Adult-FanFiction.org : Gundam, Beyblade, DBZ, FMA

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
- 6
- 7
- 8
Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing, it belongs to Bandai, Sotsu and associated parties. I just borrow the guys from time to time and return them a whole lot happier. I do own the plot and any other characters, especially the equines, that you will find in this fic. Please do not take them without permission. Written for pleasure not profit.

Pairing: 2x1x2, 3x4, 13x6, H+C

Warnings: Yaoi, lemon, sap, angst, vet themes, AU

Rating: NC 17

Betaed by Sakura *snugs*

Summary: Having achieved his goal of riding at the Olympics, success has opened many new doors for Heero. Having left Treize's employ, Heero is now his own boss and with Duo's support Heero sets out to make his own mark in the equine business world.

Dedication: to all my lovely readers who have asked for a continuation of this 'Universe'.

Fic 4 in the Equine Intervention Arc.

Commenced December 2011 - ShenLong

“Equus”

Chapter 7

Sunday dawned clear and dry, a gentle breeze blowing which promised a fine yet not too hot day ahead. Heero was up early, Duo preferring to snuggle back under the blankets for a while longer. Zoe and Michael weren't due to arrive until around noon, so Duo couldn't see any point in losing his lie in.

Heero padded out to the kitchen and put the kettle on for a morning cup of tea. Smokey greeted him enthusiastically, winding her form around his ankles and doing her best to trip him up in the process. “Come on, you starving beast,” Heero muttered and picked his cat up, carrying her through to the laundry where her bowls sat on the floor. He rinsed out and refilled the water bowl, grabbed the packet of biscuits from the shelf and filled the cat's biscuit bowl. Smokey sniffed at the water and turned her golden eyes to her master. She gave a pitiful meow.

“Okay, okay, stop with the kitten eyes,” Heero sighed. Returning to the kitchen, he grabbed the milk carton from the fridge along with an open tin of cat food, Smokey hot on his heels. He poured a generous amount of milk into another bowl and set it down, Smokey immediately pouncing on it. While the cat was busy with the milk, Heero scooped out some of the food and put it into another bowl. He ran his hand along the soft fur of the cat's back, eliciting a purr of pleasure from the feline. “You're spoilt rotten, you know that?” Heero mumbled.

Smokey simply gazed at him with her soft eyes. She knew she had it good, it had taken a little while but now she had her human trained perfectly – well, almost perfectly. There was still the case of being able to sleep on her master's bed, when he was in it. She was still working on that.

The kettle boiled and Heero dutifully made his partner a coffee, leaving the tea bag to steep in his own mug whilst he took the coffee through to Duo. Leaving the coffee on the night stand, Heero finished making his tea and carrying the mug with him headed out to the stables to attend to the horses and get as much of his stable work done as possible.

Sliding the door across, he was greeted by the smell of horses and hay along with several wuffles and a squeal from Shini. “Morning all,” Heero greeted as he walked through the breezeway to the small feed room at the end. Picking up the feed buckets, Heero carried them out to the paddocks and deposited the feeds into each feed bin. Empty buckets in hand, he walked back to the barn to put the horses out.

Zero was first, being the senior stallion Heero gave him special treatment. Zero walked calmly beside his master, eager to be in his paddock. Letting the gray go, Heero closed and secured the gate. Shinigami was next, the younger stallion prancing alongside Heero as he was led out. “Settle down you big lump,” Heero scolded. Shini didn't take any notice, his breakfast was out there and he wanted it now!

With Shini safely in his paddock, Heero went back for Wing. The young colt was growing rapidly. Wing now stood at sixteen hands, his coat having lightened up a little and the dapples starting to stand out more prominently. Heero had broken him in and done quite a bit of flat work with him. He'd just started to teach Wing to jump, taking the colt over low grids and cavaletties to start him off and get his striding. Wing was only four and had a lot to learn before he'd be any good as a show jumper, but so far he was showing a lot of promise and Heero had high hopes for the colt.

