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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
- 86
- 87
- 88
“Equus”+
Chapter 87

Before either man could catch their breath, Saturday was upon them. Nursing a cup of coffee, Duo reflected on the past few days. They had been completely filled with work, the horses and final wedding preparations. Both men worked flat out from the time they got up in the morning to when they crawled into bed at night - and frankly, Duo was feeling pretty tired and cranky with it all.
Seeing the sour look on his partner's face, Heero grabbed his own coffee and sat down opposite his partner. “What's wrong?” he asked quietly.
Looking up into concerned blue, Duo sighed softly. “Nothing.”
Heero suddenly had a thought that sent chills down his spine and before he could think, he blurted out the words, “Are you having second thoughts?”
Duo's eyes widened at that. “No!” he said a little more loudly than he'd intended. Lowering his voice, he tried again. “No I'm not.” It suddenly occurred to Duo that maybe Heero might be rethinking his position in all of this. “Are you?”
“Never,” Heero replied a little forcefully and reached across the table to lay his hand atop of Duo's. “I could never have second thoughts about marrying you.” Heero stroked his thumb across the back of Duo's hand. “Something's wrong though. Want to tell me what it is?”
Another soft sigh escaped Duo's mouth and he lowered his eyes, entwining his fingers with Heero's. “I guess I'm just feeling a little overwhelmed and tired. This past week, all we've seemed to do is run around like headless chooks with last minute things for the wedding. We haven't had any time to ourselves. All we've been doing is work, work, work; and frankly, I'm sick of it all. I've hardly seen you all week, we barely talk to each other and by the time night gets here all we want to do is fall asleep where we stand. We've had no time to just be together and I really miss our cuddle time – I miss you. To be honest, I'll be glad when all this shit is over and done with.” Raising his troubled eyes to meet Heero's, Duo continued on, his tone a little subdued. “I know that all sounds ungrateful, and I don't mean it that way. Marrying you is something I really want-”
“But you could do without all the stress of the actual wedding preparations,” Heero finished for him.
Duo nodded. “Yeah. Does that make me a bad person?”
“Oh, Duo.” Heero broke their entwined hands and got up to walk around the table and lift his lover off his chair, taking the seat himself and placing Duo in his lap, the vet's head falling to lean against his shoulder. Wrapping his arms around the slim form of the vet, Heero rested his cheek against the top of Duo's head. “No, it doesn't make you a bad person, just honest and I'm glad that you are being honest with me. To tell the truth, I'm also feeling the same way. All these last minute things are keeping us apart and I want to say to hell with it all too. I miss you too, Duo. I miss spending our evenings cuddled up on the couch, snuggling with you in bed, sharing breakfast.” Taking a breath, Heero pressed a kiss to the crown of Duo's head. “Just one more day, Duo; one more day and all this will be over and done with, we will be married and on our honeymoon - and I promise you I will make up for these past few days. We can cuddle all day, take walks together or just stay in bed all day if you wish. You'll have my complete and undivided attention twenty-four seven. You'll probably be that sick of me by the end of the week that you'll be wishing we still had a ton of stuff to do so you can have a bit of a break from me,” he teased.
A soft snicker escaped Duo's lips. “Never. I would never get sick of you, Heero.” Turning, Duo raised his chin so he could steal Heero's lips in a gentle kiss. “Thanks for being so understanding.”
“No thanks needed.” The pair continued to simply sit and enjoy the moment while they could, the demands of their wedding would clamoring for their attention soon enough.
Moments later there was a soft knock to the back door.
“I guess that's our allotted time for today,” Duo sighed in resignation and pushed himself up from Heero's lap to go and open the door. Watching his lover move across the kitchen, Heero vowed he would make some time that afternoon or evening for just the two of them to enjoy each others company.
Duo opened the door to find a young man in a pair of coveralls standing there, a clipboard in his hand. “Mr. Yuy?” he asked politely.
“I'll get him for you,” Duo replied.
The hire company had arrived with the marquee, tables and chairs which meant Heero was needed to show the people where to deposit the items. Telling the young man he would be right with him, Heero fetched his boots and paused at the back door to take Duo into his arms and kiss the vet senseless.
