Chapter Text
Chapter 1
It was late morning, when the matte grey G-Class drove onto the grounds of the Kiramman stud farm, dragging a horse trailer with it.
The SUV parked beside the stables and Caitlyn Kiramman got out of it, dressed in brown riding boots, black jodhpurs and a perfectly white blouse, ornamented with a golden Kiramman emblem right over her heart, walking around to the trailer.
“Hey, it’s okay. We’re home now.”, she smiled into it and opened the trailer door, slowly and careful.
“Shhh… no worries. You’ll like it here, I promise.”, she whispered with a very calm voice to the distressed looking, black arabian horse.
Caitlyn’s movements were slow and thoughtful, she didn’t want the new arrival to get scared or to start to panic.
“There we go, good girl.”, she said with a soft smile as she untied the knot of the rope which kept the horse at it’s place inside the trailer.
“Let’s get out and I show you your new home, shall we?”, she kept talking softly to it and started to walk out the trailer, which wasn’t as easy as she hoped it to be.
“Come on. Here’s nothing to be afraid of. I know, these people back there treated you very bad… but I promise, no one will ever hurt you again.”, she whispered and tapped the horses neck encouraging.
The Kirammans owned a stud farm for noble horses, meant to be used for riding competitions of the high society. When Caitlyn got older, she insisted on starting a sanctuary for mistreated, old and hurt or ill horses. They had the money and the space for it, and her father encouraged her to do so.
Her mother didn’t like it first, as she didn’t want the ‘good name of their stables to be damaged by lower class horses’, but Caitlyn didn’t let her stop her to help animals in need.
It took her some time, but when Caitlyn’s engagement for these poor animals gave the Kiramman stud farm an even better imagine, she let her daughter do her thing.
Caitlyn managed to get the horse out of the trailer, it took time and patience, but the nervous black animal made it’s steps out of the trailer, finally.
Unfortunately, one of the barn cats had other plans for the young Kiramman, as it chased a poor little squirrel over the estate, right in front of the new arrival.
“Oh dear, bloody hell, no no no no! Sombra, stop, come back!! …Ouch…!”, the navy haired woman called out as the horse ripped it’s rope painfully out of Caitlyn’s hands and fled in the stables direction, in full gallop and with obvious panic in its eyes.
Caitlyn started running after Sombra, when she saw someone coming out of said stables.
“Watch out!!”, she shouted over, hoping no one would get hurt.
The other person walked right in front of the panicking horse and reacted immediately, catching the loose rope which hung from the halter, turning the horse close around so it stopped running.
They kept calm, stopped the still tripping horse completely and held a hand up in front of its nose.
“Woah, bbrrrrr, it’s okay, shhh! All good, right? Yeah, nothing happened, see?”, the person said and slowly started to pet Sombra’s neck before scratching behind her ears.
“Aww, good boy!” – “She’s a girl, actually.”, Caitlyn said with a little smile when she arrived, too.
“Oh, well then, good girl, huh?”, the stranger said, patted Sombra’s neck again and smiled to Caitlyn.
“Thank you. This was… actually quite impressive. I don’t want to imagine what could have happened if she ran loose here.”, Caitlyn said and eyed the other person.
It was a woman, shorter than her, but quite the same age. Pink, short hair adored her freckled face and ice blue eyes met her own ocean-colored ones. She was wearing working clothes, dark brown pants which were hold up by black suspenders and a beige, buttoned shirt, made of linen.
“My apologies, but do we know each other? I never saw you before on my family’s property.”, Caitlyn asked in her posh accent and crossed her arms a little loose.
“Oh sorry, nope. The name’s Violet, but you can call me Vi, if you want.”, the pink haired woman said with a little smirk.
“Just started today here as the new ‘stable boy’, as Mrs. Kiramman called it. Can’t confirm the ‘boy’ part, but well, took the job nevertheless.”, she joked around a little and Caitlyn had to hold back a chuckle, which came out a little anyway.
“So I see.”, Caitlyn said with a withhold smile on her lips, looking at the hand Vi reached out to her.