Letting Wing go into his paddock, Heero secured the gate, double checking the clips were in place so the colt couldn't do any of his escape tricks. Returning to the barn he went to get Angel, the mare standing patiently with her head over the door.

Heero slipped her a carrot, rubbing the mare between the eyes as she crunched on the treat. “You're a good girl, Angel,” he murmured softly. Angle wuffled and rubbed her muzzle against her master's chest. “Come on, time for your breakfast.” The mare was duly placed in her paddock and Heero began his tasks of cleaning out the four stables, filling up water buckets and preparing the night feeds.

A good hour had passed by the time Heero was finished, but all the stable work was done. Putting the rake back in its place, Heero cast his eyes around, pleased with his work. The stables looked neat, clean and tidy; very professional if he did say so himself. He hoped it would make an impression on Michael and Zoe. A glance at his watch told him he'd better shift his ass if he wanted breakfast. There was still a lot to do before their guests arrived.

*

“Horses all okay?” Duo asked when Heero walked into the kitchen.

“Yeah, all present, correct and accounted for.” Heero moved to where his lover was sitting at the kitchen table, still in his sleep pants and stole a kiss.

“Good.”

“Breakfast?”

“Is the Pope catholic?”

Heero chuckled. “Would you like something cooked or cereal?”

“I think I might have cereal,” Duo replied and pushed his chair away from the table to get up.

Whilst Heero fetched bowls, milk, sugar and the cereal, Duo made them both a fresh coffee. With their breakfast in front of them, both men began to eat.

“What are you planning on cooking for lunch?” Duo asked.

“I was thinking about making a chicken casserole, but seeing how the weather is quite nice, I might cook some steaks on the grill and make up a salad instead. What do you think?”

“Steaks and salad sound good to me. Anything I can help with?”

Cocking his head, Heero thought on that. He knew Duo wanted to be useful, but his still bound wrist was the problem. “If you could wash all the salad vegetables that would help a lot.”

“No problem. I'll take my shower after breakfast and do some tidying up. If you put out what you want washing, I'll do it once the house is straight.”

“Thanks.”

* * *

“It's just up there a little way,” Zoe told her husband as the pair turned into the street that Duo's practice was on.

“I see it,” Michael replied and slowed the car down. The surgery appeared and Michael turned into the driveway beside it. Bypassing the car park for the surgery, he continued on towards the back and past the house where he could see Duo's stable complex up ahead. Approaching the stables, the drive opened into a large parking area, Both Heero's and Duo's cars parked up and Heero's horse float off to the side. Michael steered his car over and parked beside Duo's.

Stepping out of the car, they turned at the sound of a door opening and spotted Heero and Duo coming out of the back door to the house to greet them.

“Duo! Good to see you again,” Zoe cried and hugged the vet.

“Heero,” Michael greeted and shook hands with his fellow horseman.

Duo and Heero returned the greetings, welcoming the pair to their home.

Michael was looking around, taking in the set up he could see.

Noting where Michael's eyes were traveling, Heero did some explaining. “This is Duo's set up here. It's where he treats the equines and any other large animals he has come in. The new property with the stables, paddocks and other facilities is just down the raceway there.” Heero pointed in the direction of his barn and paddocks.

“I see. Looks pretty impressive from here,” Michael replied.

“Come on inside and have some refreshments, we can go take a look at the property afterwards. You must both be thirsty after such a long drive,” Duo said and led the way to the back door of their home.

Once everyone had a cool glass of lemonade, water or coffee according to their preference, Zoe inquired about Duo's still bandaged wrist.

“I heard from Michael that a dog bit you,” she said as she reclined in her chair.

“Yeah, a whopping big rottweiler decided he didn't want me examining him and latched on. I had to thump him pretty hard on the nose to get him to let go,” Duo replied.

Zoe shuddered. “What was the damage?”

“Four puncture wounds to the wrist, a couple of teeth scraped two bones and a nicked a tendon,” said Duo. “It could have been a lot worse so I count myself as being pretty lucky.”

