The sun wasn’t even up by the time Luna pulled up to the Heavenly Stables, rubbing her eyes tiredly as she emerged from her car at a slow pace.  It was almost five thirty in the morning and there were a couple people up and about, though the place was otherwise quiet.  She expected Victoria to be getting things going but Minseok wasn’t quite anticipated, although the co-owner was always pleasant to be around.

                “Morning!” she waved cheerfully, stifling a yawn as she hurried up to the main stable structure.

                “Oh.  Good morning, Luna,” Victoria grinned brightly, long, dark auburn hair pulled into a tight bun at the back of her head to keep it out of her way.  Even working in the stables she looked nigh on immaculate, an effect that continued to baffle the younger woman.

                “Good morning, sunshine!” Minseok chuckled from the loft where he was presently tossing down straw for the stalls with a pitchfork.  The overhead lighting illuminated his cheerful expression under the crown of black, combed-out hair.  It wasn’t styled but he never saw the need for it first thing in the morning anyway.

                Victoria stood up and wandered over with a grain bucket in her hands.  “If you want to get started early, I know Wind’s Playmate is good and rested after her workout yesterday.  I made sure the circuit would be free for you at least most of the morning,” she nodded, placing a hand on the shorter woman’s shoulder encouragingly.

                “Ne?  Thank you,” Luna grinned gratefully.  Their routine was almost good but there were one or two things they needed to sort out before tomorrow.  “Oh!  That’s right.  I’m not sure if he’ll show or not but we may have an extra pair of hands coming in this morning to help with the cleaning and whatnot.”

                “Is that so?” Victoria murmured, glancing up at Minseok with a shrug.

                “As long as he can shovel manure, it should be fine.  We can get the rest of it alright,” he responded easily, tossing another clump of straw down.

                “Good.  I told him to be here at six so if you see him, feel free to let me know,” she grinned, starting to walk off before she turned back around to give them his name and at least a brief description.  “He’s my neighbor,” she added so they wouldn’t think he was just a total stranger, even if he sort of was so far.

                They laughed in amusement and then waved her off to go see to her horse, the ungrateful beast.  Luna pulled her riding boots and hat out of the storage closet in the stables and then headed over to say good morning to her mount.  The relatively tall mare whickered at her when she approached the stall door, peering over the gate with a bright smile.  Standing at sixteen hands tall, the gray dappled horse was a muscled beauty with a flowing mane and tail that was currently rather knotted.  Big brown eyes blinked at her before she walked over to lip at Luna’s hands with her soft muzzle inquisitively.

                “Greedy pig,” Luna giggled, retrieving a single sugar cube from her pocket.  “Here ya go,” she smiled, rubbing the long face fondly as Wind’s Playmate crunched on the sweet treat.  “You ready for a run about today?” she asked, heading to retrieve the brushes before she even worried about getting her saddled up.  Silence was her response but Luna kept smiling as she snagged a measure of grain and dumped it in her feed trough.  “I know.  You eat while I get you ready your highness,” she laughed, grabbing her tools as the horse stuck her face in the trough and started to eat contentedly.

                With practiced ease, Luna brushed the mare out and made sure her hooves were clean, picking out any pieces of debris that needed to come free before she ran firm hands over the entirety of her body, checking for hotspots or anything else she should be aware of.  When her cursory examination came up clean, she put the brushes up and returned with the riding gear, taking care of it swiftly while her mount stood with an air of long suffering acceptance.

                “I swear you act like we don’t do this every day,” she snorted, tightening the straps and making sure everything was good to go before she snagged the reins and tugged the mare after her.

                “Hey Luna!” she heard when she stepped out of the stall, looking up and down the length of the stables to see who had called her.  Movement in a couple of the other stalls nearby was likely from Luhan or Yixing but further down, she identified her caller.  “Look who made it,” Victoria grinned, pointing into the enclosure she was currently standing in front of, a satisfied expression on her face.

