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"Horse Tales"Written By: Kaeru Shisho Disclaimer: I don't own any part of Gundam Wing
or its characters, nor do I make any monetary profit off this story. Rating: NC 17 Warnings: Yaoi, Very AU, so very AU it's AD, another
dimension. The GW boys are horses. My apologies. Please heed the warning. Pairings: 1x2, 3x4, 6x5 Summary: A few lucky stallion purebreds are given a second chance at the Horse Haven Sanc-tuary. A/N: In defense of my writing this extreme version
of a GW story… Waterlily and Snowdragon made me do it, heh, heh… " Horse Tales" Chapter Nineteen- Dangerous Improvising (o) Duo's POV Home, we were heading back at a breakneck speed to our stable, our home, where we'd be washed and fed and cared for. We were all lucky bastards compared to those Mustangs with the snarled manes and torn hooves. The sun had blasted away any morning dew long ago, and running parched my throat. Home beckoned like nobody's business. Our little ray of Sunshine flew in the lead, loving the heat and his Spot, keeping pace off to one side. Goldie hung back a length with The Count. Nobody suffered in under the sun like me. None of them were black. Sunshine had picked this day "to convene with the Mustangs," because he'd been sure it would turn out to be this hot. "When it's very hot, intolerant humans get lazy. They won't want to go searching for us unless we're very, very late getting back." I hoped he was right about all that. I'd hate to get this uncomfortable for nothing. So I huffed and puffed and kept up with the best of them, despite being black soak-up-the-heat all over. In fact, I was close to catching up to Goldie, or maybe he was falling back. "Duo, I'd like to talk, while we have a minute," he said. "Leave me alone. I'm not in the mood." Especially because Heero was pushing the pace, and I had to work harder to keep up than he did, leaving me without the breath to talk and run at the same time. "I just wanted you to know I was on your side." "You're at my side. I can see that." "I meant I thought that was a dirty trick Heero pulled on you- on us." "Ugh, thanks, I think. I'm sure he had his reasons, though." "I don't blame you for not... consummating your relationship." "Don't go there." I didn't get his angle, whether he was trying to be nice-very suspicious-or, more likely, something evil, now that he was a vampire, too. "Zechs is only doing what he can to help. He will do a good job." "We'll see." "He's experienced." "Sexperienced." "He'll lead us well." "Heero's still our leader, and don't you forget it!" I reached deep down and found a source of energy, which I put to good use, leaping a boulder and surging ahead of Goldie the Vamp. Where did he come off, putting Heero down and telling me not to have sex? I'd have sex if I wanted to, which I didn't, but not because of him! (o) Trowa's POV We ran like wildfire back to the fence, hopped it into our own pasture, and then moseyed over the along the ridge line to make it appear we'd been on that side of the hill out of sight all along, just in case our owners had been looking for us. We scanned one another for stray flowers, scrapes, and other tell-tale objects that might give away where we'd been. This time we fooled them. From what I overheard Wufei whispering, the farrier was a little peeved to be kept waiting, but that was all. We enjoyed the hosing off. My Beautiful had grown to enjoy it. Well, not Zechs so much. Apparently he hated the feeling of the cold water on his delicate skin. Tough, real tough. Too bad he couldn't talk to humans and request his water warmed. Maybe with some of that scented bath stuff my love likes. The rest of us appreciated getting off the sweat and dust before a good rub down, hoof trim and polish, drink, and then food. Once again, Duo and Heero were fighting, or "struggling" as my Beautiful put it. Oh, Duo, the messes you get us into. With our bellies comfortably full, my love and I were on a mission to fix everything. That's what I'd been told. I had my part to play and my beautiful lover had his much more complicated one-complicated by the fact that he had some gripe with me to cover, too. "Now, you stay with me and offer your support." Beautiful commanded when he and I found Heero moping in his stall. "I'm here." Physically speaking. Most of my blood was supporting my digestive system, leaving my brain a tad light. "Heero? We want to talk. And you only have to listen." "Perfect. I'd like to listen to your retreating hoof beats." Oooh, moody leader. "Too bad. I'm talking. We all know