“Jeeze, if you call that lucky I'd hate to see what you think of as unlucky,” Michael muttered

“Unfortunately, it's all part and parcel of the job. My doctor is happy with how it's all healing up though and the bandage will be off next Friday. I can start using it again pretty much straight away which will be a relief; poor Hilde and Catherine have been working flat out to assist me and keep the practice running. I owe them a lot.”

“Might be time to take on another vet,” Zoe teased.

“Actually, it's funny you should say that,” Duo began and smiled as he watched the woman's jaw start to drop. “The practice has been getting busier and busier, especially the equine side of things since I was the team vet for the Olympics. I was planning on advertizing for another vet, but before I could, I had an unexpected applicant. The new vet starts in a couple of weeks.” Duo looked rather smug.

“Who did you get? Is it anyone I know?” asked Zoe. She could tell by the way Duo's smile sat on his lips that there was more to this.

“I think you know him quite well.”

Zoe was looking very impatient. “Come on, tell me,” she demanded.

“It's Zechs.”

“Zechs?! You mean Mr. Tall, blonde and gorgeous? The one with the hot body and husky voice? The one that had Noin almost drooling all over herself for?”

Michael poked his wife in the ribs. “Hey! Remember me? Your husband?”

Scowling at the poke, Zoe turned her eyes to her husband. “Of course, Michael. Don't forget, Zechs is happily in a relationship with Treize no less. Anyway, nothing wrong with admiring another man, as long as I look but don't touch.”

Michael snorted.

With an amused smirk on his lips, Duo thought he'd better speak again before the pair started a domestic. “Yes, Zoe. Zechs is joining the practice here.”

“That's great! I'm sure he will be an asset to you and the practice.”

“Thanks, I think he will fit right in.”

Michael decided it was time to switch topics and turned the conversation to Heero's phone call and reason for their being here. “You're planning on going into business for yourself, Heero?”

“Hai, I am. It's something I've always wanted to do aside from competing at the Olympics. I've achieved that dream, although it would be nice to be selected to compete for my country again in another Olympics, but meanwhile I'd like to try running my own stable; problem is, I'm not too clued up on how to go about it. Treize has offered a few ideas which have been helpful, but I thought if you didn't mind I could ask you some questions, talk to you about the best way to go about it, amongst other things.” Heero trailed off, a little uncertain.

“Heero, I'd love to help you out. You're a fine horseman and have a way with horses. I know you can be successful at this and heaven knows, there's a lot of people out there that are crying out for a good rider to either teach them or take on horses to school and jump for them.”

Heero began to blush a little at the compliments, he'd never been comfortable with praise. He didn't see himself as anything out of the ordinary, he was just lucky to have had good horses and a damn good teacher himself. “Thanks for the confidence boost,” he replied. “Thing is, I don't have a clue how to get started, what to do, what sort of horses to take in, do I teach as well or just school horses? Do I jump them in competition or leave that to the owner? And then there's the problem of money; how much do I charge and so on.”

Setting his empty glass down, Michael leaned forward. “How about we start at the beginning? Let's go take a look at what facilities you have first and then we can start to make a plan outline from there.”

“Sounds good to me.” Heero stood up. “If everyone's finished their drinks, shall we go out and look the other property over?”

“I wouldn't miss this for the world,” Zoe grinned and stood. Duo also stood up and the four of them made their way back outside and along the raceway to Heero's section of the property.

*

“It's a very nice set up, Heero,” Michael commented.

They had been given the grand tour, starting with the paddocks and the obligatory stop to pet Wing, Shini, Zero and Angel. Heero had pointed out the other paddocks he had set aside for horses that would either be coming in for training or the mares booked to Zero and requiring agisting for that time. Heero had shown them his schooling paddock, complete with a nice set of jumps, the spare sheds and out buildings, the barn which was now a hay and feed storage shed and finished up inside the airy cow shed he'd had converted into stables.

Gazing around the stable area, Michael gave a low whistle. “I take it you have your own four stabled?”