                Pleasantly surprised, Luna pulled Wind’s Playmate after her to peek into the stall only to find Yongguk working at mucking the confined space out determinedly, tired but attentive.  “Morning, Luna,” he waved, resting on the pitchfork when she came into sight.  By the looks of it, he hadn’t been working long but it was obviously unusual for him and it seemed as if he was getting into the swing of things slowly.  Though a lack of sleep might have something to do with it if the circles under his eyes were any indication.

                “Good morning,” she smiled, offering a wave before she patted the mare’s nose as she whickered and shook her head.  “Glad you could make it, Yongguk,” she nodded gratefully.

                “Eh.  He’ll do,” Victoria winked, turning a briefly critical eye to the horse lipping at Luna’s hair again.  “He’s not as good as Amber but he’s got some promise since he actually shows up,” she chuckled pointedly with a meaningful glance at Luna.

                “Stop that,” Luna muttered, shoving the nose away gently, a bemused smile on her face, though she kept her eyes from meeting Victoria’s.  Unlike someone else they knew…  “Yeah well, he can’t risk damaging his hands,” she mumbled weakly, still keeping her gaze averted.

                Yongguk looked quizzically between Victoria and Luna, well aware that he was missing something but polite enough not to ask since he’d just met them and all.  Instead, he focused on the horse that was currently pestering Luna.  “She’s big,” he murmured, eyeing the creature with interest, though his gaze returned to Luna easily enough, wondering if she’d enlighten him more on the rest of the subject.

                “This is Wind’s Playmate,” Luna introduced as she composed herself and gave him a more genuine smile, waving Yongguk over easily.  “I take it you haven’t been around many horses?”

                “Not since I was a kid,” Yongguk admitted, approaching with a hint of nervousness, one hand still clinging to the pitchfork he was working with.  The mare was taller than him after all; maybe not at the shoulders but if she wanted to hurt him, it wouldn’t be too big an issue for her.

                “She won’t hurt you,” Luna encouraged as if she could read his thoughts, patting the forehead fondly, letting her eyes trail over the creature beside her before she looked back at Yongguk, aware that his gaze was still focused primarily on her.  “You can pet her you know,” she added, nodding at the mare.

                “Ah.  You sure?” he asked with a gentle laugh, though he took a step forward with his hand raised cautiously, jerking back when Wind’s Playmate bobbed her head once.

                “I think I’ll leave you to it then,” Victoria grinned, nodding at both of them with a speculative glance between the two.  “He’ll do well enough and if you’ve any questions, just grab one of us and we’ll help ya out,” she promised, waving at Yongguk.

                “Thanks Victoria,” Luna waved, watching the older woman leave before she noticed Yongguk still debating whether to pet the mare or not.  “Here,” she smiled wryly, taking his hand before she placed in on Wind’s Playmate’s forehead, laughing when she managed to surprise him and then when he realized how soft the fur felt.

                “Beautiful,” he murmured, running his hand up and down the hair, glancing at Luna every now and then, leaving her to wonder if he meant just the horse or something more.

                “She’s a spoiled brat is what she is,” Luna laughed in an effort to keep things friendly, giving the muscled shoulder a fond pat.  “And we’ve a show tomorrow so we’re getting a couple more runs in.  If she’ll behave,” Luna rolled her eyes, quirking one brow up as pulled to the side in a wry smile.

                Yongguk’s expression turned curious and he removed his hand, holding to the pitchfork with both as he focused on Luna.  “What kind of show?”

                “Equestrian,” Luna grinned, adding, “Show jumping.  We’ll be out in the ring for a little while at least.  You should come by and check it out when you’re done here,” she smiled, giggling when Wind’s Playmate nudged at her head again.  “Aish.  Impatient beast,” she swatted at the mare and waved at Yongguk.  “I guess I better be going, but thank you for showing up today.”

                “Of course,” Yongguk smiled, leaning on his support while he watched Luna and the horse interact.  “I’ll see if I can’t get over to check you out… er… check you and the horse out in the ring,” he amended, coughing embarrassedly as he ducked his head.

