"SHADOWS AND LIGHT: AN UNBREAKABLE BOND"

Written By: Stone Angel

 

Please see Prologue for disclaimer, ratings and explanations. ^_^

AN: Watch for falling sap. ~_~

 

 

SHADOWS AND LIGHT: AN UNBREAKABLE BOND:

CHAPTER 39: MAGIC

Heero arrived at Duo's house that night. Wufei's car was in the driveway but Trowa's and Quatre's were gone. 'Which means they either didn't come over or they're all out hunting. He went into the house to see Wufei watching TV. "Um. Where's Duo?"

Wufei shrugged. "He went out. But he is near." He said, not looking up from the TV.

Heero nodded and stepped back outside. He heard a strange beat approach the house and peered through the darkness to see a patchy white and brown shape move towards him. After a short moment of confusion, he recognized it as a horse.

‘"Koban wa."’

He blinked. 'Duo?'

A snicker. ‘"Ah."’ The horse continued to canter towards him and came to a halt in the light of the porch. It reared slightly, its nostrils flared and its eyes wide. Duo sat upon the large animal. His hair had grown in the three days that had passed and it was now back to its normal length. The picture was perfect and Heero committed it to memory. Duo looked like a demi-god, leaned forward, smiling lightly, as the animal showed its wild will. It was beautiful to behold.

Heero knew his wound was much improved as well and his strength was nearly back to full. "Wow." He stepped forward and tentatively touched the horse's nose.

The horse sniffed him and then lowered his head to the ground to sniff the earth.

Duo gracefully got off the horse's back and stood before him with a smile. "Ah. This is Cherokee."

Heero leaned down and kissed Duo who kissed him back. 'Missed you.'

‘"Baka. We were just together this morning."’

Heero smiled. "So?" He pulled back.

Duo smirked as he led the horse to the railing on the porch, tying the reins and retrieving a large, metal bowl. He filled it with water from the hose and set it down in front of the horse who sniffed it before drinking. Duo patted his shoulder before turning to Heero. "So how was school? Did you say hi to Doug?"

Heero nodded. "Yeah. The day went well. Doug and I talked about stuff, Ms. Parrish left me alone, and I didn't get too many homework assignments. Oh, but at the end of the day there was some...unpleasantness."

Duo's eyebrow cocked. "What happened?"

Heero shrugged as he sighed. "Just this guy who has been on my back since I moved here. He lives in Templeton, too. His name is Leo and he's a fucking moron. He never leaves me alone." He said exasperatedly.

Duo smirked. "What's he like?"

Heero rolled his eyes. "Massive ego, glasses about half an inch thick, six feet tall, two hundred pounds of muscle, and an idiot. I want to just fight him and get it over with. I know I'd win, especially with the stuff you taught me, but I don't want to hurt him TOO badly. And I know I would."

Duo looked a little angry but Heero knew it wasn't at him. "Has he hit you?"

Heero nodded and saw Duo bristle before forcibly calming himself.

After a moment, Duo closed his eyes for a few seconds and then opened them as he smirked. "Break his glasses."

Heero was confused. "Nani?"

Duo's smirk widened. "If he bothers you again, break his glasses."

The mean idea made Heero scowl slightly. "Isn't that kind of cold?"

Duo shrugged. "And hazing isn't?"

"Sao ka." Heero nodded. "But why would I break his glasses?"

Duo smiled. "Think about it. If you break his glasses, he can't see. If he can't see you, he can't hit you."

Heero smiled. "I like that logic."

Duo grinned. "And it's, for the most part, violence-free."

Heero nodded. "I might just threaten to. I'm faster than him so I can take them away and then tell him I will if he doesn't leave me alone."

Duo shrugged. "Whatever works." He grinned as he ruffled the horse's mane.

Heero smiled. "You look like you were born to ride."

Duo smiled back at him. "I was. We didn't have cars back in the day."

"Hn." Heero stepped forward and pet the horse gently. "Did you have your own horse?"

"Of course. A few, actually." Came Duo's voice beside him as his hand pet the horse's mane, untangling a few gnarled strands. "Elmer asked me to take care of this guy's activities for him. Make sure he gets to run."

Heero smiled. "I've never been on one."

Duo's hand stopped all movement. "You've never been on a horse?"

"Iye. Just never came up. Kind of like you with the bike." He said as he turned to him with a smile.

Duo grinned. "Can I return the favor?" He asked with a sparkle in his eyes.

He cocked an eyebrow. "Ok. Are you sure that he can carry two people at once?"

