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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
- 70
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“Equus”

Chapter 71

“That's about all we can do for now,” Heero said and stretched his arms wide, giving a tired yawn at the same time.

“It looks like just about everything is covered, so there isn't much else to do,” Duo commented as his eyes perused the list. “I can't see anything obvious we may have missed.”

“Me either,” Heero replied. “We have the venue, which is the garden out the back of the farm house. The date is Sunday September twenty-first. Don't forget you will need to inform your clients that the practice will be completely closed on that day. I'll get onto checking with celebrants this week and see who is available and willing to conduct a civil service for us.”

“Catering?”

“I'll take a look on the Internet later and narrow down a few catering companies. Once I have that, we can both take a look and see what sort of foods they do and the costs involved.”

“You still comfortable with doing the wedding invitations on the computer?” Duo asked with a visible shudder.

Heero chuckled. “Hai, unless you'd rather we had them done at a proper printers?”

“No, I'm more than happy to have you do them, just as long as you don't expect me to come anywhere near your computer when you're doing them.”

“I'll do up a few samples and see what you think.”

“Sounds good.”

Heero continued to check the list and rattle off things as he thought about them. “Suits we already have in our closets. Oh, that's something we didn't think about; what about flowers?”

“If you think I’m carrying a bouquet, then you can think again, Heero,” Duo growled.

“Aa, that wasn't quite what I was thinking,” Heero replied, trying to hold his laughter. “I was thinking along the lines of buttonholes.”

“Oh, sorry.” Duo gave a sheepish grin before his eyes lit up. “What about we pick a couple of rose buds from the farm garden the night before or the morning of the service?”

“Just as long as we pick the right ones, we don't want them opening up into a full bloom for the service,” Heero muttered.

“Trust me, I'll know which ones to pick,” Duo snickered.

“Guest list is finalized so I'm sure we're pretty much done.”

“Music?” Duo suddenly thought. “We will need to have some music too.” When Heero raised a questioning eyebrow in his direction, Duo thought he'd better elaborate. “I know we've decided to do away with a best man, attendants or that sort of thing, but we will need to have some music in the background to walk to the celebrant. Oh, it might be an idea to have someone to show the guests where to go, you know, to their seats and stuff as we will both be occupied getting ready for the service.”

Heero thought on Duo's words. “I'm sure we could rig up the stereo system to play music for us to walk by and then continue in the background. I agree that someone to be a sort of 'organizer' on the day to do the things like show people where the ceremony is going to be held, turn the music on and off and other things along those lines would be a great benefit.”

“You have anyone in mind? 'Cause I'm all fresh out of ideas; and coffee.” Duo studied his empty mug.

“Here.” Heero held out his hand for the coffee mug and went to make them both a fresh cup. Sitting back down again with a replenished drink in front of them, Heero's attention turned back to whom they could ask to be their 'assistant'. “What about asking Hilde or Trowa?”

“I suppose we could, they're both on the guest list and really, they wouldn't be missing out on any of the ceremony,” Duo mused.

“Why don't you run the idea past Hilde tomorrow? If she's happy to do it then we can brief her more on what we need her to do later.”

“Okay, I'll do that.”

“We still haven't thought about a photographer, wedding cake or the honeymoon,” Heero said with a glint of amusement in his eye.

“We can order a cake from the bakery in Salsbury,” Duo returned. “They have a nice range and we can always pick up the so called 'wedding trimmings' from another shop and add them ourselves on the day.”

“That's a damn good idea.” Whilst Heero had no qualms about his relationship with Duo and their impending nuptials, he knew better than to 'advertise' it.

“As for a photographer; I haven't got a clue,” Duo carried on.

“Maybe we can ask some of the others if they know of anyone who would be willing to do the photographs.”

Duo shrugged his shoulders, “Sounds good. As for the honeymoon... Do we need to call it that? We're two guys after all.”

Heero wrapped his arms around his lover and cuddled him close. “Let's call it a celebration vacation.”

“Mmm, I much prefer that terminology.”

“Anywhere in particular you'd like to go?” Heero began to feather kisses along Duo's jaw and neck.

“I'd really like to go back to the cabins at that place in the Blue Mountains, you know, where we stayed a couple of weeks ago?”

“Then that's where we'll go. I'll call tomorrow and book us one for a week. That okay?”

“Yeah, that sounds really good,” Duo moaned and then turned to capture Heero's lips in a soft kiss. “I love you.”

“Love you too. Aa, almost forgot the most important thing.”

“Huh? I thought we'd covered everything.”

“Rings.”

Understanding dawned on Duo. “Ah. What would you suggest?”