                “Alright,” Luna nodded, letting him off easy as she tugged the mare after her, setting an easy pace while they headed into the growing light of the day.  Passing by a few stalls, she confirmed she had seen Luhan and Yixing working in them, getting their horses ready for the day as well.  They waved at her in greeting, which she returned before she allowed a curious glance over her shoulder.  Out of the corner of her eye, she could see that Yongguk was still watching her, though he had started to head back into the stall and she felt her cheeks flush at the extra attention.

                “Hey, Luna!” a new voice greeted brightly and she turned to see who was calling her this time.

                “Morning, Sulli!” she beamed back, getting a good look at the taller young woman already seated on her bay gelding, sitting very much like she belonged there with her long legs tucked up further on the saddle, the position itself looking somewhat uncomfortable.  “You ready for tomorrow?” she asked, taking a moment to stop so she could swing up into the saddle herself, using her arms to do most of the work since the angle was completely awkward for her legs and almost impossible for her to reach.  Almost.  The stirrups weren’t as high as they would be for a race horse but they were more than high enough to be a bother…

                “I think so.  Mr. Grumpy ’s being a pain but I think he’ll be ready for the jumps tomorrow,” she giggled, smacking the horse’s neck lightly, watching the skin twitch in reaction.

                “Eh.  You know how the General gets before a show,” Luna reminded her as she kneed her mount towards the ring, removing the riding helmet from where she’d attached it to the saddle so she could slip it on before she got started.

                “Yeah.  Same with her,” Sulli nodded towards the mare, light brown eyes twinkling under the fall of her dark brown bangs peeking under the riding cap.  “So?  Who’s the new guy?” she asked, looking back towards the stables with an almost devilish grin.

                “Yongguk.  My neighbor,” Luna admitted with a glance back, though she was unable to see him inside the structure, hidden by the stall walls.

                “Oh?” Sulli asked with a delightful tone in her voice, the single syllable utterance highly suggestive.

                “It’s not like that,” Luna swatted at her from afar, making a face in her general direction.  “He showed up at my door drunk by mistake the night before last and then wanted to make it up to me so I told him we needed a hand here with Amber and Krystal being sick and here he is.”

                “That’s it?” Sulli asked, eyes narrowing suspiciously, clearly not convinced.  Luna just looked at her with a stern expression and the younger woman giggled.  “Alright, alright!” she held up her hands in surrender.  “But you’ve gotta admit he has some nice arms,” she teased with a wink, nudging the General away so that Luna couldn’t get close enough to smack her.

                “Sulli!” Luna gasped with one hand rising to cover .  Oh, she was terrible sometimes, not that she’d really been paying attention to that facet of Yongguk this morning.  “Come on you,” she laughed, clucking at the mare to get her moving, feeling her shift fluidly beneath her, the gait steady and easy as she pushed all other extraneous thoughts out of her head for the moment.

                The routine wasn’t a hard one exactly, just taxing, and it required both of them to be in synch to complete it successfully.  They’d been doing well enough for the most part but the second to last hurdle was being a pain in the and Wind’s Playmate was balking at it again.  Sighing in irritation, Luna turned her back around to approach it from another angle, trying to see if that might work.  Clucking her forward again, Luna got ready and was very nearly thrown over the top of her mount when she just planted her feet and refused to budge.

                “Yah!” Luna yelped, wincing at the jarring feel against her body as she felt the strain in her legs when she tried to compensate for the upset.  “Fine.  Let’s take a break then,” she sighed, not sure what else to do just yet.  Patting her shoulder, Luna nudged her off to the side and smiled hesitantly when she noticed Yongguk leaning against the fence watching her.  Had she been out here that long already?  He was sweaty and dirty from his earlier efforts, still slightly flushed, but the smile he gave her was genuine as he pulled his attention from the conversation he was having with Minseok.

                “That was really cool,” he assured her with an enthusiastic thumbs-up, tracking Luna’s progress until she stopped in front of them, sliding off with ease before she grabbed the reins in her hands and exhaled gustily.

                “Looks like she’s struggling with that last jump there,” Minseok nodded towards the ring and the trouble spot.

                “Ne,” Luna shrugged with a grimace.  “She did it fine yesterday but something’s up.  I don’t think it’s because you guys are watching either,” she admitted, knowing she’d done it just fine in front of a considerably larger crowd on various occasions.

