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
- 84
- 85
- 86
“Equus”

Chapter 85

Howard was certainly not what either man was expecting in a celebrant. Both had somehow pictured the man to be the wrong side of middle aged, slightly graying hair, clean shaven and dressed conservatively – in shirt and slacks. The man that stood before them was nothing like that. The hair line had receded leaving tufts around the base of the skull and sticking out to the sides. He sported a mustache and goatee beard and that somehow complimented the receding hair line.

His standard of dress was nothing at all like they had envisioned. Loose shirt with the glaring Hawaiian print, dark sunglasses perched on the nose hiding his eyes and baggy shorts from which a pair of spindly legs poked out and ended with sandals on the feet.

As for his age? That was anyone's guess.

Despite the eccentricity of the appearance, Duo found himself warming towards the man. Heero was still too deep in shock to have formed any sort of opinion.

“Mr. Yuy, Doctor Maxwell, I'm Howard Sweeper, but please, call me Howard,” the man spoke and held out a hand.

Seeing his partner still trying to wrap his mind around the odd man, Duo stood up and took the offered hand. “I'm Doctor Duo Maxwell. It's a pleasure to meet you, Howard.”

Having recovered enough of his brain for his manners to kick in, Heero also stood and shook the man's hand. “Heero Yuy, pleased to meet you, Howard. I'm the one that contacted you.”

With the pleasantries dispensed with, Howard waved them back to their seats and took his own behind the large desk. “Now, let's get down to business, shall we?” Shuffling through some papers on his desk, Howard located the one he was looking for and pulled it to the top of the pile. “Mr. Yuy, you contacted me a short while ago in regards to conducting a civil ceremony between yourself and your partner, Doctor Maxwell. The ceremony is to be held on Sunday the twenty first of September, which is a week from this coming Sunday at eleven o'clock; correct?”

“Hai.” Heero had finally recovered enough of his brain cells to actually form coherent words and follow the conversation.

“Good. The purpose of this meeting is for us to get to know each other a little better and to discuss with you both the actual ceremony itself, the service you wish for me to use and to answer any questions you may have.” Seeing Heero's face changing a touch, Howard could tell the young man was already bursting with a question. “Yes?” he asked.

“Umm, I'm not sure how to say this, but...” Heero swallowed and decided to just come out with it. “You aren't planning on marrying us dressed like that, are you?”

Despite the fact that the exact same question had been foremost in his own mind, Duo gave his lover a swift kick for his lack of tact.

“Ow!” Heero blurted out before he could think and rubbed his abused shin. “What did you do that for?”

“It's not polite to ask something like that,” Duo hissed. “I apologize for my partner's bluntness, no offense was intended,” Duo said, turning his attention to Howard.

Heero scowled. “But...”

Howard cleared his throat, interrupting anything else that might have been said. Although the men couldn't see it as Howard was still wearing his sunglasses, amusement sparked in his eyes. “Don't worry about it, no offense taken and strangely enough it's a question I get all the time, don't know why, but...” Howard shrugged his shoulders. “In answer to that question though, no, I will not be dressed like this, unless you're having a themed service and in that case I can present in whatever you wish to fit in with the theme.”

Heero let go a sigh of relief – and avoided looking at Duo whom he knew would be glaring at him for his lack of decorum. “Ah, no, we're not planning on having a theme.”

“Now that we have that cleared up I suggest we talk about the ceremony...”

It took just over an hour for the three to discuss the entire ceremony and service. Howard explained how the basic ceremony was usually performed and the words used in the service itself. Once that was done the three then proceeded to modify the ceremony to suit what they wanted and fit in with their ideas. Howard took notes and suggested other things until they had a complete outline of exactly how the ceremony would proceed.

With that part of the festivities completed and everyone happy they moved on to the actual service itself and the words Howard would use to join them together. Howard explained that the services themselves were simply a guideline and that they could change any of it to suit themselves or, if they wished, they could come up with their own choice of words. He did warn them though that under the marriage act and being that same sex marriages were still not legal, there were certain words or phrases that couldn't be used. There were a few actual services Howard could use and he gave the pair copies of each to look at and read.