“Come hell or high water, we will have some alone time later today,” he promised his long haired love.
“I hope so, Heero, but I can't see it happening,” Duo replied with a lopsided grin.
“I'll make time,” Heero vowed.
Putting a finger on Heero's lips to silence the rider, Duo leaned in close. “I appreciate the thought, but let's not make any promises that can easily be broken. Now, you'd better hurry up otherwise they will start to drop the things off in the wrong place. Besides, I have to go into Salsbury to pick up the wedding cake and drinks and they're expecting me within the hour.”
“Okay,” Heero sighed. “You will be coming down once you get back to help finish setting up the tables and things?”
“Of course.”
* * *
Duo reversed carefully to the back doors of the liquor store and cut the engine. Getting out he opened the tailgate on Henrietta and tossed a couple of things over and onto the back floor. He'd brought Heero's car to collect the drinks and cake as there was more room in the station wagon than in Duo's sedan, especially as Duo had all the tools of his trade in the back of his car and it wasn't worth the effort of emptying it all out only to have to reload it all again when Heero's car was just sitting there doing nothing.
The attendant opened the back door to the store and greeted Duo. “Doctor Maxwell, I've got your order right here.”
Duo took a look behind the young man where several cartons sat. “Um, is all that there for me?”
“Yes, sir. I think you will find everything is there that was ordered. I'll be more than happy to tick it off the list as we load it into the car.”
“Ah, thanks. I think I'd better put the back seats down.” Having seen the large number of cartons waiting, Duo had looked from the stack to the back of the station wagon and deduced that there was no way all of that was going to fit in there unless he put the back seats down to create more room.
“No problem. I'll grab another of the guys to help with loading it all.” The attendant zipped off to find some help whilst Duo folded the back seats down.
It only took half an hour to have all the drink cartons packed safely into Henrietta. Duo had checked that everything Heero had ordered and paid for was there and wondered if they would drink all of it. And if they didn't, would the liquor store buy back the left over bottles? Signing off on the paperwork, Duo pocketed the receipt and got back behind the wheel. Driving out of the parking area and aiming for the cake store, Duo had a sudden thought.
Just where the hell was he supposed to fit the cake?
The cartons took up most of the room in the back, there only being a small gap left and Duo didn't want to think what would happen to a two tier wedding cake sitting amongst all those cartons. Especially if he had to brake suddenly.
“Shit, damn, bugger and all those other swear words,” Duo cursed. “Oh, to hell with it all. If the cake store can't fit it in the back safely I'll just have to make a second trip in.” Duo was fed up, tired and felt like simply driving off into the sunset. But that wouldn't be fair to Heero.
Duo knew he was being pissy and irritable – knew why he was feeling that way too – but he was dammed if he could shake himself out of the black mood he'd fallen into. Pulling up at the cake shop, he did his best to clamp down on his ansty feelings.
“Good morning, sir. Can I help you?” asked the shop assistant.
“I hope so. I'm here to pick up a cake.” Duo fished his wallet from his pocket and pulled out the receipt Heero had given him. He handed it to the girl and waited whilst she read over the details.
“Ah, yes. If you could wait one moment I'll pop out the back and fetch it for you.”
“Thank you.”
The girl disappeared and whilst she was gone, Duo let his gaze wander over the many cakes on display in the fridge. His eyes alighted on a particularly yummy looking lemon cheesecake and he moved in for a closer look. He spotted another display fridge to his left and wandered over to peruse the contents. His lips curled up when he saw that this fridge held containers with individual slices of cake in it. And there on the second shelf sat a container with a slice of lemon cheesecake in it.
“I think that one has my name on it,” he muttered to himself. Just then the shop assistant returned with a large box which she placed on the counter before disappearing out back once more. Duo looked suspiciously at the box. Whilst it was large, it certainly wasn't large enough for the two tiers they'd ordered.
Seconds later the assistant was back with another box, this one a little smaller than the first. “There you go, Mr. Yuy.”
“Ah, I'm Doctor Maxwell, Mr. Yuy is my good friend,” Duo corrected the girl.