you and Duo have a little problem." "Thanks for sharing that." "It's quite understandable. He doesn't want to rush into sex and you need to assert your authority-" "I wish my personal life were private." Heero sounded annoyed and frustrated. I would have been in his place. "We are a band of horses. I'm your leader. Everyone must know their place for the herd to operate efficiently." "I know. You're right, of course. Our herd instinct is both a curse and a blessing. We need a strong, focused leader, but then... we'd only straightened Wufei out when Zechs arrived and set off Duo with, you know," Beautiful dropped the volume by half, "his vampire fantasies. And you must admit Duo has distracted you, and now you'll be leaving for an unknown length of time." "And what do you want me to do about that?" Heero called him on the weak spot right off. What he hadn't expected, I guessed, was my dreadfully smart, lover's prepared reply. "Secure Duo's affection before you go." "Make up," I translated so as to be "supportive". I played my part well. "Yes, thank you, Trowa." I caught the wink directed at me. Not sure Heero did or cared as Beautiful went on, "He's unsure of you and that makes him vulnerable." He was right to guess Heero wouldn't like the idea of putting Duo at risk. Our leader jumped right on that remark. "As in he's at risk to attack? Or- to what?" "To Zechs." "Zechs has Wufei," Heero said, snorting in disdain for extra emphasis. "He doesn't want Duo, and Wufei certainly wouldn't share with him Duo." "I was thinking Duo could be used more as a pawn of Zechs' rather than as an object of affection." "Go on," Heero looked interested now. "Zechs' motives are suspicious. I mean, we can sense his dominance and yet, he hasn't challenged you. I don't actually see where he fits in, but if he could seduce Duo or get at you through Duo some other way, that would equate to an attack on you." "Duo won't turn on me, I know that." "Not intentionally-" "Enough about Duo," I said, cutting off Beautiful's speech, but seeing as Heero would just defend him to us, it was time to move on. "Just wind up this business about Zechs. I don't want him left in charge on account of a difficulty with him getting along with the rest of us, Duo in particular." "He's not going to be," Heero assured us. "He told me he doesn't want to be in charge. It was just for show in front of the other alpha, who must have expected him to want the power of being the lead stallion." "Yes, I understood that they were old war buddies. I was afraid Wufei was going to pass out for a minute there." Beautiful's eyes filled with concern. "Wufei, well, we all like him and all, but he's not always the nicest horse." "What are you getting at, Quatre?" "What if he wants Zechs in the lead position enough to promote bad feelings between you and Duo?" "Wouldn't work." Heero met Quatre's steady gaze with a riveting one of his own. "Unless you sense something I don't." "He's worried about Zechs and wants to help him. Desperately. To what lengths he'd go, I can't tell. I only know that the stronger you and Duo bond, the better off we'll be once you leave." "And when you do, who's left in charge, is what I want to know." Nothing mattered more, to me, than to get that settled with the herd. "According to plan, it would be Duo, but now is that all changed?" "Nothing's changed. It's to be Duo, he's number two. But I want the two of you to advise him and give him the benefit of your experience." "Will do." I liked that idea, it meant my love would have lots of input and he was really clever. "We make a good team," Beautiful said. "If you are right about Zechs not wanting the job, then we'll only have Wufei to deal with, and we succeeded before. Yes, I know we can do it!" "I'll talk to Duo, in a little bit, give him time to digest. I promise." "We'll hold you to that promise, Heero." "Best you do it directly," I advised as we left. Nothing good came from putting off the hard stuff. That cozy chat worked out so well, we sought out poor Duo to run him over the trestles. (o) Wufei's POV I wouldn't let it drag me down. Obviously, Zechs and Treize had had a special understanding, an intimate one. A past as muddled as mine and not to be held against him. I was curious to learn more about them and where the Alpha horse fit into his life now and what I had to face, because I wouldn't forsake Zechs or my own possibilities without a fight. My fight would begin now. I would prove my worthiness and show Zechs how absolutely essential I was to him. I would become his fifth leg, so to speak. From