Duo waved off the idea. "We're both light. He can take it." After taking a moment to untie the reins from the porch railing and drape them back over the horse's neck, he got up into the saddle and held a hand out to Heero.

Heero considered for a moment before taking it.

"Put your left foot in this thing and use it like a stair." Duo kicked at a stirrup.

Heero did as Duo pulled him upwards.

He scooted up in the saddle. "You sit in the back. That way you can hold onto me better."

Heero swung his other leg over the saddle and sat down on it. It was a bit awkward as he was not used to sitting on anything wider or curvier than a chair, but his legs dangled in a way that gave him balance. He took his foot out of the stirrup as it was uncomfortable.

Duo pulled back on the reins and made a clicking sound with his tongue and the horse began to back up a few paces. "You Ok?" He asked him over a shoulder.

"Ah." Heero was grinning uncontrollably as the horse moved beneath him, the movements of its back strangely soothing, smooth and gentle, not at all like the harsh vibrations of a motor bike.

Duo turned his head to the side and looked to him from the corners of his eyes, also grinning. "Ok. Just hold tight to me. If anything happens, I'll catch you, K?"

Heero nodded. "Hai."

Duo sent him a mental caress and made another few clicking noises.

Cherokee stopped and began to walk forward.

Heero grinned widely. "Segoi."

"Ah. I can't believe you've never ridden a horse." Said Duo, shaking his head slightly.

Heero shrugged against his lover’s back. "I grew up in an orphanage in a city. We took field trips to farms and stuff but they were all educational. And they didn't want to have one of us get hurt by a horse, so we never rode any of them."

"What about those disgustingly controlled pony rides at state fairs?"

Heero shook his head though Duo was faced the other way. "Naw. Too many kids. Some of us would have gotten lost in the crowd."

Duo nodded slightly. "Wanna go faster?" He asked hopefully.

Heero grinned and kissed his hair. "Thought you'd never ask."

Duo snickered. "Alright. Just don't let go." That was all the warning Heero got as Duo kicked lightly at the horse's side and clicked his tongue again. "Hiya!"

The horse began to trot and then canter.

They passed by Elmer and Martha’s house and saw the two sitting in rocking chairs on their porch. Duo waved to them and Heero did the same despite his discomfort with them knowing how close he was to Duo.

‘Just because my land lord is a prick about the whole thing, doesn’t mean these two are.’ He thought to himself, trying to quell his nerves.

The two smiled back and waved as well.

Heero found that he liked cantering better as it was much more fluid a motion, whereas trotting was jumpy and jerky and, frankly, hurt his ass. He smiled and rested his head on Duo's shoulder as they rode through the moonlight to a hill on the property that did not have grapevines on it. He saw Duo try to keep the horse at a slow pace to go up the steep incline, but the horse had other ideas. They trotted up the hill to the top where Duo pulled the reins and then turned slightly to face Heero as best he could when the horse came to a halt.

Heero looked about. "Why are we up here?"

Duo grinned. "Look up."

Doing so, Heero gasped. He could see the entire night sky. And it was beautiful. "Segoi!"

Duo leaned back and kissed his cheek before getting down off the horse's back.

Heero looked to him when he felt him leave and then looked at how far down the ground was. "Is there a particular way to get down?"

Duo smiled and held out a hand, squeezing Heero's when it was given to him. "Not really. Two ways. Stirrup or slide. Stirrup is awkward, though, so just put your right leg on this side of the saddle and then you'll slide down.

Heero did was he was instructed and couldn't stop the giggle that formed in him as he slid to the ground. "Cool." He said with a grin as he looked back to the horse.

Duo took a hold of the reins and brought them over the horse's head, holding both sides together as he walked to another part of the hill.

Heero followed him, barely able to make out the ground. From what he could tell by the sounds of his footfalls, they were walking on grass. He saw Duo approach something sticking out of the ground and tie the reins to it. "What is that?"

"It's a post I put up here for the reins. I like it up here."

Heero smiled as he looked back to the sky. "Me too." He felt Duo take his hand again and then lead him to a few yards away from the horse to sit down in a cross-legged fashion on the ground. He sat down beside him and looked to him as Duo gazed at the stars.

"They're so close up here. Not really, but it sometimes seems that way."

Heero smiled brightly. "That's cause there's no distractions. No other lights to interfere so the stars seem brighter."

"Sao ka." Duo graced him with a smile before looking back to the sky, his hair and eyes shimmering in the moonlight. "On moonless nights, it's even more amazing."