“Hai, I do.”

“That leaves you with six spare stables then. That should be just right for what you plan on doing. The mares you get coming in for serving by Zero, I'd suggest you maybe leave them paddocked.”

“Can I make a suggestion here?” asked Zoe.

“Of course.” Heero gave the woman his attention.

“Just behind the barn you have a couple of sheds and a bit of open land. Why not convert those sheds into shelters and put up a couple of yards connected to them? A sort of walk in – walk out arrangement? That way you can put any mares in there. They will still have the stable area to get out of the elements and yet have a large enough yard to walk around and exercise in. Then you won't be tying up any stables or paddocks you could be using for more permanent horses.”

Heero thought on Zoe's words. “That sounds like a pretty good idea, Zoe. I think I'll look into that a bit more, thank you.”

“No problem.”

“As I said before, I'd take six in, Heero. That should still leave you with enough time to continue to work your own two.”

“That seems fair enough. What about shows though? If I have to take a clients horse to a show and I also want to take my own?”

“I think we will need to look at buying something like what Treize has, a goose-neck,” Duo said with a grin.

“I suppose so,” Heero replied.

“Heero, I'd suggest maybe taking on three horses to school and jump for clients. The other three stables you could easily fill with clients that wish to agist their horse and have regular lessons with you. If and when you do go to shows, the maximum number of horses you'd be likely to take would be five – your own two and the three clients'. You can pick up a four horse goose-neck at a reasonable price and still hang onto your own float. One of you can transport the clients' horses in the goose-neck and the other tow your own two in the double float.”

Heero sighed. “Now you know why I wanted to pick your brains.”

Michael laughed. “Don't worry so much, it's really not all that hard. Come on, let's go back to the house and we can talk more on facts and figures.”

“Bugger the facts and figures, I'm feeling hungry. I suggest we go back and eat lunch first, then we can discuss business,” Duo stated.

“I'm with Duo,” Zoe grinned. “My figure needs a bit of feeding.”

“Okay, lunch first, discussion after,” Heero relented.

The four made their way back through the raceway to Duo's property and the lunch that awaited them.

* * *

Lunch was a huge success, the steaks were cooked perfectly and the salads went down a treat too. Duo had managed to sneak a pre prepared cheesecake into the trolley when shopping and everyone enjoyed that for dessert. With lunch taken care of, Heero grabbed his notebook and the four sat comfortably in the kitchen to continue their discussions from earlier.

“How about we start with taking in horses to school and jump first?” Michael suggested.

“Fine with me,” Heero replied.

“Okay, as I said earlier, three would be a good number to start off with, that way you still have time to work your own two. I take it you are planning on jumping Shinigami again and bringing the younger one on?”

“Hai, I am. I've just brought Shini back into work and I hope to have him fit enough to start competing in another month. Wing is still at the basic stage so I'd be guessing about six months before he's even ready to try his first show jumping competition.”

“Aside from working and training the horses you accept – the basic routine of which you would be familiar with having worked for Treize - there's also the stable work side of things you need to consider. I'm assuming you're not taking on a groom or stable hand at this point to help out?”

“No, I wasn't planning on it. I really couldn't afford to employ someone for a while, if at all. It will depend on the success of the stable itself.”

“Good idea. I've been in the business for just over four years now and we've only just employed a stable hand to help out. I could have employed someone after a year, but Zoe and I were able to cope very well between us so it seemed silly to waste money on paying someone when we were fine doing it all by ourselves. These past six months the business has grown a lot and it was getting harder and harder to find the time to do all the usual chores and work the horses to the level they deserved and was expected. We have a young girl employed with us, she's a stable hand but also a working pupil too, I'd say something along the lines of what you're currently doing at Treize's. It works well for her and for us. If you do take someone on later down the track, you could always look at the possibility of a working pupil.”

“How many horses do you have now?” Duo asked.