the very beginning, I had been worried about Zechs' broodiness. I had to do something or in a moment of passionate despair he might lose courage and drift into a permanent melancholy, leading to a premature death. I'd seen other noble-bred warriors go down that sorry path. My ancestors would haunt me forever if I didn't take remedial action, but more importantly, I felt terror, true terror, if I allowed myself to imagine life without him, the love of my life only just discovered. This was a secret I'd not reveal to anyone. It demonstrated weakness. So, what was I to do? Sex appeared to lift his spirits, but I couldn't sustain that level of activity all day every day. As pleasant a scheme as that might be, it would prove impossible to physically maintain. A horse's body could only take so much wear and tear. Clearly, he needed something to occupy his time and thoughts. Something vital to do with his time. He needed a purpose. Succession to the band's leadership would give him just that. And if he couldn't see the possibilities, I could. I had already come to the conclusion that I could not contest 01 for the leadership. I truly think some horses are best positioned as the power behind the throne, so to speak, I being one of those. Of course, he and I had discussed this before. What to do and when. And he took it all to heart, apparently, openly revealing his intentions in front of the Mustangs, their lead mare and Alpha in particular-and our band! In view of that, he and I needed to review the situation, and that of Treize. I didn't know if I wanted to open the subject of Treize with him. Obviously theirs had been a special relationship. But it was over. Anyone could see that. What was left was the brotherhood of great fighters, with mutual support and understanding. Very noble, dignified, and just. But most importantly, over. Over. They were over. I repeated this like a mantra or my taolu (Chinese martial arts forms and exercises, like Japanese katas). Oh, my forms! No one drilled me through those any more. How did they go? Ah... something, something... Jian (double-edged sword)... something else..., and then my favorite, Nandao (Southern single-edged sword). Oh, dear. I'd soon forget them all. No, I didn't see how to broach the subject of Treize and his past with Zechs. And the inference that Zechs might be challenging Heero for... 02? That was entirely a figment of the Alpha's imagination. Zechs had no interest in 02. He just liked teasing him. I'd worked hard to warn 02 of that possibility soon after Zech's arrival, and I'd felt I'd been supremely unconvincing, at best. It was too remote a possibility to even ponder. Too remote. Remote. Over. Remote. Over. My tortuous thoughts plagued me all the way to the fence along which Zechs was resting his head. "Zechs, we are on the cusp of change. It wouldn't take much to drive a wedge between Duo and Heero and truly distract Heero, enabling your conquest in two shakes of a horse's hoof." "What makes you think I want to take charge of this all-stallion band of misfits, discounting you, dearest? I came here to wallow in my sorrows over the deaths that my leadership brought to my trusting followers." "Don't be maudlin. You were brought here to serve Howard just as I was sold to this "O" character." "The humans had their reasons; I had my own." "Yes, but that was in the beginning. Haven't you begun to heal? Weren't we were both yearning for someone to end our loneliness? And then we discovered each other." "And that is quite enough for me. How about you? Aren't you content?" "With you, yes. But Heero is determined to have Duo take charge while he's gone, and I don't think Duo can make an effective leader. Heero hardly is, especially when it comes to handling his own lover. I wouldn't challenge Heero, but I can imagine you doing so, rising to the occasion as an act of honor. You are the logical choice. T-tr..." Damnit if I couldn't choke out that horse's name! "... the other Alpha stallion could see that. You should make your move today, now!" "Really, my gorgeous golden tiger lily, if I really wanted to stage a coup, all I'd have to do is wait for Heero to leave and just take over. We've been over that before, and I said much the same thing." Golden Tiger Lily? That sounded exotically masculine. I liked that name. Golden Tiger Lily. Yes... that was me. "Darling, were you listening?" he asked. "Certainly! I agreed. They all know that is your plan because you announced it for all the world to hear, which I found very shrewdly done. Still, none of them are pushovers. Even 