Heero nodded as he looked to the stars as well. "I'll bet." He laid down with his head on Duo's thigh. "Ai shite ieru."

Duo bent down and kissed his cheek. "Ai shite ieru."

A small shooting star trailed across the sky and Heero grinned. Everything was magic when he was with Duo.

After a few minutes, Duo stroked his hair. "You have school tomorrow."

Heero nodded. "I know. Just a few more minutes?"

Duo nodded above him as they both watched the stars for any more activity.

In the distance, a lone wolf howled, claiming the land as his domain.

Duo grinned excitedly and closed his eyes as he listened to the animal. "I love that sound. Like music." He gave a howl of his own that would have done any wolf proud and they chuckled when the animal answered.

Heero smiled and nuzzled his thigh a lightly. "Baka."

Duo tousled his hair and the two looked back to the stars.

The moment was so perfect, and Heero felt himself begin to fall asleep.

At that moment, Duo shook him and kissed his hair. "You can't go to sleep here, Hee-kun. Come on. Wake up. I'll take you back to the house."

Heero nodded and groaned when he was moved to a sitting position.

*

Duo chuckled and stood. "Come on." He held out his hand and waited for Heero to take it. When he did, Duo pulled him to his feet and led him back to Cherokee, taking the reins of the hackamore off the post and pulling them back into place. He pulled himself into the saddle and helped Heero get on behind him. Clicking with his tongue, he began to ride home.

During the ride, Cherokee trotted most the time.

Duo tried to keep him slow, but the horse, still riding the high from running, wanted to go faster. It was all Duo could do to keep him from cantering and he didn't want to use any mental tricks as it had taken him the last few nights to gain the horse's trust and doing something like that would no doubt break that trust. When they approached the low fence that blocked them from the barn, he smirked. "Ne, Heero? Wanna see something your motor bike could never do?"

Heero peeked around his shoulder and apparently saw the painted white fence, for his grip around Duo's ribs tightened. "You're kidding or serious?"

"I'm not kidding. You want to? Or I could just open the gate. Whichever."

Heero's arms tightened around him again and his voice held excitement. "Over."

‘"Hold tight and lean forward, Hee-kun."’ Duo grinned as he kicked lightly at the horse's sides with his heals and clicked with his tongue.

Cherokee got the idea and galloped towards the fence, sailing over it, his hind hooves barely missing the top rail, and continued to canter to the barn where he knew he would be rewarded with cookies.

Heero giggled and Duo smiled at the joy he felt coming from him.

Once they were in the well-lit barn, Duo got down and Heero slid down as well.

Heero winced slightly and Duo gave him a confused look.

"Nanda?"

Heero shook his head and moved to sit on a hay bail.

Duo erupted into laughter at the way Heero was walking. "HAHAHA! You have DEFINATELY never ridden a horse if you're walking funny after such a short ride."

Heero scowled at him halfheartedly as he sat painfully on a bail. "He was bouncy." He said with a small smile, obviously not that tired anymore.

Duo nodded. "Ah. He's pretty smooth compared to many other horses, though." He took an apple cookie out of the bucket by the overly large stall's door and led the horse inside, closing the door and taking off the bridle, giving the horse the cookie, but keeping him away from the water.

Heero walked forward, a little less funny, and unlatched the door to step inside as well. "Why won't you let him near the water?"

Duo continued to hold the horse away from the trough. "He can't drink anything until he cools. It's the same for people. Ever notice that during the races in the Olympics, the runners usually only take a sip from the cups of water and then splash the rest onto themselves?"

Heero thought about it. "Now I do. Why?"

Duo shrugged. "You're just not supposed to drink a lot of water until your body has calmed. I don't know why. But I hear it is a bad thing and can even be painful. The reason I gave him some at my house was because he had not even broken a sweat. Now he needs to be kept away from it."

"Oh." Heero said as he seemed to process and store the information. He took a cookie out of the bucket on the ground by reaching under the stall door and moved to give it to the horse.

Duo stopped him when he saw the form of his hand. "Iye. Like this. Keep your hand flat. He can take off a finger and you'll never see it again. Keep your hand straight and hold the cookie in your palm."

Heero did as he instructed and, after looking back to Duo to see if he was doing it right and receiving a nod, he held his hand out to the horse who was trying to get it from him. He smiled at the loud crunching noises Cherokee made as he ate the cookie. He grinned to Duo who grinned back at him.