“I’m Caitlyn, nice to meet you, Vi.”, she said and shook Vi’s hand, when she let out a painful sounding breath.
“Shit…”, she cursed and Vi made a concerned face when she saw the wound on Caitlyn’s hand.
“That looks bad, let me have a look…”, the smaller woman said and took Caitlyn’s hurt hand in hers.
“Did she rip the rope out of your hand? Damn, that must have burned…”, she sighed.
“Come on, we need to clean this before it gets inflamed or infected or anything.”, Vi said and Caitlyn got a little carried away.
Vi was handsome and despite her hands looked a little rough, they felt more than gentle when she touched her.
“Excuse me, what?”, Caitlyn asked and blinked a few times, when Vi wanted to take care of her.
“Your hand. We need to clean it up.”, Vi repeated herself, still holding Sombra on the rope.
Caitlyn looked at her hand, it really looked painful, and it indeed was painful.
“Where is her place? Let’s bring her inside and then I take care of your hand.”, Vi asked and Caitlyn just nodded. Somehow, she felt a weird connection to the stranger girl.
She walked over to an empty stable and opened the gate, so Vi could walk Sombra inside.
Caitlyn watched Vi with the new horse. Sombra seemed calmer, still nervous and ready to run whenever needed, but Vi had a calming aura around her, it seemed.
Caitlyn could tell, Vi had a very soothing effect on the animal.
“There you go.”, the smaller woman said when she walked Sombra in her box, turned her around before she took off the halter and patted her neck again before walking out and closing the gate.
“Thank you, really.”, Caitlyn said while the two of them walked off to the sink, a few boxes away from Sombra’s new home.
“Huh?”, Vi made a questioning face when Caitlyn thanked her all of a sudden.
They stopped at the sink and Vi washed her own hands, before she took Caitlyn’s hurt one again to hold it under the cold water.
“For your help with Sombra. I know, handling a traumatized horse all alone isn’t the best idea, but… I had to-…ouch…”, she started but hissed a little when Vi started to clean the rope-burned skin.
“Sorry, it will be better soon, I promise.”, Vi said and tried to be as careful as possible.
“It’s okay, just do what you have to.”, Caitlyn said and tried to ignore the pain.
“So, what I wanted to say… I had to hurry. Her previous owner wanted to give her away to a slaughterhouse, just because she didn’t reach the speed he was promised she would reach. It’s ridiculous… she’s such a pretty and totally healthy horse, how could someone want to kill her off, just because she didn’t meet some insane expectations?! Humans can be so cruel, I really can’t understand how some people can be like that.”, Caitlyn explained and ranted a little.
“My parents had important appointments today and no one else had time to help me out. So, I drove off on myself early this morning to pick her up.”, she ended her story and Vi took the disinfectant spray she got out of the first-aid box next to the sink.
“Humans really can be trash. It’s absolute great and selfless that you prevented her from death.”, Vi answered on Caitlyn’s story.
“I bet Sombra will understand what you did for her, soon.”, she smiled and opened the cap of the spray bottle.
“Alright, this will burn a little now. Ready?”, she asked, and the other woman nodded while biting her own lower lip, before Vi pumped a few times to get the disinfectant on Caitlyn’s wound.
“Alright.”, Vi smiled and put a thin bandage over her hand.
“This should be better tomorrow already.”, she added and Caitlyn smiled warm at her.
“Thank you, again. Vi, right? So, I guess we will see each other regularly from now on.”, the taller woman said and Vi grinned a little: “Yeah, I mean, if you are here regularly, then yes.”
Caitlyn huffed with a little chuckle: “Regularly? I-…”, she started, when someone interrupted them.
“Caitlyn! How often do I have to tell you not to park this close and not to let the trailer open when you-… oh. You already met our new stable boy.”
It was Cassandra Kiramman, Caitlyn’s mother.
“Mother, I know, I didn’t mean to leave it like this. There was a little… incident. I will take the trailer and the car away in a second.”, Caitlyn sighed a little annoyed.
“Caitlyn, what happened to your hand?!”, Cassandra said shocked when she heard the word ‘incident’ and saw the bandage on her daughters’ hand.