After studying the services, the pair decided on the one they both liked the best and then modified it a little to suit their own tastes and needs. Once that was done they each decided they would like to add a few words of their own into the service itself and would write up their own 'speeches' to read on the day. Howard was more than happy to accommodate that request and looked forward to seeing what the guys came up with. With everything now planned out and arranged and all three happy with the results, it was time to leave.

“Thank you for your time, Howard and all your help with the ceremony,” Duo said as he shook hands once more with the eccentric man.

“It's my pleasure,” Howard replied with a smile. “I'm looking forward to reading what you both come up with for your respective parts of the ceremony.”

“Thanks and I'm sorry if I was a little rude earlier,” Heero said, “I'm afraid tact isn't a strong point of mine as my partner keeps pointing out to me.”

Chuckling, Howard shook the dark haired man's hand. “Don't worry about it, I tend to have that effect on people at times.” Having escorted the pair back to the front door, Howard stood on the steps as the two men walked back down the little path to their parked car. “Don't forget to drop off your final version for the ceremony when you have it completed and I'll see you both a week on Sunday.”

Pulling out onto the road Heero mused over their meeting, but before he could say anything, Duo beat him to it.

“Despite his outward appearance, he seems a very nice man and perfect for the role of celebrant. He sure had some great ideas.”

“Hai, he did.” Heero smiled to himself, it appeared he'd made the right choice with the celebrant.

Duo glanced at his watch. “I'm not trying to rush things, Heero, but time is getting on and I need to get back to the practice for evening consults very soon.”

“Don't worry, we only have to call at the jewelers and pick up the rings and we're all done.”

A broad grin swept over Duo's face. “You know, I'm still having trouble believing all this is really happening.”

“I know, so do I. Some days I have to pinch myself to make sure I'm not dreaming.”

”Heero? This is going to sound really weird, but are you sure you're happy, that this is what you want? It's not too late to back out now and call the whole thing off if you aren't comfortable with the whole marriage thing. I don't need a piece of paper to say we're together, I'm happy with you regardless...” A warm hand closed over his own and stopped Duo's babbling. The vet looked across to his partner.

Keeping his eyes on the road, Heero squeezed Duo's hand. “Duo, this is everything I’ve ever wanted. I don't regret a single thing and I would ask you again and again to marry me. You are my life and I'm looking forward to spending the rest of my days with you. I don't need a piece of paper either to say I'm totally committed to you, but by having that it also lets everyone else know that you're mine and I'm yours and because of that I'm the happiest man alive.” Heero pulled Duo's hand towards him and kissed the knuckles. “I love you, Duo. Forever and always.”

“Aw, shit,” Duo sniffled.

*

The sales assistant looked up when the door chimed to let her know a customer had entered the shop and a smile crept over her face when she saw who it was. “Good afternoon, gentlemen,” she greeted.

“Good afternoon,” Heero replied in kind. Duo waved shyly from beside his partner. Pulling his wallet from his pocket, Heero produced the receipt for their rings and showed it to the woman. “We're here to pick up these rings.”

Taking the offered paper, the woman read over the details. “Just one moment, sir.” She disappeared out into the back of the shop.

Whilst the sales girl was absent, Duo wandered around the many display cases, admiring the various items contained within. His eyes alighted on something and he moved in for a closer look. A soft smile spread over his face as he stared at the sparkling thing. It was a necklace, white gold to be exact with a horseshoe pendant studded with small diamonds.

It was perfect.

Duo hadn't bought anything for Heero as a wedding present, they had discussed it and decided that the wedding itself would be enough of a present for them both, but Heero was paying for the rings and the honeymoon and whilst Duo knew his lover didn't want anything from him, he couldn't help but feel this would be a perfect gift for his future husband. Squinting a little, he managed to read the price tag and noted it wasn't as expensive as he'd thought it would be. He had enough funds to cover the cost and decided that come hell or high water he was going to buy that necklace and pendant for Heero.

Now all he had to worry about was purchasing it without Heero knowing.

The sales girl came back out and Duo rejoined his partner to take a look at their rings.