                “Eh.  Want me to give it a go?” Minseok asked politely, gesturing towards the mare.

                “You think it’s me?” Luna teased, making a face at the older male.  He just threw his hands up and shrugged.  “Oh fine.  If you wouldn’t mind,” she agreed, bowing his direction.

                “Alright!  Let’s see what’s going on shall we?” he asked aloud, practically vaulting over the fence to take the reins from her.  “You can keep Yongguk company for the moment.  He’s finished with the stalls but he figured he’d stick around to see how things work for at least a little while.  Isn’t that right?”

                “Yes, sir,” Yongguk saluted, eyeing the shorter male before he watched Luna crawl through the space between the rails in the fence, a bemused smile appearing on his features.

                She sighed tiredly and removed her riding helmet, slinging it over the nearest post before she propped her chin on top of her hands and focused on Minseok atop Wind’s Playmate.  Her expression was critical while she observed the way they moved and she almost missed Yongguk watching her instead, apparently amused or interested by her scrutiny.  “Sorry,” she exhaled, shifting her attention to him.  “It’s just frustrating.”

                “I can imagine.  It’s amazing watching you do what you do though,” Yongguk admitted, nodding towards the ring where Minseok was navigating the jumps with practiced ease, a look of concentration on his face as he felt the mare out.

                “I love it,” Luna breathed, a warm light suffusing her face at the statement.

                “It shows,” he agreed with soft confidence, his expression attentively sincere.

                Luna chewed her bottom lip and flushed, pleasantly surprised by the statement.  “So how was mucking out the stalls earlier?” she inquired, glancing at the uncovered, muscled arms Sulli had apparently been admiring.  Yep.  They were nice…

                “Mucky,” he answered matter-of-factly, keeping a straight face until she laughed, at which point his serious appearance was utterly ruined by that gummy grin of his.

                “Well that sums it up aptly,” she giggled, hiding behind her hand as she was suddenly struck by the thought that he had a nice smile.  “You must have done a decent job though since Minseok wouldn’t have bothered to talk to you if you hadn’t,” she explained, gasping slightly when the rider and her horse made another jump.  It was always amazing to watch and they were approaching the one she kept struggling with.

                “That’s good to know.  Especially since he asked if I might be interested in helping out a bit more if I was free,” Yongguk explained, shifting his attention to the ring though he managed a curious sidelong look her direction to see how she’d react.

                It took Luna a moment for that to sink in and then she blinked, looking at him out of the corner of her eye to make sure he wasn’t joking with her.  Her attention immediately went back to the ring when Minseok approached the jump and… nearly went flying over the horse’s head himself.  “Ergh…” she winced, cringing at the pained expression on his face.  Even with an English saddle, that sort of stop always hurt.

                “Ouch,” Yongguk exclaimed with a similarly cringe-worthy expression, both hands coming to rest on the top bar of the fence.

                Then his words clicked and she blinked again, needing confirmation.  “He what?”

                “Ne,” Yongguk responded with a glance over at her.

                “Oh.  That’s… good news?” she offered, not entirely sure.  She knew he was between jobs from their very brief conversation the other day but she wasn’t sure what it meant for him.

                “I think so,” he smiled and nodded once, giving her his full attention.

                “Ah,” Luna murmured, smiling around the bottom lip caught between her teeth.  She had quite frankly expected this to be a one day event but now it seemed that she might be seeing her neighbor a fair bit more often than she had anticipated.  Not that she minded exactly.  From what she’d seen of him, he wasn’t a bad guy, and he must have been at least a decent worker, which would probably help things go smoother around here in terms of manual labor, but it was definitely unexpected.  Minseok’s arrival allowed her to resume her focus on something else and she smiled, “So I guess it wasn’t just me?”

                “Nope,” he agreed with a shake of his head.  “If you’d like, I can see if Vic can take her for a ride later and work out that kink?”

                “Nah.  It’ll be alright. I’m sure,” Luna explained as she waved her hand dismissively, back to being her professional self again.  “We should probably take a break anyway and she might be ready after that.”