“We have Zoe's three: Lion, Periwinkle and Shortcake, although Periwinkle is retired now, then I have Crackerjack and a youngster; Jester. Aside from our five, there's another six currently being schooled and jumped for clients and I have another six agisted; three of those are taking lessons from me.”

Duo gave a low whistle. “That would certainly keep you busy. I can see why you would take on an extra pair of hands.”

“It can get hectic at times,” Michael chuckled.

“What about rates and charges? Obviously there would be different fees for the different horses, correct?” Heero asked, consulting his notebook and some of the questions he'd written down.

“Very true. I base my rates on what the client wants doing with their horse, what current level of education it is at and how far they wish to take it, also if they want me to ride it in competition or if they wish to do that themselves.”

“It can get rather complicated, can't it?” Heero said with a raise of his eyebrow.

“You should be okay with the facts and figures though, Heero. You are an accountant by trade,” Duo couldn't help but put in.

“True, but I need base line figures to start off with,” Heero replied.

“It's not too hard, Heero. First up, you need a figure per week to keep a horse, that is the cost of feeding, water, pasture and your time in looking after the animal. A horse in full work will require two hard feeds a day and hay, not to mention the pasture. I work off a base figure of a hundred and seventy five per week per horse. On top of that is the time you spend schooling the animal. Assuming the owner wants the horse taking through the grades to its full capabilities, I ask three hundred per week per horse. For that the horse is fed and cared for, ridden and educated – it does not include shoeing, worming and any veterinary treatment the animal may require. The owner pays for registering the horse with the EFA and its grading card, also they pay the entry fees to the shows. I get to keep any and all prize money from the shows, the owner gets to keep the ribbons, rosettes and any cups or the like.”

Heero nearly fell off his chair with Michael's words. Duo's eyes had widened considerably; doing a few simple sums in his head told him that Heero should be able to earn a reasonable wage from this venture. Providing all went to plan that is.

“Having Duo's vet practice right here on the property too will also be an advantage to you. Should a horse get sick, you have immediate access to treatment. I'd actually have that put into the contract, something along the lines of if you are to take the animal on, it is with the understanding and consent of the owner that the Maxwell Vet Practice will be the consulting vets should the horse require treatment.”

“That would make perfect sense,” Heero agreed.

“What about agisting horses and teaching?” Duo questioned.

“Again, I'd be offering the agistment at one hundred and seventy five, lessons starting at eighty dollars an hour for a one on one lesson, or sixty an hour if there are two pupils together.”

“Now I know why you wanted to talk to Michael about all this,” Duo muttered. “I assume if someone wants to have private lessons with Heero but not agist their horse on the property, Heero should charge the same per hour?”

“Actually, I'd charge more. Say around ninety or a hundred an hour for a private lesson. By doing that, you're sort of offering a discount to those that wish to agist with you. Get what I mean?” Michael responded.

Heero nodded, it made sense to him.

“I think I'm in the wrong business,” Duo stated. That comment earned him a laugh from the other three.

“It's really up to you what figures you want to put on things, Heero; but don't do it too cheap. People are prepared to pay if they know they are getting a good rider on their horse, and let's face it, you will be doing a lot of work on their animals so you need to charge the appropriate rates. I think if you were to ring around other stables you'd find the fees and charges are pretty much the same across the board.”

“This would all need to be drawn up into a legal contract too, wouldn't it?” Heero asked.

“Yes. I would strongly advise you to have contracts drawn up for both elements; the agisting and the educating. Once you have a basic contract, run off several copies, that way when someone decides they want to bring their horse to you, you have all the paperwork printed up and ready. All they have to do is sign on the dotted line. If it would make things easier, I can email or fax you across a copy of the documents I use.”

“Would you mind?”

“Not at all. I can get Zoe to send them through once we get home if you like?”

“Thank you, that would be really helpful.”

“I'd suggest we do like we did with the copy of the stud contract that Relena gave you, go over it and make any changes relevant to your venture, then we can take it to the solicitor for him to look over and come up with the final draft. Once it's all legal and watertight, go ahead and print off what you need,” Duo said.