Handing the black, velvet boxes over she smiled as the pair opened them and gazed in awe at the rings nestled inside. “Try them on,” she instructed. “This is the one you tried on and it fitted,” she said speaking to Duo. “The other one has been made to fit your finger size, sir,” she said to Heero.

Gingerly, both men removed the rings from their boxes and slipped them on their respective fingers. Both fitted perfectly.

“Excellent,” the woman stated, “and if I may say so, they do suit both of you.”

Heero blushed but had to admit, the ring did look good on his finger. He'd seen the other one on Duo's finger when they'd first come in here looking for wedding rings and admired how lovely it looked on his partner's hand. He'd had no idea that it would look equally as stunning on his own. The small amethysts and sapphires sparkled in the fluorescent lighting. Reluctantly they took the rings off and put them back in the boxes. Heero took care of the final paperwork whilst Duo sidled off to admire the horseshoe pendant again and thought furiously how he could possibly buy it without Heero knowing.

With the paperwork dealt with, Heero looked around for his partner. “All finished,” Heero said and moved towards the door with Duo following along. They stepped back out and went to the car, Heero unlocking it for them both to get in.

Getting into the car, Duo was suddenly struck with an idea. He glanced at his watch and shook his wrist, making a big show of scrutinizing the thing again. He added a couple of 'tutting' noises for good measure and noted Heero glancing at him. “Damn watch. I think the battery has gone on it,” he stated. “Would you mind just waiting for a couple more minutes, Heero? I might as well duck back in the jewelers while we're here and see if they can put in a new battery for me.”

“Okay,” Heero replied, non the wiser to his partner's white lie.

“I'll be quick,” Duo promised and promptly clambered back out of the car and dashed back into the jewelers.

The sales girl looked up in confusion when Duo came back in. “Is there anything wrong, sir?” she asked.

“Nah, nothing's wrong.” Duo went on to explain about the horseshoe pendant. The woman quickly cottoned on and had the item out of the display box in an instant. It looked even more beautiful to Duo when it was in his hand than when it had been in the display cabinet. “I'll take it,” he said.

Smiling at him, the woman quickly placed it in a box and wrapped it up. Handing over his credit card, Duo paid for the item, tucked it into his pocket and shot back outside to where Heero was still waiting.

“All fixed?” Heero asked when his partner slid back into the car beside him.

“Yeah, all done.” Duo wiggled his wrist to show Heero the watch.

“Right, we'd better be getting back then otherwise you'll be late for consults and the horses will be bashing their gates down to come in for their dinner.”

* * *

The remainder of the week passed in a bit of a blur for both men. Duo was busy with consults, Heero with his horses and any spare time they had between them was spent on the last minute things for their pending wedding.

Before they knew it, Sunday the fourteenth was upon them and only one week left until their wedding.

The caterers had called and confirmed the final menu, stating they would be arriving at the farmhouse to start getting things ready at nine on the Sunday morning. Tables and chairs had all been hired along with a large, white marquee and would be dropped off on the Saturday afternoon. The caterers would supply all the linen, crockery and cutlery along with glassware and waitstaff for the occasion. Heero had ordered all beverages (alcoholic and non alcoholic) from their local liquor store and would pick them up on the Saturday morning when he went to pick up the wedding cake.

The decorations for the cake had been purchased separately and all they needed to do was put them with the cake on the morning of the wedding and hand the cake over to the caterers who would then 'dress' the cake for them.

Both men had decided to forgo the expense of buying suits and hired them instead. Although each was in possession of a suit, both preferred to have something newer for their wedding day.

When the invitations had gone out and June had received hers, she'd immediately contacted the guys to not only accept, but to offer her help with the arrangements. The offer had been met with grateful thanks but a polite decline - until June let them know she used to work as a florist and wedding flowers had been her specialty.

After much discussion between the three, it had been decided that the guys would pay for the flowers and June would make the arrangements for the tables and do all the buttonholes. The question as to how many buttonholes brought with it a slight problem.

Both men had completely forgotten about having a best man.

“Shit, I don't believe we missed something as important as that,” Duo moaned into his coffee.

“I can see how it got missed,” Heero replied, looking thoughtfully into his tea.