02, Duo, novice that he is, is an accomplished fighter. I saw him holding off several mares with no trouble. Of course, he believes I'm a villainous vampire under your spell. We should be able to discredit him on that basis alone." "Discredit him to whom? Now darling, think. You know the others are just going along with Duo's little fantasy." "Oh, all right. You have me there, but-" "Yes?" "There is one more thing you could clear up for me. Just a bothersome thing, really, like a pesky fly-" larvae eating my heart out- "How loathsome! We can't have you beleaguered by a thing like that. What may I do for you?" "-a small thing. It's only that I was wondering about Treize, you know-" "If we'd been a couple? Not so small an item to dwell upon, but I won't have you distracted by that. The answer is yes, we were the item at one time, but seeing him again let me see how my heart had healed over. No more yearnings. Curious, isn't it, how you've insinuated yourself into my central core?" Like heart worm, I'd embedded myself in his innermost being. Not a pretty picture, but it would suffice for now. "I see." "I hope you do. Now, hush. Would you believe me if I told you I couldn't care less? For Duo or Treize? I've discovered, Wufei, my lover and heart, that you are a sufficient amount of excitement for me to take on." "Nonsense, and quit trying to distract me with flattery (as much as I adore it). I am capable of undertaking numerous responsibilities, as are you. It wouldn't take much to drive a wedge between Duo and Heero, truly distract Heero, enabling your conquest on a more permanent basis and it would take us only two shakes of a horse's hoof." "Well, what I have in mind for us will take a little longer. Come closer. I want to suck your blood." He was joking, of course. He chased me into the barn to our special place, where Percy watched for mice or other cats or something. (o) Trowa's POV We found Duo munching hay contentedly. It seemed a shame to disturb a horse when he was doing that, but my ordinarily compassionate love must have seen it more as an opportunity to acquire his attention when he was in a congenial state of mind. "Hello, Duo. Feeling refreshed?" "Uh, yeah, thanks." His manner seemed to say "toodle-loo" as he turned his back on us, probably expecting us to amble on down to our stall. Not my Beautiful. When he had things on his mind to say, he'd want to get'er done. Of course, I was to contribute, too, and I knew what I was to say, because we'd agreed beforehand on all the "talking points" as he called them. "We're a team, a herd, a band of brothers who stick together. You tell him, Trowa!" "Give a little, get a lot." I always felt it was true. Beautiful was staring at me, expecting me to say more, so I stuck to my script, "You should pay attention to Heero's orders." "I do." "Don't quibble, Duo," my lover chastised. I added clarification. "You don't follow them." And now, Duo was even more defensive. "Not always." I tried again. "He's about to go through a heap of trouble soon. You add stress." Beautiful chimed in with a sympathetic note, "It must be awful having a lover whose orders you must obey sometimes," which did the trick, making Duo loosen up. Why ask me to do the talking when he did the better job himself, I wondered? Duo looked relieved. "You don't know the half of it. And I did the ribbon thing with you guys, drew off the mares like I was told, then came back to find him screwing-stabbing me in the back." "Oh, Duo, he didn't do that. Zechs stole all the attention once he recognized the Alpha horse was an old ally and-" "-and it turned out okay, didn't it?" I completed. Now, Beautiful was backing off, turning out of the stall, leaving me to finish up, possibly, so I gave it my best. "It was all for that Treize stallion's benefit, you realize, to get him to take Heero." "Uh, huh," Duo grunted and went back to chewing hay with an eye to the exit. "Don't trip on your way out." Out of the corner of my eye I caught a flash of creamy tail the instant before I felt a whack and a sting on my back. I twisted around to find Beautiful on his way to our stall, so I legged it to catch up. "What was that for?" I asked my love. "That was for sticking your big nose into trouble." Huh? I was chastising Duo like he deserved. This time his tail of flaxen silk, which I'd love to rub my face into and breathe deeply of his floral overtones (rose and spices shampoo, maybe?), whipped at my legs. And because he did this during foreplay, too, I knew he didn't mean anything by it more than just an outlet for his