“Oh, I'm sorry,” the girl apologized. “I saw the name on the order receipt and just assumed...”
Duo waved his hand at her. “Don’t worry about it, no harm done and I can quite understand you thinking I'm Mr. Yuy. Um, can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“Mr. Yuy ordered a two tier cake, but there's no way a two tier cake is in those boxes.”
The young girl laughed. “Actually, it is. Here, let me show you and explain.” The girl lifted the lids off the two boxes. “The chocolate mud cake in this box is the bottom tier. This is the white mud cake for the top tier. The stand that you need to assemble it is in here.” She picked up a small bag and opened it, shaking the contents out onto the counter. Four, small white 'pillars' sat innocently on the counter top. “All you need to do is place these four pillars on the designated spots, here, here, here and here,” she said and pointed to four spots on the top of the chocolate mud cake that had what appeared to be a solid 'disc' sitting in each one. “Once they are in place you just lift the white mud cake up and place it on the top of the pillars.”
Feeling his cheeks starting to turn red, Duo scratched the back of his neck. “Ah, I see. Um, sorry about that, you must really think I'm a bit thick or something.”
The girl waved him off with a smile. “No, not at all. In fact we have many customers ask exactly the same thing. The reason we don't assemble the cake here is that it would be very difficult for the customer to transport home or wherever the cake is going to. Much easier to transport it when it's in separate boxes.”
Duo had to agree with that. It made perfect sense, along with solving his dilemma of how the hell he was going to fit it into the car. “I have to admit, it does make things a lot easier.”
“That it does, sir. Will there be anything else?”
“Yeah, could you tell me how much that slice of lemon cheesecake is, please?”
“They are four dollars each.”
“I'll take it,” Duo said and reached for his wallet again. “Actually, do you have two of them?”
“If you don't mind waiting a moment, I can cut another one for you?”
“Thanks.” While the girl cut another piece of cake, Duo picked up the first of the two boxes and carried them out to the car. There was just enough room in the back for both boxes to fit and once they were both in there was no way either box was going to move anywhere in a hurry. Duo paid for the two slices of cheesecake and placing them on the passenger seat he set off for home, his mood having lightened a touch.
* * *
Having supervised the unloading of the marquee, tables and chairs, Heero glanced at his watch and figured he had about another hour or so before Duo would be back. Abandoning the items for the moment, Heero headed for the safety of the stables, pulling his cell phone from his pocket. Once he was sure no one was around, he pressed a familiar number into the cell and waited for the call to connect.
“Hey Joe, it's Heero...”
Five minutes later he was disconnecting, a smile on his face. Pocketing the cell, he left the stables and aimed for the marquee that was waiting to be set up. Spotting Zechs coming out of the farmhouse he waved to the vet.
“I take it that this is all the basic stuff for the wedding tomorrow?” Zechs asked and stood looking around.
“Hai. That's the marquee which I need to set up. Once that's done I can put all the tables and chairs inside. Duo should be back soon and he's going to give me a hand,” Heero replied, eying off the pile of canvas, poles and ropes.
“I'll give you a hand with the marquee if you wish,” Zechs offered.
“Would you mind? I really didn’t want to ask as you've already done so much towards the wedding.”
“If I didn't want to help I wouldn't offer,” Zechs stated with a grin. “Besides, it will be quicker with two and I'm not doing anything else as morning consults are finished and there's nothing booked for surgery. And before you ask, Hilde's on call this afternoon so that leaves me with time on my hands.”
“Thanks, Zechs.” Heero gave a soft smile. “We both appreciate all the help you've given us.”
“It's fine, Heero, no thanks needed. Just promise me one thing?”
“Oh?”
“Just don't offer to mow the lawn ever again.” Zechs looked pointedly at the lawn which, despite his running over it several times with Jaws, still sported a few 'bald' patches and a couple of squiggly lines.
Heero's face darkened a touch as the memory of the terrible time he'd had with Jaws came back to haunt him. “That's one promise you can count on me keeping. I have no intention of ever going near that spawn of Satan ever again,” Heero growled.
Zechs laughed. “Glad to hear it. Come on, let's get started.”