“Then please, enlighten me,” Duo prompted.

“When we first decided to get married we both said we didn't want this to be along the lines of a traditional wedding with things like bridesmaids, bouquets and such.”

“Yeah, I do remember that.” Duo snorted. “There's no way I was going to play the part of the bride. I know I have the long hair and all, but that was taking it a little too far.”

“And I don't expect you to. You're a man, the man I fell in love with and want to spend the rest of my life with,” Heero said softly and stroked his fingers along Duo's arm causing the vet to shiver. “Knowing we weren't going to go with that sort of tradition, we completely forgot about having a best man each, someone to help us both through the service and hang onto the rings for us.”

“I guess that's something we really need to rectify, and quickly,” Duo sighed. “Any ideas on who you would like for your best man?”

“They really need to be someone we're close to,” Heero mused.

The pair fell silent, each lost in their own thoughts as to who they should pick to be their best man – and hope to hell they would accept at such short notice. Smokey strolled into the kitchen and began to wind herself around Duo's ankles, absently the vet picked her up and cuddled her.

“I think I know who I'm going to ask,” Duo said quietly, scratching the back of Smokey's neck. Heero raised an eyebrow in question. “I'd like to ask Trowa. I've known him ever since I moved here to Salsbury. He's been a very good friend over the years.”

“I think Trowa would be perfect,” Heero smiled.

Duo let out a puff of air. “I guess I really should call him and ask him if he would do it. Have you thought of who you're going to ask?”

“Hai, I have.” Heero paused for a moment, lost in his memories.

“Somehow I don't think that Zero would pass as a best man,” Duo chuckled.

Heero shook his head and laughed loudly. “No, I don't think he would. Aside from the fact that they don't make suits for horses, he wouldn't have anywhere to put the ring or be able to pass it to me either!”

Joining in with his lover's mirth, Duo could just picture having Zero standing solemnly at Heero's side as they took their wedding vows. “You know, it would be nice to have Zero at the wedding. After all, he's the one that really brought us together.”

Heero looked up sharply and he swallowed. “Hai, it would be nice, but I don't think he would quite fit in with the guests, the marquee and everything else.” Heero declined to say anything further. He'd already got a little surprise up his sleeve for Duo and didn't want his lover finding out anything about it until their wedding.

He decided to get things back to their original discussion. “Getting back to the topic of a best man, I'd like to have Treize as mine.”

Duo's eyes warmed. “I couldn't think of anyone better.”

“I suggest we make those calls now then, they only have a week before the wedding.”

“Might be an idea,” Duo chuckled. “You want to go first or me?”

“I'll call Treize first. Once you get on the phone to Trowa it will be ages before you can get off.” When Duo gave him a look, Heero elaborated. “Quatre will be there too and he will want to know immediately what is going on which means Trowa will have to tell him and then Quatre will want to talk to you as well and you'll be lucky if you get off the phone before midnight.”

“Point,” Duo sighed. “I'll go take my shower while you call Treize, at least then if I fall asleep on the phone I'll be already in my pajamas – much easier for you to carry me through and put me to bed that way.”

With a shake of his head and a snicker to himself, Heero went through to the lounge to make his call.

*

Contrary to Heero's prediction, Duo wasn't on the phone until midnight – he managed to get away after only an hour of chatting, and only then because he told Quatre he really needed to use the bathroom. Trowa had been both honored and humbled that Duo would ask him to play such an important role in his wedding and had accepted immediately. Naturally Quatre had wanted to know what was going on and once Trowa had told him, the blonde kidnapped the phone from his lover and chatted away to Duo until the vet had protested an imminent 'accident' if he didn't get off the phone to use the toilet.

“For someone who doesn't lie, you sure know how to bend the truth,” Heero snickered when he heard Duo's excuse to hang up.

“Actually, it isn't a lie, I really do need to go, just not quite as urgently as I led Quatre to believe,” Duo defended himself and before Heero could reply he made a show of walking out of the lounge room and heading for the bathroom.

Picking up his coffee when he returned, Duo snuggled up against Heero on the couch. “What did Treize have to say?”