agitation. Duo, I noted, had pushed past us going the opposite direction, hopefully, to chat up his own sweetheart and make nice. Leaving us alone. I liked snuggling with my lover, showing him how much I adored him. "I'm not through with you," he said. I sure hoped not. I took that as a good sign. "Then let's take it to our stall, okay?" "Fine. Just don't think you're getting out of this." "Never." Why would I want to? (o) Duo's POV Heero was on his way out of his stall when I dropped by. "Duo, great. I was just about to come and see you." "Yeah? Well, beat you to it. Already got visited by Sunshine and Spot, so I figured it was our turn. "I'd like us to get back on track." "Me, too. There's nothing we can't get past, right?" "That's my hope." "Look 'Ro, I'm not crazy about rushing us to the next level, or whatever, okay? I mean, you know I like you lots. There no one that comes close. You're like the hottest stallion I've ever seen and a real Thoroughbred to boot!" "I like you too." "And respect. I know I'm no good at showing it. I'm gonna try a lot harder, 'cause I do have oodles of respect for you and the job you gotta pull off around here." "That's good to know." "But you gotta respect me, too, and pretending I'm an idiot or delusional and ignoring what I say in regards to you-know-who, the Count, well, that hurts real bad." "It's not that I don't believe what you believe-" "No? Well, what then? You just gonna let him take over the band when you leave?" "That won't happen. I told you, you are number two. You'll be in charge." "I'm pretty young and more inexperienced than you were to start." As much as I liked how he had faith in me, the idea of so much responsibility resting on my back frightened me like no mess of big cats could. Well, maybe a whole pile of hungry ones. "You'll learn fast. Trowa and Quatre will back you up completely. I'll have a talk with Wufei and Zechs to clarify things. It's important that Wufei falls in line, because he can understand humans and he will be the first to know when Relena's given up and I can return. You can trust me. Right?" "You? Yeah, I can, but I'm still holding out on Goldie and The Count." "We'll all talk this over together. With Zechs on board, Wufei will be outnumbered. He'll know it and come to his senses to help." "Okay." Not that I believed anything of the sort would happen as Heero imagined it. "It was just a shocker hearing Zechs pull that power play outta his mashbag." "He gave me a few minutes warning, but I didn't think he'd step in before Quatre had his say. I might have stopped him." "Might? Do you think you actually could have?" Wrong question. Never question your leader, especially if he might be having self-confidence issues. He reacted as if I'd slapped him; his eyes hardened and his mouth pulled into a tight line. "Yes! He knows where he stands. Zechs could only be a threat if he had the heart to engage in a strategy to carry out a plan, and he does not." "You believe that, but Zechs' motives aren't the same as yours and mine, Heero, and Wufei's soul ain't all that pure." I was confident of that, but convincing a stubborn Heero was something else. "But because they are both now vampires-" I should have known better than to even bring the topic up, since I knew Heero would just brush it off, as he did with a swish of his mane and irritable whack of his tail. I just hoped Percy would catch them in some vampire devilry that would bear me out. "There's another problem." "There always is, 'Ro." I sighed and kicked up some of the loose straw strewn harum-scarum. Heero sure messed up his bedding. I would have figured him to be more orderly. I guess I didn't know him as well as I'd thought. That sad reflection led to another and another on down a depressing lane until I stopped at a foregone conclusion. My stomach tightened into a painful knot and I hoped I wouldn't lose my nice meal. "Are you sure we're meant to be?" "What?" My question must have caught him off guard. He stumbled about to get a closer look at me. "Yes, of course. Duo, we can make things perfect with only a few...adjustments." The hesitation in his voice was enough of a cue that he had the perfect solution in mind already, but that he was unsure how I was going to take it; or, closer yet, that he was certain I'd take it badly. "Oh, yeah? Tell me, fearless leader. What adjustments am I supposed to make, 'cause I figure it's me who has to change." "By rejecting my advances you imperil the balance of power." "Only if you make a big deal of it. No, Heero, I just don't see it that way." "With the horses