* * *
Arriving home from his run into Salsbury, Duo felt in a slightly better mood. He parked the car and picked up the two, single slices of cheesecake he'd purchased and took them inside the cottage to place in the fridge. They would do nicely for dessert, or afternoon tea if they were lucky enough to get a break from the numerous things they still had to do.
With the treat safely put away, Duo hopped back into the car once again and drove it out of the drive and onto the road to go around the block to the stables entrance. Pulling up in the stable car parking area, he couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of his fiancé and Zechs struggling to raise the marquee. Deciding he'd better go help, Duo cut the engine and got out.
“According to the instructions all you need to do is push that pole there up while pulling on those two ropes,” Zechs said, his tone a little exasperated.
“And just how the hell am I supposed to pull on two ropes at once when they are on opposite sides?” Heero demanded.
“Having a spot of trouble?' Duo couldn't resist asking as he strode up.
“Duo, you're back,” Heero cried.
“Obviously.”
“Think you could give us a hand before Heero ends up strangling himself with those ropes?” Zechs asked from where he stood, holding the pole under the canvas.
“I think I'd better,” Duo replied with a snort. “What do you want me to do?”
Fifteen minutes later the marquee was up and standing, Heero securing the last of the guy ropes.
“It's... big,” Duo said, looking around.
“Not really,” Heero said and went on to explain. “Once we have the tables and chairs for the guests in here there's still the bar to set up and the tables for the buffet. Once that's all in it won't look so big. Oh, we also have to put in a table for the music thing.”
“Music thing?” Zechs said with a raise of his eyebrow.
“Yes. Quatre said he would look after that side of things for us. He said something about an iPod docking station, speakers and a microphone. I'm not sure what he actually intends to set up, I told him I'd leave it all up to him. He said he would be over later to set up the speakers and stuff, he's going to bring the rest and set it up first thing in the morning.” Heero glanced out the flap of the marquee when he heard a vehicle pulling up. “The caterers are here.”
The next two hours were spent in a flurry of activity. The caterers had said they would bring over and set up everything they could that would be okay to stay overnight. Zechs found his kitchen taken over by two chefs, three extra refrigerators and a large 'chiller'. Duo backed Henrietta up as close as he could to the back door of the farmhouse and all the cartons of drinks were unloaded along with the wedding cake. The chefs took charge of the cake, 'ohhing' and 'ahhing' over the guys' choice and telling them both they would add all the 'extras' to it the following morning.
The drinks were removed from their cartons and placed in the chiller to begin cooling. The few bottles of red wine were put to one side. Leaving the 'chefs' to the kitchen, Heero, Duo and Zechs all went back outside to help the remaining catering crew to set up the tables and chairs. June arrived half way through with the table decorations and a small surprise.
The table decorations were exquisite, cream roses, some baby's breath and silver adornments. Duo couldn't help the tear that formed in his eye when he saw the amount of effort June had gone to and gave the woman a tight hug. June smiled and said she was just happy she could do something for the guys after all they had done to help her. Passing the button holes she'd also made up for the men to Heero to take back to the cottage, she asked if they would disappear for a few minutes. Turning to Zechs, she whispered a request for him to give her a hand to set up the 'extra' she'd brought with her.
Duo raised his eyebrow at Heero who shrugged in response. He didn't have a clue what June was up to and the pair dutifully took the button holes and Henrietta back to the cottage.
Once they were gone, June and Zechs set to work. June extracted several 'frames' from the back of her car and handed them to Zechs who looked at them and scratched his head. A couple of large boxes were removed and placed on the ground. “It's a wire framed arch,” June said with a snicker at the perplexed look on Zechs' face.
“A what?”
“Come on, I'll show you.” June picked up the frames, Zechs grabbed the boxes and followed behind the woman. “Where exactly are they taking their vows?”
“Just there in front of the wishing well,” Zechs said and pointed to the spot where a table sat.
“Right. Put those boxes there and give me a hand to assemble this, please.”
Within five minutes, June, with the help of Zechs, had the arch set up.
“Ah, I see what it is now, but isn't it a little... plain?”