“It’s fine, mother, really. Don’t worry, the new horse just ripped itself free, Vi handled it.”, Caitlyn answered and looked at Vi who didn’t really know what to do right now.
“Did she?”, Cassandra said and pinched the bridge of her nose.
“I don’t want to know how all this happened, just be sure you can ride the tournament this weekend. And an injured hand really is not what you need now, Caitlyn. And Violet, I don’t pay you to chat with my daughter. I suppose you have enough work left to do, right?”, she said and eyed her new employee.
Vi nodded and answered quickly: “Yes Mrs. Kiramman, I will continue in a minute.” – “No, you will continue now, not in a minute, not in a second, now. Remember you’re in trial period.” – “Sure, on it.”, Vi said and grabbed a groom which stood nearby to wipe the floor, rolling her eyes when her back was turned to the older Kiramman.
Caitlyn sighed and looked at her mother: “Mother, I-…”, she started, but got interrupted again: “Caitlyn, the trailer. And the car.” – “…yes, mother.”
Caitlyn sighed again, looked at Vi who met her eyes, both smiled shortly at each other and then, Cait left the stables to do as her mother told her to.
In the evening, Caitlyn sat with her parents on the dining table of their family estate.
It was located just half a mile from their stud farm.
“I heard you brought another rescue home?”, Tobias, Caitlyn’s father asked with an honest smile on his face while cutting the beef on his plate.
Caitlyn’s eyes lit up and she smiled bright: “Yes! She’s an arabian horse, absolutely stunning black fur and she-…” – “Caitlyn, what were you talking about with the new stable boy?”, Cassandra suddenly interrupted them.
“What? Nothing, she helped me when Sombra escaped me. She also took care of my hand when I burned it on the rope.”, Caitlyn answered with a confused look on her face.
“Didn’t you employed her? What’s the matter?”, she asked and looked around between her father and mother.
Cassandra put her cutlery down with a sigh: “Your father insisted on taking her, even if we had way better classified candidates. I have my assumptions about that girl, I don’t want you to spend more time than needed with her.”
Tobias looked at his wife with a frown: “Darling, please. Violet is the perfect match for our stud farm, and she needed a place to stay. I don’t know why you are so critical about her, I’m sure she will do her work well and it’s even better, when she gets along with our daughter.”
Cassandra rubbed the bridge of her nose with a sigh and took a breath before she spoke.
“I don’t want her to get too close to our daughter!”, she suddenly said a little louder.
Caitlyn’s face went from shocked, to disappointed, to sad and hurt: “…are we really arguing about this again, mother? I am who I am. And just because Violet might be like I am, doesn’t mean there will happen anything. This is not how it works, mother. And even if so, I-…”, she started with a more than cold voice but stopped again.
“Excuse me. I won’t talk this over, not again.”, she said, left her food almost untouched and left the room. “Caitlyn! You will come back now, immediately! CAITLYN!!”, Cassandra got up and shouted after her daughter, but she was already gone.
“…Darling, don’t you think it’s time to accept our daughters’ orientation and feelings? Why is it such a big deal for you?”, Tobias asked carefully and took his wife’s hand in his.
“...nothing will change for us. Isn’t it the most important thing that Caitlyn is happy? We have to support her. No matter what. We are her parents. I’m afraid we will lose her, if you don’t… have her back like you usually do.”
Caitlyn walked through the warm summer night, back to the stables and directly to a specific box.
“Why can’t she just leave it be? Why can’t she just accept who I am?”, she asked and opened the gate of a box with a nametag which said “Helios”.
A pure white Lipizzan walked up to her, snorted and pushed Caitlyn a little with his head, which made the tall woman chuckled a little under her tears.
“You wouldn’t judge me, right? Only if I don’t get your favorite snacks, right, Helios?”, she sighed and scratched the big horse’s forehead lovingly.
“Hey!! Who’s in here?!”, Vi’s voice was to hear, and a flashlight was to see, searching the dark.
“Oh shit. I-…it’s me, sorry, I didn’t want to alarm you!”, Caitlyn called, wiped her tears away quickly, before Vi walked over to where the voice came from.