“I'm quite happy to have a traditional, gold wedding band, but given how society still has problems accepting a gay couple, how about we have something like the gold wedding bands but with precious stones set in them?”

“Heero, I really like that idea. I have to go back to the hospital in a couple of weeks for the check on these burns and removal of the pressure sleeves so once we're done at the hospital, how about we check out a couple of the jewelry stores in Salsbury?”

“That-” Heero kissed the tip of Duo's nose, “sounds-” a kiss to Duo's cheek, “perfect.” Heero sealed their lips together.

“It's a date then,” Duo panted once he was let up for air.

“Hai, it's a date.”

* * *

“What are you up to today?” Duo asked as they sat down to eat breakfast.

“I'm going to get those stables and yards ready for Wing, Zero and Angel like you suggested and move them down there. The contractor should be here around one today to take a look at the mess to be removed and the rebuilding guy is calling in around three. I thought I'd give Orion and Lunar some work too.”

“Don't go stressing those hands, you hear?”

“I promise to be good,” Heero teased. “I'll be wearing gloves when I ride so they should be just fine. Are you coming down later to check on Nataku?”

“Yeah. Once morning consults are finished I'll be down to see how everything is. The stitches should be able to come out today as well, that's providing the wound has healed. Zechs is going to give me a hand.”

“I'll make sure to have her in the crush for you around twelve then?”

“Thanks, that would be great.”

*

“I'll send out a reminder in twelve months for Ginger's booster shots, Mrs. Neeves,” Duo said to the woman as she placed the orange cat back in the cat carrier.

“Thank you, Doctor Maxwell.” The woman paused as she was about to leave and addressed Duo again. “Doctor Maxwell, I read in the local paper about the fire and how you risked your life to save those poor horses. I just wanted to say, I'm sorry you got hurt and I wish you a speedy recovery. What you did was very brave and you should be commended for your actions.”

Duo could feel himself turning red. “Thank you, Mrs. Neeves, but I didn't do anything special.”

“Maybe not in your eyes, but to everyone else, you're a very special person.” The woman turned and with the cat carrier in hand, left the consulting room and an embarrassed and confused Duo behind.

Once the woman had left, Duo made his way to the reception area where Catherine was typing away on the keyboard. Catherine looked up when Duo stood there for a moment. “Anything I can help you with, Doctor Maxwell?” Catherine asked with a frown, Normally Duo would have picked up the next client file and continued on.

“Do we have a copy of the Salsbury Times?” he asked.

“Err, no. I can get one for you if you want?”

“If you could, that would be great. Thanks.”

“Um, no problem.”

Duo picked up the next client file and called the client through, leaving a perplexed Catherine in the reception area.

By the time Duo had finished his morning consults, Catherine had managed to get a copy of the local paper, but hadn't had the chance to look through it.

“I'll leave you with Catherine to book Sniffles in for the surgery, Mrs. Buckley.” Turning his attention to Catherine, Duo handed over the client file. “I need you to book Sniffles in for a tumor removal please.”

“No problem, Doctor Maxwell.” Catherine took the file and placed it on the counter before picking up the book for the surgery bookings. She also picked up the paper and handed it to Duo. “Here,” she said and turned back to the client.

“Thanks,” Duo replied and turning his back, went back into the consulting room. Closing the door behind him, Duo set the paper down on the bench and began to flip through the pages, not sure exactly what it was he was looking for. On page three a headline caught his eye. He'd found it.

LOCAL SHOWJUMPING STABLE THE TARGET OF ARSON

The Salsbury Times recently reported on the fire that destroyed the Salsbury Stud and Showjumping Stable. Since that report, the Salsbury Times has learnt that the devastating fire was discovered to be the work of an Arsonist. In the Salsbury District Court where the case went on trial, Judge Harris handed down a sentence of twelve years to a Mr. Stefan Graves for deliberately setting fire to the stable complex owned by local rider and dual Olympic Gold Medalist, Mr. Heero Yuy.

The fire was originally thought to have started due to an electrical fault, however further investigation by the Arson squad uncovered other evidence to the contrary. A set of security cameras that were operating on the evening of the fire confirmed the presence of an unauthorized person on the property and it was this recording that led the police to arresting and charging the perpetrator.

District Attorney, Andrew Morris provided several items of evidence along with the security tape to support the prosecution and it didn't take the jury long to return a verdict of guilty.

Mr. Yuy was returning home from a short vacation with his business partner and popular local vet, Doctor Maxwell from the Maxwell Veterinary Practice, to find the stable complex fully alight. Doctor Merquise, another vet at the Maxwell Practice who also resides on the property, and another local jumping personality, Mr. Khushrenada were the first on the scene and after calling the fire department, did their best to get all the horses inside the stables out to safety. When Mr. Yuy and Doctor Maxwell arrived, the stables were well alight and three horses were still trapped inside.