                “Good idea,” Minseok smiled, easing himself out of the saddle with care.  “So Luna.  Do you think Kris is going to be able to make it to the show tomorrow?” he asked, casting a brief look in Yongguk’s direction before waiting for Luna’s response.

                She sighed and shrugged, twisting to the side, looking somewhat conflicted.  “I’m not sure.  You know how he is around the horses,” she exhaled, running her palm over her hair reflexively.  The horses, the events, and pretty much everything else she liked about being out here.

                “Feh.  All he has to do is sit in the stands,” Minseok snorted, rolling his eyes in annoyance.

                Luna laughed and nodded in agreement.  “True, but he’s also been busy lately.  You know how he talks about his muse and whatnot.”

                “More of his painting?” the elder male asked dryly, one brow raised with skepticism.

                “He really tries so hard,” she admitted with a bright smile, though it was a little bit forced.  “And he’s not bad,” she stated firmly, pointing at Minseok with a critical eye.  “But yes.  His painting and then you know he coaches at the high school and I’m not sure if they have a game or not.  He doesn’t really tell me those things until rather last minute,” she exhaled with an irritated sigh.  A glance to her right showed that Yongguk was obviously curious but had no idea who they were talking about.  “My boyfriend,” she explained with a shake of her head.  “He’s just not a horse person.”

                For the briefest of moments, it looked as if Yongguk had tasted something bad before he plastered a smile on his face and snorted, “That’s a pity since you work so well with them.”

                “You’re telling me,” she grumbled as her shoulders slumped forward before she realized what she’d said and straightened with a hand clapped over .  “Sorry!  It’s none of your concern,” she waved apologetically, brightening up as she tried to veer them from the current topic.  “But I hear that Daehyun’s doing something nice for us for tomorrow.”

                “Ne!  He’s got quite the treat planned if I’m not mistaken,” Minseok laughed, nodding back towards the main house.

                “Daehyun’s the cook on site.  He takes care of the humans so they can take care of the horses, though it’s a toss-up whether he just likes trying new things or really likes to eat as much as he can and then give us the leftovers,” she winked in amusement.

                “I’m pretty sure Yixing and Luhan will make sure he doesn’t devour everything.  Krystal would too if she wasn’t still out sick,” Minseok assured them both.  “They’re competing tomorrow too.”  He paused to look out over the rest of the training facilities and pointed out another rider in the distance.  “Luhan’s one of our dressage riders and Yixing jumps much like Luna does,” he explained for Yongguk’s benefit.  “If you like it here, you’ll probably meet most of them before too long.  I’m hoping Amber and Krystal will be recovered by the beginning of next week.  Do you think you’d be interested in coming to the show tomorrow?”

                “Maybe,” Yongguk nodded tentatively, glancing at Luna with a warm expression.  “Where’s it supposed to be at?”

                “Eh.  Over in Anocksville about an hour’s drive.  We’ll be heading out early tomorrow but the show doesn’t actually start until about ten or so,” he explained.  “Luna here is jumping at one and if she makes it to the finals, they’ll be doing another round on Sunday for the winner,” he grinned, giving her a big heart sign with his hands.

                She ducked her head and blushed but laughed delightedly.  “Hopefully I’ll be competing on Sunday too.  Otherwise, I’ll just be heading back here to give this brat some time off,” she winked, nodding towards Wind’s Playmate who was currently butting Minseok with her nose.

                “I’m sure you’ll compete on Sunday too,” Yongguk nodded enthusiastically.  “I mean, you’re really good,” he added, looking at Minseok to make sure he was on track.

                “She is,” he agreed, clapping the taller male on the shoulder encouragingly, reaching over the fence with a slightly awkward motion.

                “Would you quit it?  I’m decent,” she laughed, slapping at Minseok through the fence.

                “You are good,” he reiterated, pointing his finger at her determinedly though he made sure he was far enough away from her to be safe.

                “Is our little Luna doubting herself again?” Victoria asked, inserting herself into the group without missing a beat.

                “Yes,” Minseok said at the same time that Luna exclaimed, “No!”