“Caitlyn?”, the pink haired woman said and laughed a little.
“You could’ve told me that you’re the owners daughter this afternoon.”, she smiled and leaned her arms on the closed gate.
“This yours?”, she asked and nodded to the big, white horse.
“Does it make any difference to you, if I’m their daughter?”, Caitlyn asked and Helios walked over to Vi to inspect who was talking to his owner.
“Hey there.”, Vi smiled and let the stallion sniff her hand while Caitlyn watched them, patting the horses shoulder a little.
“No. Not really. I just like to know who I am talking to.”, Vi answered and carefully lifted her hand to caress Helios’ forehead softly.
“… yes, he’s mine. A present for my 18th birthday, I got him as a foal and trained him myself.”, Caitlyn answered Vi’s previous question.
“He’s really special. Suits you.”, Vi said and looked over to Cailyn after she watched the stallions’ reactions before.
“Mind telling me why you’re out here at this time?”, she asked, and Caitlyn huffed a little.
“We know each other for a few hours, and you think this is your business? I own this place. I can be here whenever I want.”
Vi raised an eyebrow and took her hand away from the horse, tilting her head a little: “I just try to be friendly. I had the impression you’re different from all these high society people which surround this place. My bad.”, she said a little pissed and took a step back from the box.
“Good Night, Miss Kiramman.”, she said with a serious voice and started to walk off.
Caitlyn facepalmed inside and left the box, closed it quickly and jogged after the other woman.
“Vi, please, wait! I’m sorry!”, she called out and Vi stopped.
“For what exactly?”, she asked and turned around. Caitlyn could see in her eyes she was playing a little. Instant revenge, she guessed.
“I shouldn’t have reacted like I did. I’m sorry. It’s just… my parents piss me off so much, I… needed fresh air. And someone to talk to…”, she answered, and her gaze wandered to her own feet.
Vi sighed and crossed her arms.
“Horses aren’t very talk active, are they? Wanna hang out a little and talk to someone who can actually answer?”, she offered and smiled again, when Caitlyn looked up again after hearing the offer. “What? I-… I mean. Yes. Thank you. Did my parents gave you the small apartment over the stables?”, she asked and catches up to the other woman, now walking beside her to the door which led upstairs to a small 2-room-apartment.
“Yep. Needed a place to stay, so this job offering was perfect for me.”, Vi answered as she unlocked the door.
“Sorry, it’s still messy. Kinda moved in overnight.”, she said and offered her a seat on the small couch.
Some boxes lay around here and there, the small kitchen looked recently used, and it smelled like simple pasta with tomato sauce. A quite big flatscreen was standing opposite of the couch, a Playstation 4 was connected to it. On the small table in front of the couch was a half-eaten plate of pasta and a can of Dr. Pepper, already opened, next to all kinds of small things, spread over the table.
“Are you hungry?”, Vi asked as she got Caitlyn a can to drink out of the fridge, handing it to her.
“Thank you. Oh…”, Caitlyn made a little sound and shrugged: “Yes, kind of, to be honest…”
Vi smiled and nodded before getting a second plate, putting the rest of pasta and sauce on said plate before warming it up in the microwave again.
“Here you go.”, she said after 2 minutes and sat down next to her.
“Thank you. I appreciate it, I bet you hoped for a more relaxed evening, don’t you?”, Caitlyn asked and took the fork Vi handed her.
“Well, I’d be lying if I’d say having you here is unpleasant.”, Vi chuckled and took her own plate again to continue eating. She jumped off immediately earlier, when she heard the big gate open, so she left her food to investigate who entered the stables.
“Oh stop it.”, Caitlyn chuckled on Vi’s comment and started to eat her pasta.
After they finished their food, Vi threw everything in the sink before sitting next to Caitlyn again.
“So. Wanna talk about it?”, she asked and Caitlyn sighed.
“…my parents. Or more like, my mother… she never accepted that I am not like she wants me to be. Earlier, she started this discussion again and I just felt the need to flee. So, I did.”, she started and fiddled with her fingers a little.
