own.
“Mmm, nice,” Duo murmured and rested his forehead against Heero's. Nibbling along Heero's bottom lip, Duo closed his eyes and leaned into his lover. “You're going to knock them for six with Shinigami,” he murmured.
“I hope so,” Heero moaned and rubbed his swelling groin against Duo's. “Much more of this and I won't be able to go back out in public for a while.”
“I can take care of it for you,” Duo suggested with a wicked gleam in his eye.
“Oh shit,” Heero groaned and closed his eyes as thoughts of exactly what Duo would do to take care of it surfaced in his mind. They didn't help his cause any.
A knock at the door had them pulling apart.
“Are you in there, Heero?”
“Treize?” Heero said and glanced quickly out of the tiny window to see his former boss and good friend standing outside. “Hang on a moment, Treize.” Heero did his best to smooth out his clothes whilst an irritated Duo looked on.
“This is starting to become a habit,” Duo muttered. “Every time something gets interesting, someone interrupts us. Maybe I should hang a 'Do not disturb' or 'Back in five minutes' sign on the door in future.”
“I'm sorry, Duo,” Heero apologized and pressed a quick kiss to those pouting lips. “I will make up for this later, I promise.”
“I'll be holding you to that promise too.”
With a soft smile, Heero turned and opened the door to the goose-neck to admit Treize.
“Heero, Duo,” Treize greeted as he stepped inside. “I hope I wasn't disturbing you,” he added when he noted the slightly flushed appearance of the two men.
“Nah, just taking a few minutes between classes to unwind,” Duo replied. “It's good to see you again, Treize.”
“I didn't know you were competing, Treize,” Heero said as he motioned for the other man to take a seat at the small table.
“It was kind of a last minute thing. I decided last week to enter as Romeo could do with the outing. His skills are getting a little dull I think.”
“That's the problem when they're at this stage in their jumping careers. You don't want to work or compete with them too much in case they sour off, especially when the selectors will be out, but if you don't they seem to lose that edge,” Heero stated.
“Exactly,” Treize replied. “With the selectors coming out in the next month I really want Romeo to be at the top of his game.”
Heero frowned. “I didn't know the selectors were coming out this soon. I didn't think they would be out until next season when they'd be looking for possible combinations for the short list for the next Olympics and Nations Cup teams.”
An amused smile graced Treize's lips. “They will be out looking for candidates for the World Cup.”
A look of dawning passed over Heero's face. “Shit! I'd forgotten about that. I do remember hearing that the World Cup was coming up and that Australia was aiming to have a representative there this time, but with everything that's going on right now I'd completely forgotten about it.”
“What's the World Cup?” Duo asked, clearly in the dark. [1]
“It's another big event with the final usually held in Europe somewhere. It started off back in 1978 as a competition between the worlds best show jumpers. There are several preliminary competitions held in which a rider and horse need to compete and be the best in their field to be selected to go to the finals. The finals are usually made up of approximately 20 riders from Europe, 15 from the States, 5 from Canada and 5 from elsewhere. Australia hasn't had much in the way of representatives as the traveling is a major factor,” Treize advised.
“Ah, I see.” Duo thought on those words for a moment. “It would be a huge expense to go to just to travel for one event.”
“It is and that's why I'm not really interested in the selections for it,” Heero stated. “If I were lucky enough to be picked, I think I would decline as I really can't leave the business at this stage of its development and besides that, I couldn't afford it either, especially after the Olympics.”
“You wouldn't be the first to decline, Heero,” Treize said. “It is a large expense.”
“Anyway, it's neither here nor there, but right now I think we'd better go back ring side and offer moral support for Frank. His class is due to start.” Heero stood up and with the other two following, they left the goose-neck and made their way back to the ring.
~ * ~
tbc...
[1] For more information on the World Cup Show Jumping competition, take a look here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Show_Jumping_World_Cup
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Equus