I grew up with, if any of us didn't go along with the lead mare, then we'd get left behind. If we didn't conform, we'd get bitten, kicked, or chased, so we'd learn to behave as to our status in the herd." "I do what you say, mostly, unless- You mean I should just let you take me whether I want it or not? Whether I'm ready or not?" "No! I'd never force you." "'Cause what I'm hearing is 'Just get over it for the sake of the herd and suck it up.'" "Duo, I-I- I want you to want me to, and not reject me in front of the others." "That's kinda hard since they're always around-" "I want to protect you." "Yeah? That's cool, though you gotta remember I'm no wimp." "Understood. So, say yes." He watched me out of the corner of his eyes, looking kinda cagey. "Having sex with me will protect you from vampires." "What?" There were so many different things for me to be baffled about I hardly knew where to begin. And I'd just got to feeling we were on the same wavelength with our little talk. "Hogwash!" I couldn't help but recoil from everything he'd just said. Like he was just saying what he knew I'd wanna hear, but then get right back on track the first chance he could. "You're so single-minded, Heero. You think you can sweet-talk and fib yourself into my stall? Where do you get material like that? No, don't tell me, just go. Git!" "Duo, I wasn't being serious about the vampire bit. You'd brought it up before and- Come on. Give me a chance-" "Oh, no, oh, no-" and I nearly crashed through Heero's stall door still shouting, not thinking Trowa and Quatre were a stall away. (o) Trowa's POV With Duo gone to talk up Heero and with any luck making peace, it was just Beautiful and me stowed away in our double stall. I felt the time had come for some nookie. I nibbled at his nearest ear, blowing in seductive thoughts with my breath. "I am trying to be serious here," he said, sounding grumpy. I nickered enticingly. "So am I, love." He snared my attention when he stomped his buffed and polished hooves. "You know what I'm talking about." "Um, maybe not." I was thinking about keeping my nose out of everyone's business and getting it on with my lovely rump mate in our stall. "You do! Think, Trowa!" A nip here, a nip there, more tail... "I'm thinking," I told him. How could I concentrate with him so close, so warm, and so playful? "Hel-lo-o? You promised to kill the cougars, Trowa! That wasn't part of the plan either. You and Heero and Zechs were all improvising! Now, how are we going to kill cougars?" Ah, that. And I thought our problem solving was only going to concern Duo and Heero. Should have guessed I'd blown it somewhere along the line, too. Of us all, Beautiful was the most rigid about proper herd mentality. And there he was, looking hot and bothered and really stud-ly. What had he just asked? Oh, yeah. I avoided answering the second question, loaded as it was. No matter what I came up with, I knew I'd be giving him more ammunition to shoot me down with than would do me any good. My beautiful logic aficionado was a sharp one, and I made a good target. Besides, I knew there'd be a way to eradicate the cats, once we found them. It was just too hard to explain. I wasn't very good at explaining, especially not to that earnest face of his. "Say something!" Something. Oh, well, attempting enlightenment, I said, "The idea that offering them medical aid in trade for taking on another alpha stallion was played out. You saw that, right? I could tell they didn't believe it would be of use to them. But when Duo noticed the cut on the lead stallion's leg, which looked to be from a big claw, I saw an opportunity. It worked." "Of course it did!" Quatre sure was all stirred up. "We do the work, take the risks, and all they have to do is run Heero out of the band to get everything they want out of the arrangement." "We don't kill the cougars until it's time for Heero to come back." "We can time things so perfectly?" "Well, sure, if we leave the dead animal out with a shitload of poison in it, the cougars will find it pretty quick." "Do you have a stash of poisons? I don't! And the dead animal? Where do we get that?" Heero would have suggested Percy, had he been here, but I could tell my lover wasn't game to go for that. "Something will come up." Just then, as if I'd cued him, Duo burst out of Heero's stall, making an awful racket and protesting loudly, "Not over my dead body, 'Ro!" See? I didn't really say that, I just looked at my lover, I swear. "That was not even the tiniest bit funny, Trowa!"
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