“Good idea,” Heero replied.

“Heero? Have you registered your business yet?” asked Zoe.

“Partially. I've registered the business name, but I still have to register the business itself. I thought I'd do that once I'm ready to open for business.”

“What is the business name?” Michael inquired.

“Salsbury Stud and Showjumping Stables,” Heero informed with a smile.

“Nice,” Zoe said.

“What would be the best way for Heero to start this venture off? Should he advertize in the papers and magazines or just try word of mouth?” Duo asked.

“That's a good question, Duo. I would suggest that Heero puts the word out at shows that he is going to be taking in horses to educate and jump, also teaching and taking a limited number of agisters too. It wouldn't hurt to pop an advertisement in the horse magazines either. A lot of people looking for instruction check out the horse magazines as opposed to the paper. Likewise, people attending shows are always keeping their ears open and looking for potential riders to take on a horse. I'm sure you have been approached yourself at shows before, Heero?”

“Hai, I have on a few occasions.”

“That's what I would suggest, try the magazines first. I'm betting that once the word gets out you will have a stable full and a waiting list as long as your arm within two weeks.”

“I don't know about that,” Heero frowned.

“Trust me, Heero, you'd be amazed at just how many people there are out there that are searching for people such as yourself to train their animals.” Michael sat back and finished off his drink, his throat quite parched after all the talking.

“Thank you, Michael, you too Zoe for all your advice and help. It really has given me a lot to think about and enlightened me at the same time.” Heero glanced at his note book.

“I hope we haven't scared you off,” Zoe smiled. “Once you get a couple of horses in and get started, it's really not that hard.”

“No, you haven't scared me off at all. In fact, you've made me even more keen to see if I can make this work. Now I have a guideline to work from, I'm sure I can figure it all out from here on.”

“Then my work here is done,” Michael chuckled. Turning to his wife, Michael spoke softly. “I think we'd better get going, it's still a long drive back and there's horses to be attended to when we get home.”

Zoe glanced at her watch. “I didn't realize the time. Guess that’s what happens when you're having fun.”

Michael and Zoe stood to take their leave, Heero and Duo following them outside to their car where they exchanged handshakes, a kiss to the cheek from Zoe and the promise to keep in touch and let Michael and Zoe know how things were going.

“If you need any further help or advice, ring me any time, Heero,” Michael said as he got in the car.

“Thank you, I will. I really appreciate all your time and effort in coming over and explaining everything to me.”

“I'll send those forms through tonight, Heero.”

“Thank you, Zoe, that's very kind of you.”

“No problem. Thanks for a lovely lunch, guys. You take care of that wrist, Duo.” Zoe said as she buckled her seat belt.

“I will. You behave yourself too,” Duo grinned back.

“Where's the fun in that?” Zoe shot back.

“Well, if you can't behave, just remember to name it after me,” Duo fired off.

Zoe's eyes went wide at that comment and unfortunately, she couldn't come up with a suitable reply. Michael snickered and started up the car. It wasn't often his wife was rendered speechless. Heero rolled his eyes.

“Drive carefully,” Duo called as the car reversed and then pulled onto the driveway to head back to the road.

“See you later, thanks again for having us,” Michael called out.

The car drove out of sight, Heero and Duo waving until it disappeared. Once the car was gone, Heero wrapped his arms around Duo's waist and pulled the vet to him, pressing a kiss to Duo's lips. “I love you, Duo,” he murmured softly to the vet.

“Love you too, Heero. Did you manage to understand all Michael was saying?”

“Hai. I've got a much clearer idea now of what to do and how to go about it.”

An evil smirk lit Duo's lips and he reached down to cup Heero's groin with his good hand. Massaging gently, he whispered huskily into the rider's ear, “I think you already know what to do, and I certainly know how to go about it. But just to be sure, would you like me to give you a refresher course?”

Heero moaned as his need began to rise. “I'd love a refresher course from you.”

“Then follow me.”

~ * ~

tbc...
- 6
- 7
- 8
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Equus