Quickly, Duo undid the cinch beneath the beast and slid off the saddle and blanket, draping both upon the divider between Cherokee's large stall and the smaller one next to it that housed a disgruntled looking Jack. Jack did not like Duo. And Duo was Ok with that. He wasn't asked to tend to Jack, just Cherokee. And Mary, the ornery horse on the other side of Jack, just didn't pay him any heed, merely continued to eat so long as he kept his distance.

He picked out the soft brush from the bucket of grooming supplies that hung from the post at the stall door and began to brush out the loosened hairs from Cherokee's coarse coat.

Heero smiled. "Can I help?"

Duo grinned. "Sure." He took Heero's hand in his and put the brush in it. Then, slowly, he guided Heero's hand to show him how it was done. "Like this. With the lay of the hair, not against it. And don't push too hard." He took his hand away to let Heero do it himself and smiled as Heero's quick learning skills once again made themselves known. He reached over and took out a mane and tail brush. "Wanna try this?"

Heero eyes lit up. "Hell yeah."

Duo smirked. "Ok. If you wanna do the tail, you have to make sure he knows you're there or he might spook and kick you."

Heero scowled. "Does it hurt a lot?"

Smiling slightly, Duo nodded. "Believe me when I say 'Uh huh'."

Heero grinned. "So how do I make sure he knows I'm there?"

Duo grinned. "Watch me." He slid a hand along the horse's side to just beside his tail, ensuring that the horse knew he had moved to his rear.

Heero looked like he wanted to laugh. "You have to touch his butt?"

Duo giggled. "I guess." He took the long, white tail in hand and began to brush out the course strands, beginning at the tips and working upwards slowly. "Just do it like this. And if you come to a big tangle, just grip the hair above the tangle to keep from pulling out too many strands when you brush it. K?"

Heero nodded and took the brush when Duo held it out to him, moving along the horse's side and sliding his hand along the short hair as he went. Smiling, he then began to brush out the tail.

Duo grinned and quickly brushed out the horse's coat. Then he picked up another brush and made quick work of the tangled mane. He put away the brushes and took out the hoof pick. He did the two front hooves first, then moved onto the hind ones. When he was done, he took a cookie out of the pocket Cherokee was sniffing and gave it to him. He smiled. "You're too smart, ya know that?"

"Eh?"

"Oh. He found the cookie in my pocket. It was either give it to him or have a gaping hole in my pants." He said as he walked to see how the tail was coming along. When he saw what Heero had been doing, he laughed so hard he almost fell down.

Cherokee's tail was a perfect, albeit white, replica of his own braid.

"Heero, I DON'T think Cherokee's gonna like that too much later." He said as he ginned at him.

Heero smiled. "I know. I just started doing it automatically. The only time I ever brushed out long hair was with you and I usually braided it afterwards."

Duo smiled sweetly and leaned forward to kiss Heero's cheek. "Aw. Come on, ya big softy. Cher here needs to sleep and so do you."

Heero nodded and unraveled the braid, running the brush through it once afterwards before putting it in the bucket. "Yosha."

Duo took his hand and led him to the stall door, opening it and closing it behind him. Holding Heero's hand, he walked to the door of the barn, out of the yellow glow and into silver moonlight. "So what's your day like tomorrow?"

Heero smiled to him. "I don't work too late. I'm off at six. And Wednesday is a late morning for me. My first class is at Ten."

Duo grinned. "What about homework?"

"Almost nothing. I'll be done by the time it gets dark."

Duo grinned wider. "Show up here when you're done and let's go out."

Heero stopped walking. "Is that a good idea?"

He stopped as well as he was unable to continue walking while still holding Heero's hand. "What do you mean?"

Heero looked to him from the ground. "Well, whenever we go out, something happens."

Duo scowled slightly. "So you want to stay indoors for the rest of your life? Hee-kun, we had two bad things happen. And one wasn't too bad. Just unexpected. I'm not planning on avoiding having fun just incase. People have to take chances. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. But I promise I won't let anything happen. Ok?" He grinned. "We'll stay away from that movie theater if it makes you feel any better."

Heero laughed. "I had the same thought."

Duo nodded as he walked forth again. "Ah. The place is cursed. We can avoid it."

Heero squeezed his hand. "Sounds good. So what did you have in mind?"

Looking to Heero with a smile, Duo considered. "Drinks, maybe some dancing. We could even go to the beach."

Heero smiled. "That sounds great. What time?"

"As soon as the sun is down if you like." He smiled brightly, unsure if Heero could see it that well.

Heero did for he grinned back at him. "Great."

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Chapter 40

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