                Victoria looked at Yongguk who cringed but nodded in agreement and she laughed.  “Hah!”

                “Traitor,” Luna frowned at him, crossing her arms over her chest and looking away.

                “I think you’ll do just fine, Yongguk.  If you can keep up with the hours and all,” Victoria added, winking at him as she rested her arm on his shoulder, propping herself against the taller figure.

                “Is it just weekdays or weekends too?” he asked, completely serious, though he stiffened a bit at being used so informally and not sure if he should be worried or not.

                “We prefer weekends if possible, since they’re so damn hard to cover,” Minseok added, back to resting against the fence though he was watching Victoria with a rather bemused look.  “But we work with the staff as best we can.”

                “Well, I’m pretty flexible right now,” Yongguk explained.  “Can’t say I’m much of a morning person exactly but I think I can work around that,” he laughed, glancing at Luna once before he looked away quickly.

                “That’s what we like to hear!” Victoria cheered, jumping in place while she jutted her hand into the air as a victory symbol.

                “Excited much?” Minseok asked dryly.

                “Is that jealousy I hear?” she teased back, placing her hand on Yongguk’s shoulder though she kept her eyes locked on Minseok’s.

                “Eh…” Yongguk murmured in confusion, giving Luna a pleading expression before he glanced between Victoria and Minseok.

                “Luna.  Take the reins please,” Minseok directed, holding his hand out as he waited for the shorter woman to climb through so he could clamber over the fence.  “My wife and I need to have a little chat,” he explained drolly, to Victoria’s amusement.

                “Bye Luna!  It was nice meeting you Yongguk,” Victoria waved as she allowed herself to be guided back towards the main house.

                “Ouch…” Yongguk cringed, looking at Luna worriedly.  “Are they going to be alright?”

                Luna nodded and laughed in amusement.  “They’ll be fine.  She just likes to and it doesn’t help you opted for something without sleeves,” she pointed eyeing his bare, defined arms directly.  On second thought, she couldn’t exactly blame Victoria either.  The thought caught her by surprise and it took effort to school her expression so that she didn’t give herself away.

                “I figured it was going to be hard work,” he shrugged, otherwise ignorant of her inner commentary as he rested against the fence to look over at the shorter young woman.  “And I wasn’t wrong.”

                “Hey.  You asked for it,” she reminded him seriously, fidgeting in place while she valiantly yanked her thoughts under control.  Stupid Sulli for putting the idea in her head.

                Yongguk held his hands up in immediate surrender and laughed, “I know, I know.  I did.  But I like it here,” he added in a softer tone of voice, looking around the area before his gaze came back to settle on Luna.  “It’s nice.”

                She chose to ignore how that could have been interpreted and nodded, “It is nice here.  Definitely worth the hard work.  Come on, girl,” she sighed, turning her attention to the restless horse beside her.  “I know you want a break,” Luna chuckled, nodding her head towards the stables for Yongguk’s benefit.

                “If I have time tomorrow, can I bring my brother with me?” Yongguk asked, placing himself beside Luna, close enough to be within arm’s reach but nowhere near touching.

                “Ne.  Everyone’s invited.  It’s kind of a hit and miss turnout,” she admitted, walking sedately, aware of the distance between them and his polite gesture in not crowding her space.  It was nice actually.  “As an employee, you get in free but if you speak to Minseok or Victoria, they can probably manage something for your brother too.”

                “I’ll see if I can’t come by anyway,” he promised in a quiet tone of voice, looking at her directly as they walked side by side.

                “That would be nice,” Luna agreed with an easy smile, the expression friendly but nothing more, though she did trace a strand of hair behind her ear in a slightly nervous gesture.  She already had a boyfriend who she was very much committed to, but they could be friends at least, right?

(a/n: Okay, this one got a little bit away from me.  lol  But I'm fleshing out the cast so yay!  Though I'm still trying to figure out what to do with Youngjae.  >.>  I'm working on it though.  heh  And in the meantime, I'm hoping you're enjoying the story.  Thanks for checking it out so far and please look forward to the next update!)