“He accepted.” Duo raised an eyebrow, indicating he wanted further information. Heero sighed. “He said he was flattered that I would have asked him to play the part and would be extremely honored to be my best man. Happy now?”

“Yeah,” Duo snickered and then sat bolt upright. “Shit! I just thought of something.”

Alarmed by his partner's sudden actions, Heero was on the verge of panic. “What?” he demanded as all sorts of things they could have possibly missed flitted through his mind.

“Both Trowa and Treize will need to wear outfits that will compliment our own.”

Heero relaxed a touch. “Is that all,” he sighed in relief. For a moment there he thought they'd forgotten something really important.

“What do you mean, is that all? In case you'd forgotten, I'm going into Salsbury tomorrow to collect our suits and stuff from the hire place. What if Treize and Trowa don't have anything that matches?”

“Duo, calm down. We can give them both another call in the morning and discuss it with them then. I'm sure all we will need to do is arrange suitable shirts and ties and those we can also get from the hire place. All we need is their sizes.”

Visibly sagging in relief, Duo flopped back to his partner's side.

* * *

Heero called both Treize and Trowa on the Monday morning to alert them both to the current situation regarding their attire for the wedding. As it was, both men were already wearing suits and the color would fit in perfectly with what Heero and Duo were planning on wearing. Shirt and tie though was a different story. Neither man had anything remotely similar to what the guys wanted in their current wardrobe. After explaining that Duo would be collecting their own apparel that day from the suit hire in Salsbury he convinced them both to allow Duo to also hire shirts and ties for them. Once he'd gotten their sizes he promised to call them both back later and arrange a day and time for them to collect the shirts and ties.

“You sure you're okay to pick up the suits and stuff by yourself?” Heero asked when Duo stepped into the kitchen having finished getting ready for his trip into Salsbury.

“I'll be fine, Heero. I'm a big boy and I think I can complete a trip into town all by myself without getting lost,” Duo replied with a touch of sarcasm.

“I wasn't insinuating that you were helpless,” Heero huffed.

“I know, but I'm more than capable of fetching the suits, besides, you're flat out here with the horses and getting the grounds at the back of the farmhouse ready for Saturday.” Duo pressed a kiss to Heero's cheek. “I think it's sweet that you worry about me though.”

Heero smiled and turned his head for a proper kiss. Nibbling on Duo's bottom lip when they broke for air, he muttered softly. “Do we have any petrol for Jaws?”

“There's a small can on the shelf in the shed, it should be about half full,” Duo replied before pulling away and giving his lover a sly look. “You mean to tell me that you're actually going to brave using Jaws? Especially after the last time?”

“Yeah, well... The lawn out back of the farmhouse does need a mow. Zechs has already weeded all the flower beds and cleaned all the pathway to and around the wishing well. I didn't think it fair to ask him to mow the lawns too. He did offer to do it, but I said I'd take care of it.” Heero visibly shuddered. The very thought of using Duo's ancient lawn mower, aptly named 'Jaws', was enough to have him cringing in fear. After the last time he'd used it in an attempt to surprise his lover by mowing the cottage lawn for him, he'd vowed he would never go near the thing again. Everything had been going just fine and dandy until he started it – then it was as if the damn thing came alive. It had taken off on him, straight across the lawn and through two of Duo's flower beds. The daisies had all been beheaded in spectacular fashion and the lawn had taken a while to recover from the funny, squiggly lines the mower had left behind.

But it was time to swallow his pride and try again. At least Duo wouldn't be around to witness the spectacle – at least he hoped so.

“Good luck, Heero. Although, I never seem to have a problem with using Jaws, it always works just fine for me.”

Heero scowled but held his tongue.

“I'm off, I'll see you later on.” Grabbing his keys and pager just in case, Duo gave his lover one last peck to the lips and left to run his errands.

Finishing his coffee, Heero took the mug to the sink and rinsed it out. He gazed out the kitchen window to the paddocks beyond, noting the horses all happily grazing. “This is ridiculous,” he chastised himself. “It's only a bloody lawn mower!” Squaring his shoulders, Heero put his boots on and stepped out of the cottage to go and do battle with Jaws.