With no thought to their own safety, Mr. Yuy and Doctor Maxwell both entered the burning building to try and rescue the remaining horses. The Salsbury Times understands that one of those horses still trapped was Mr. Yuy's Olympic mount: Shinigami. Two of the horses were successfully rescued, but one still remained inside.

In what can only be called a heroic gesture, Doctor Maxwell risked his own life to save that of the last horse. During his attempt to free the horse, the roof began to fall in and Doctor Maxwell was injured. Fortunately, Doctor Maxwell was able to free the horse and the pair of them made it safely outside with seconds to spare.

Mr. Yuy and Doctor Maxwell both sustained burns and other injuries during their attempt to free the panicked animals...

The article continued on, touching briefly on the charges of Aggravated Cruelty the R.S.P.C.A had lodged and the resulting fine and jail term along with a brief run down on Duo's practice and Heero's success in the world of showjumping, but Duo let his eyes drift closed as he thought on the words. Seemed the journalist had gotten her story after all. Duo was just grateful that there was no mention as to why Stefan had done what he did.

A soft knocking on the door drew Duo from his thoughts and he opened his eyes. “Yes?” he called out.

“Doctor Maxwell, is everything okay?”

Recognizing Catherine's voice, Duo knew he owed the woman an explanation. “I'm fine, Catherine, you can come in.”

Catherine entered and glanced at Duo. She seemed satisfied that he was, as he'd said, okay. Duo smiled at the woman and pointed to the paper.

“Mrs. Neeves said something about my being heroic in saving the horses from the fire. She said she'd read about it in the local rag.”

“Ah, so that's why you wanted a copy?”

“Yeah. Here, read it for yourself, although I still disagree with some of what they printed.”

Catherine read the article, the smile on her face growing wider with each paragraph. When she'd finished, she turned to Duo. “I think I'd have to agree with the reporter. It was a brave and courageous thing you did, Duo, both you and Heero deserve medals for risking your lives to save those horses.”

“Don't you start too!” Duo protested.

Catherine just laughed.

* * *

Nataku stood quietly in the crush while Zechs gently snipped away at the line of stitches. Duo stood to the side and watched, Heero remained by the mare's head and spoke softly to her. Once the stitches were removed, Zechs gently wiped the remaining scar with a swab coated in betadine.

“It's healed up very well,” Duo commented as he scrutinized the area.

“Much better than I thought it would,” Zechs agreed and reached for the antibiotic cream.

“What's the verdict?” Heero asked as he slipped the mare another carrot.

“The wounds have healed very well. There will possibly be a bit of scarring there, but the skin has knitted back together beautifully. The other superficial burns are granulating well too. At this stage I'd be pretty confident in saying she will make a full recovery,” Zechs said as he applied the cream to the wounds.

“I know this is probably asking a lot, but what do you think her chances are of being ridden and competing again?” Heero knew there was a lot riding on the outcome of Nataku's healing.

“Whilst I can't be one hundred percent certain, I think there's a very good chance she will suffer no ill effects from her ordeal and should be able to go on to continue her career,” Zechs stated as he straightened up and capped the tube.

“That's great news,” Heero replied with a smile.

“Best thing is to wait another week or two, she should be okay by then to start to resume a little light work. Once she does, you would have a better idea in regards to whether or not she is comfortable with being ridden again and therefore if she will be capable of jumping again. At this stage, everything medical is pointing in that direction.”

“Thanks, Zechs.”

“My pleasure, Heero. She's all done so she can go back out in the paddock now.”

Heero took Nataku back out to her paddock, leaving Duo and Zechs to confer between themselves as to the mare's medical condition. “I'll call Wufei later and let him know how she is coming along if you like?” Zechs said as he cleaned up after treating the horse.

“Thanks, Zechs. I'm sure Wufei would appreciate the update, especially as it's all good news.”

Zechs chuckled. “I'm sure he will. I'd best get moving, there's still a couple of surgeries to do before evening consults.”

“Hopefully my pager will stay quiet,” Duo said with a grin.

With a shake of his head, Zechs left the stables and headed back to the practice to take care of the surgeries they had booked in. Duo waited for Heero to return and the pair went back to the cottage for some lunch and to discuss Nataku's recovery and proposed return to work.

* * *

Heero was kept quite busy over the next few days. The demolition squad as Duo dubbed them, turned up and for two days solid the old farm yard was a hive of activity. Large trucks came and went, arriving empty only to be filled with the rubble and remains of the once proud stable block.