“That, my dear Zechs, is where the boxes come into play.” Lifting the lids off the boxes, June pulled out several garlands of artificial roses, greenery and silver ribbons. “Now, pass me things as I ask, watch and learn,” she instructed.
Zechs did as he was told, handing items over as June asked for them, his eyes widening as things began to take shape. He had to admit, the woman was talented. The roses were threaded through over and around the arch along with the greenery and sliver ribbons. By the time she'd finished the entire arch was a mass of flowers and adornments. Even Zechs had to admit, it looked 'classy' and fitted in with the scenery perfectly.
“June, I take my hat off to you. It will be perfect for the guys to stand under to take their vows.”
“You really think so? You sure they won't mind that I went ahead and did this without asking?”
“I know they will love it.”
“Love what?” asked Duo, appearing from behind the pair. “Oh wow! Where the hell did that come from, it's beautiful.”
“What looks beautiful? Oh my.” Heero stood beside his lover and gazed in awe at the arch. Turning his blue eyes to June, he asked, “Did you do that?”
Blushing a little and worried that they wouldn't like her gift, June nodded and then went on to explain how she really wanted to do something special for the pair. “I know I should have asked first, but I really wanted it to be a surprise. If you don't like it or think it's a bit too over the top or girlish I can always remove it.”
“No!” Duo and Heero both stated loudly and looked sheepishly at each other.
“No, don't remove it. It was very kind of you to do something like this for us,” Heero said softly. “I think it's just perfect.”
“I do too. Thank you, June,” Duo said, unable to tear his eyes away from the pretty arch. “It will be perfect for us to take our vows under.”
“You're both very welcome,” June replied, a blush on her cheeks. “Now, what else can I help you with...”
* * *
After another hour of working away getting things set up, Heero had a quiet word with Zechs, June and Carl who had shown up to lend a hand. The three nodded to him and shared a secret smile. Leaving the three to carry on, Heero took the chair Duo was carrying to place on the lawn off him and set it aside.
“Heero?” Duo questioned.
“Leave it, Duo. The others are going to finish setting things up. You're coming with me.” Not giving his partner a chance to protest, Heero took the vet firmly by the elbow and steered him towards the stables. Once inside Duo blinked. Standing in the stables, all saddled up stood Comet and Shinigami.
“Heero, what are we doing?” Duo asked, uncertain what his lover had planned.
“We both need some time out and away from the wedding preparations. I promised you we would have some time alone to relax and what better way to do that than by going for a bush ride together?”
Duo looked dubiously at Comet and Shini. “Heero, I've only ridden Angel. I'm not good enough for Shini and I don't know what Comet is like or if I'm capable of riding her.”
“Duo, Comet is a sweet mare, she won't hurt you and is very similar to Angel to ride. She's responsive, calm and relaxed. Come on, will you go out on a bush ride with me... please?” Heero added a slight pout to his lips and put on his best impression of puppy eyes.
“Okay, okay, I'll go with you, only please, do away with the eyes already, you're hopeless at pulling them off,” Duo chuckled.
The beaming smile Heero gave him was worth the apprehension he was feeling over riding a strange horse.
Heero helped his partner with Comet's girth, collected a helmet for him and held the mare whilst Duo mounted. Once he was sure Duo was relaxed and safe, he fetched Shini and joined his partner. “Ready?”
“Yeah,” Duo replied with a smile. He could feel himself relaxing already, the worries over the wedding tomorrow starting to fade into the background.
“This way.” Heero led the way out of the stable yard and down the road a little way until they reached the familiar track that would take them into the bushland.
Once the pair had disappeared, June pulled out her cell phone and dialed a number. “Hi, Joe, it's June.... Yeah, they've just gone on a bush ride. Heero said they would be gone for about an hour and a half... Okay, that's great. I'll have the barn opened up and ready for you. Carl is here and Zechs too so they will give us a hand... Great, we'll expect you in about half an hour then... No problem, see you soon and thanks, Joe.” June put the phone back in her pocket and rubbed her hands together in glee. Turning to the two men, she batted her eyelashes and smiled charmingly. “Joe will be here in about half an hour and that will leave us with about a half hour to get the truck unloaded and the item stored in the barn so Joe can be gone before Heero gets back with Duo.”