* * *

Quatre sat at the back of the court room, the R.S.P.C.A. lawyer beside him, waiting for their turn to prosecute Leroy Saunders. The man had been led into the court room and sat with his lawyer, face unchanging as the charges of assault were read out to him.

After hearing the charges, Judge Featherstone frowned and picked up a file he'd brought in with him. He took a quick read through it before raising his eyes to meet those of Saunders. “Mr. Saunders, these are serious charges of assault against two upstanding members of the community. What do you have to say in your defense?”

Saunders' lawyer stood up. “Tom Sandler, your honor. I am representing the accused. Your honor, my client doesn't deny that he assaulted those two men, but he was provoked into such an act and the assaults were purely out of self defense.”

Raising an eyebrow, the judge asked, “How do you figure that? What did these two men possibly do to provoke such an attack?”

“Your honor, my client was attending a horse show as a spectator where a horse that he used to own was spotted competing. He was curious to see how the animal was faring now and went to the area where the competitors all wait for their turn to compete. When the rider of the horse saw him there he verbally attacked my client. Another man came forward and went to physically remove my client from the immediate vicinity. When my client declined to leave the other two men started to fight with him. He had no choice but to defend himself.”

Quatre felt the rage building inside him. He'd already heard Heero's Duo's and Wufei's description of the events and along with the statements he'd gotten from other witnesses and the ring steward he knew the man was lying through his teeth. Seemed the judge knew that too.

“Mr. Sandler, I have read the police report, I have also read the many statements from witnesses to the offense and I've also gone back through Mr. Saunders' past records. Mr. Saunders was charged a little over six months ago with a similar offense and he was given a suspended sentence. Given the statements of many reliable witnesses, the medical reports and the accused's past history I find him to be guilty of these charges and as such the suspended sentence of two years will now be enforced. Mr. Saunders, you are found guilty and sentenced to serve two years imprisonment with a non parole period of eighteen months. You are also banned from being within five hundred meters of the new owner of the horse and any and all people associated with the horse.” Judge Featherstone slammed his gavel down hard. “Case closed.”

Saunders looked like he was about to throw up, his skin had paled considerably and he was shaking.

The judge didn't waste any time though, he moved directly onto the next case which was the charges for cruelty the R.S.P.C.A. had filed against Saunders.

This time the lawyer didn't have much to say at all, deeming the hit to the horse as being an accident. Quatre and the R.S.P.C.A's lawyer soon squashed that though and Saunders found himself with another fine of five thousand dollars for the punch he'd given Nataku and a life ban on owning any animal at all. He was also forbidden to set foot on any show ground where horses were competing in the future.

With the cases both now closed, Saunders was led away to start his term of imprisonment. Quatre left the R.S.P.C.A's lawyer to deal with the paperwork side of things as he needed to get back to work himself. Before he did that though, there were a few phone calls he intended to make.

Stepping out of the court house and too busy with scanning through his phone contacts for the numbers he wanted, Quatre didn't see the person walking on the pavement and stepped right into them, knocking the other person to the ground and nearly following them himself. “Oh, I am so sorry,” Quatre apologized and reached to give the person a hand up. “Duo?”

One minute Duo had been walking with the suit bags over his arm and the other items in carrier bags and the next he was sent sprawling to the ground when someone walked right into him. Hearing the apology and seeing the hand, he reached for it and looked up into teal eyes. “Quatre?”

“I'm so sorry, Duo. I wasn't looking where I was going. Here, let me help you with all that.” The blonde reached for the items that had fallen along with Duo. Picking them up he handed them back to Duo.

“Thanks, Quat and no harm done.” Duo took the offered items, placing the suit bags back over his arm and grasping the handles of the carrier bags tightly. “What brings you here?”

Quatre nodded to the court house steps. “I was here for the case against Saunders.”

“Ah.” With everything that had been going on with the pending wedding, Duo had completely forgotten about the case being today. “What happened?” he asked, unsure if he wanted an answer.

Quatre's face lit up like a beacon. “He was found guilty on both charges.”

“Yes!” Duo crowed and punched the air, dropping the suit bags and carrier bags once again.

~ * ~

tbc...
- 84
- 85
- 86
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