The horses weren't too impressed with the constant noise and coming and going of the trucks. Having been given the all clear by Doctor Devlin to commence riding again, Heero had his work cut out for him when trying to school the equines. Shinigami was still healing from the burn to his rump and Heero had decided to let the stallion have several weeks off. It wouldn't hurt Shini and would give Heero a little more time to work on Wing. Orion was moving ahead in leaps and bounds, Heero feeling pretty confident that the black would be upgraded after his next show to C grade.

Lunar was still as steady as ever, the mare an accomplished jumper but not in the quality of Orion, Shini or Wing. While she was happy enough to jump, she still lacked that vital 'spark' that a top animal needed to make it to the big time.

Frank still came out regularly and worked Jester hard. His lessons with Heero had increased to two a week and the pair were forging ahead. Jester was still a hot horse, but he was a wiser one now too. Under Heero's careful tutelage, they had finally 'clicked' and worked together like a well-oiled machine. Jester only needed one more point and he would be upgraded to A grade.

Frank was over the moon with his progress and couldn't thank Heero enough for his time and dedication to educating the pair of them. Heero brushed the praise off, saying the best thanks he could possibly have was to see the pair out competing and achieving their goals. Heero also encouraged Frank to try out for the Nations Cup team.

The selectors would be starting to look at possible candidates over the next couple of months. Although the season was starting to come into the closing months, and the Nations Cup wasn't for another eighteen months, Heero knew the selectors would start looking early for possible people to short list.

Frank was more than eager and picked Heero's brains on what he would need to do to qualify, what shows the selectors would be attending and anything at all remotely connected to the Nations Cup. Heero happily filled him in, indulging the other rider over many a cup of coffee in the cottage or stables, much to Duo's amusement.

Once the old stable ruins had been completely cleared away, building began on the new ones. Heero had met with the head builder and gone over the blueprints from the original stables with him. They had discussed the few alterations Heero wanted and managed to incorporate them into the existing design with minimal fuss. The insurance company was happy with the changes too and gave the go ahead for the work to commence.

Once more the horses were less than impressed with the constant hive of activity that seemed to be going on all day every day from dawn until dusk.

The day of Duo's last appointment at the hospital outpatients clinic rolled around and Heero drove his lover to the hospital. Duo was doing his best to keep his excitement at bay, but it wasn't easy. He couldn't wait for the pressure sleeves to finally come off his legs. He'd been doing simple exercises that the physiotherapist had shown him and whilst he still had the crutches, he wasn’t using them much at all, managing to move around by himself quite well. Aside from the pressure bandages coming off, Heero had reminded Duo of their intention to take a look in the jewelry store and pick out rings for themselves.

“How are they looking?” Duo asked Doctor Devlin.

“All things considered, they have healed very well.” Devlin straightened up. “You will need to be careful with them over the next couple of weeks as the new skin begins to toughen up. Remember, those legs have been covered up for a few weeks and although they have healed, the skin and muscles will be quite tender for a few days. I’ll have the nurse give you a tube of Vitamin E cream to take home with you. I want you to apply it twice daily. Once in the morning and then again in the evening before you go to bed. I’d suggest putting it on after you’ve taken your shower. The cream will help the new skin to remain elastic as it settles and help with any scarring that may remain. Any questions?”

“Nope, I think you’ve covered everything. Oh, how long do I keep using the cream for?”

“I want you to use the whole tube. Once it’s finished, see how the legs are and if you find the skin becoming irritated or tight, get some more and continue using it. You can stop when there’s no further tightness in the skin, or if you prefer, you can continue to use it for as long as you like, it won’t do any harm at all.”

“Thanks, Doc.”

“Right, if that’s all I’ll have the nurse fetch that cream for you and then you’re free to leave.”

Duo got off the examination bed and pulled his jeans back on. He had to admit that his legs felt a little weird, very sensitive to be precise and that was because they had been wrapped up in the bandages and then pressure sleeves for so long. With the cream tucked safely in his hand, Duo stepped out of the room and went back to find Heero in the waiting room.

Spotting the familiar form of his lover approaching, Heero tossed the magazine he’d been reading back to the small table and stood up to meet his partner. He noted the smile on Duo’s face and gave one of his own in return. “All good?” he asked.

“Yup. Doc is really pleased with the way the legs have healed and he’s given me a clean bill of health,” Duo replied as they walked back out to the car.

“What’s that?” Heero questioned, spotting the tube in Duo’s hand.

Duo’s eyes sparked with mischief and he leaned a little closer to Heero. “Lube?” he said in all innocence.