“Okay, guess we'd better move it then,” Carl grinned.
*
“You sure there's no way Duo will stumble across it?” Joe asked as Carl slid the barn door closed.
“No, I'm sure. Duo never goes into the barn, he has no reason to. Heero's the one who fetches the feed down when he needs it so it should be perfectly safe until tomorrow. What time will you be here to get it all ready?” June asked.
“I'll be here around ten fifteen. The wedding isn't until eleven so that will give me plenty of time to get it all ready,” Joe said with a grin.
“If you need a hand at all, I'll be here. Just knock on the back of the farmhouse door,” Zechs told Joe.
“Don't worry, if I get stuck I'll come calling.” Joe glanced at his watch. “I'd better shift, Heero will be back with Duo shortly and I want to be gone before then.”
June, Carl and Zechs waved the young groom off before heading back to the back yard of the farmhouse and working flat out to make up for the lost time.
*
Duo patted the chestnut neck and gave a loud sigh. His body swayed gently with the rhythm of the mare's walk, the fading sun warm on his back as he rode side by side with Heero along the road and back to the stables.
Casting a glance at his partner, Heero was warmed to see the worry lines had faded a touch from his lover's face. “Enjoy yourself?” he asked.
“Yeah, I did. Thanks for dragging me out, that ride was exactly what I needed to relax and forget about things for a while.”
“There's nothing quite like going for a ride, sharing nature with a horse to relax and rejuvenate a person,” Heero stated.
“You got that right, and Comet was a perfect lady.” Duo patted the neck once again. “You were right, she is easy to ride, responsive but kind.”
“Would I ever put you at risk?” Heero said with a chuckle. “If I didn't trust her there is no way I would have put you on her. She's a nice mare and has a big future ahead of her.”
“I think she's just a sweetie.”
“Tired?”
“Yeah. I'd love to have a long soak in the tub, eat a decent meal for a change - not the sandwiches and crap we've been having lately - and snuggling up with you on the couch to watch a movie before falling into bed. Unfortunately, I can't see that happening.”
“Why not?”
“Heero, in case it's slipped your mind, we have our wedding tomorrow and there's still a shit load of stuff to be done. We'll be out there working under floodlights and falling into bed around midnight, if we're lucky.”
“Oh, I don't know. How about we forget all about the stuff for the wedding and just go with your idea, I like that better anyway,” Heero snickered.
Shaking his head, Duo shortened his reins a touch as Comet started to walk faster. She knew home was just up the road a bit and she wanted her dinner. The exercise with the nice human on her back had been fun and given her a bigger appetite; now all she wanted was to be tucking into her feed in her warm stable with her rug on.
Entering the stable yard, Duo almost fell off Comet's back when he spotted the back yard to the farmhouse. “Wha-” he began as he dismounted and took a proper look around.
From the mare's back he'd been able to clearly see that the chairs were all in place for the ceremony. On the ground and dragging a tired Comet behind him he peeked into the marquee where the tables inside the marquee had the linens on them and only needed the cutlery, glassware and crockery to be complete. The bar was set up and ready in the corner, down one side the tables that would hold the buffet lunch were sitting ready and Quatre had obviously been around as each corner sported an impressive looking speaker. All that was missing was the music machine itself. Whirling back around, Duo confronted his partner. “When?”
Chuckling, Heero dismounted and led Shini across to his gaping lover. “Everyone pitched in whilst we were on our ride. There's nothing left to do so I guess that means we can have that soak in the tub, quiet dinner and snuggle on the couch.”
“You, you arranged all this?”
Heero nodded.
“Well shit.”
“Let's get these horses unsaddled and put away for the night, then I'll treat you to a back rub after we've had our bath.”
“Promise?”
“I promise.”
Reaching forward, Duo did his best to wrap his arms around Heero whilst still holding onto Comet. “Have I told you how much I love you?”
“You can prove it by marrying me tomorrow,” Heero said softly.
“Wild horses wouldn't keep me away.”
~ * ~
tbc...
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Equus