Heero’s face turned bright red and he almost choked. “You’re joking?” he spluttered.

Duo couldn’t help it, he broke out in laughter. “Oh, Heero, if you could only see your face!” He chuckled some more before deciding to come clean. “Nah, it’s Vitamin E cream, Doc said to rub it on twice a day and it will help with keeping the skin supple as it adjusts.”

“I should have known you’d say something like that,” Heero muttered, but he wasn’t angry, rather the opposite; it was good to see Duo’s fun side returning. “Come on, get in the car and behave yourself otherwise I won’t take you ring shopping.”

Duo pouted. “You promised,” he said, his tone that of a petulant child.

Shaking his head, Heero admitted defeat and drove them into the heart of Salsbury where the jewelry shops were.

*

“I think I’m going cross eyed,” Duo remarked as his eyes perused yet another tray of rings.

“I think I agree with you,” Heero muttered. They had been looking through the offerings of three different jewelers, had tried on too many rings to remember and still hadn’t found anything they liked. The sales people had done their best to accommodate the men, showing them the many and varied designs and settings of rings, but nothing had actually ‘reached out’ to either man.

“There’s one more store in town,” Duo said. “Do we have time to visit it?”

Glancing at his watch, Heero noted they had roughly two hours left before Duo would be needed for consults and Heero still had to bring the horses in and feed up. “If we’re reasonably quick we can squeeze one last store in.”

“Okay. If I remember correctly, it’s down this street here.” Duo led them down yet another street and into a jewelry store. It was a smaller one that the others they’d visited, but still had a large selection of items on display. A smiling sales girl spotted them and came across.

“Can I help you gentlemen?”

“I hope so,” Heero replied.

“Anything in particular you’re looking for?” the woman asked.

Duo gave the woman his best smile and poured on the charm. “We’re looking for a couple of rings, something like a gold band with precious or semi-precious stones set in them.”

“Ah.” The sales girl twigged and she smiled softly at the pair. “If you don’t mind me asking, are these to be a sort of special occasion rings?”

“You could say that,” Duo said with another grin.

“If you come over here to this display cabinet, we just might have something to suit your purpose.”

The pair followed the woman across the room to another display cabinet where she proceeded to pull out a couple of trays. Once again Heero and Duo went over the rings on display, picking up one here and there but discarding it moments later. The woman watched in amusement. She had a rough idea of the status of the couple, but she wasn’t about to voice that. Instead, she continued to observe the pair for a few minutes. Having watched the two for a little while, she cleared her throat.

“Excuse me for being forward, but I gather these rings are to hold a specific meaning to you both?”

“Err, yes, you could say that,” Duo replied with a blush.

“Look, if you could just indulge me for a moment, I might be able to find those special rings you’re looking for.”

Heero wasn’t too sure but agreed, along with Duo to the woman’s request.

“This is probably going to sound weird, but could I take a look at your eye colors please?”

Heero frowned, Duo shrugged. “Sure.”

After looking carefully at both men for a moment, the woman’s face lit up. “Wait right here, I think I might have exactly what you’re looking for.” With the words said, she disappeared out the back for a moment. When she returned, she had a black, velvet box in her hand. “See what you think of this.” She opened the box and sat it down on the counter.

Both men leaned in for a closer look, Duo’s eyes sparkling when he saw the ring. It was a plain, gold band and nestled in the center were four stones. Two purple and two a dark blue.

“It’s twenty-four carat gold and the stones are sapphires and amethysts,” the woman informed. “Here, try it on.” She pulled the ring from the box and handed it to Duo who took it and tried it on. It was a little large, but the gold shone under the light, the gems sparkling.

A dreamy look came into Duo’s eyes as he looked at the ring on his finger. “What do you think, Heero?”

“It’s a bit large.”

“Don’t worry about that, sir, our jeweler can alter it to fit. Would you like to try it on?” It hadn’t passed the woman’s notice that Duo had slipped the ring onto his ring finger of his left hand.

Heero took the ring and slipped it on his own ring finger where it nestled snugly at the base.

“Perfect fit, Heero,” Duo said softly.

Heero had to admit, he did like the look of the ring and how it sat on his finger. But he loved the look on Duo’s face even more when he’d tried it on. “Do you have two of them?”

“That’s the only one we have, however, I can get you another made up exactly the same and in the size your partner requires.”

The word ‘partner’ didn’t escape either man.

“Duo, what do you think?”

“I think it’s perfect.”

Turning back to the woman, Heero slipped the ring off his finger and placed it back in the box. “We will take this one and have an identical one made up as well, please.”

The woman beamed. “No problem at all, sir.”

~ * ~

tbc…
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Equus