“Not like… she wants you to be?”, Vi asked and sat down crossed legged, so she was able to look at her guest better.
Caitlyn nodded and took a deep breath.
“… you should have seen her when I sneaked in my first girlfriend…”
Vi’s eyes widened a little.
“Oh. Ooooh, this is that kind of a story, shit… I’m so sorry to hear this. You are you, and there’s nothing wrong with it. Okay?”, Vi said and thought of what else she could say, when Caitlyn smiled at her: “It’s okay. I know all that, it’s not the first time this happened. I know who I am, and I know what I want. And my mother will have to accept it, this way or that way. It was just… an exhausting day. Starting that early, driving over 3 hours, arguing with Sombra’s previous owner, paying that asshole to sell her to me, getting her into the trailer, the way back and all that happened here after that… I just didn’t have the power anymore today.”, she explained herself and leaned back into the couch.
“I’m sorry, I bet these must sound like absolute stupid problems to you.”, she apologized to Vi, but she just shook her head: “No. Absolutely not. If it’s a problem for you, then it’s valid.”, she said and took a sip out of her can.
“Sounds like your mother is a pain in the ass.”, she laughed a little and put the can back on the table.
“…actually, yes.”, Caitlyn laughed and took a deep breath.
“I can’t believe I’m sitting here with an absolute stranger, talking about all this personal stuff, like it’s nothing.”, she laughed to herself and Vi started laughing, too: “Don’t worry, all you said is safe with me. Who should I tell anyway? Sombra?”, she chuckled, and Caitlyn turned into a cross legged position, too, facing Vi now: “Is that so? How could I trust someone like you?”, she asked, a playful grin on her lips. “Someone like me?”, she grinned back, “You rich ass snobs are all the same.”
Caitlyn chuckled a little under her grin: “Is that so? Well, what if I tell you, I am different?”, she asked, her eyes falling on Vi’s lips over and over again. She then noticed that they were a little asymmetrical. Was this a little scar? She wondered where Vi got it from.
“I already know you’re different.”, Vi answered and leaned a little forward, eyeing her lips, too.
“Is that so?”
“Yes.”
“How come?”
“You care.”
“…”
Caitlyn leaned back again, straightening her back.
“… I care?”, she asked with a thoughtful expression on her face and Vi nodded: “Yeah. You drove off to rescue a living creature, no hesitation. From someone who put the value of money over the value of life. That’s why I can tell. You’re different from them.”, Vi explained.
The two women ended up talking about all and nothing, about the most serious things to the most stupid ones until Caitlyn got a glimpse at the clock on the wall.
“Oh shit, it’s almost 3 in the morning!”, she said, eyes wide in shock.
“I should go, oh lord, I am so sorry! I’m sure my mother has way too much work for you tomorrow, and I steal your sleeping time, I-…”, Caitlyn said until Vi took her wrist softly: “It’s fine. Just stay.”
Caitlyn stopped all her movements and turned to Vi who was standing in front of her now.
“What?”
“Stay.”
“I-… I can’t just-…”
“Why not? Because your mother told you so?”
“…you’re right. But… Is this really okay?”, Caitlyn asked and Vi laughed: “Sure, I wouldn’t offer it otherwise.”
And so, some minutes after, Caitlyn found herself in a bed next to a woman she only just met.
And it didn’t feel wrong.
“Good Night.”, Vi mumbled into the pillow with a smile and Caitlyn made herself comfortable, too.
“Good Night, Violet. Thank you. Again…”
The morning came and Caitlyn woke up to the smell of fresh tea.
“Huh…?”, she blinked a few times and looked around, confused of where she was, when the memory hit her brain.
“Oh shit…”, she mumbled and got up to walk over to the living room where also the kitchen was.
“Good Morning. Tea?”, Vi smiled and held a mug with fresh, still steaming tea to Caitlyn who took the mug with a little smile.
“Yes, thank you. I guess you have to work early, huh?”, she asked and Vi nodded while taking a bite from her toast.
“Yep, need to be down there in 5 minutes.”, she answered.
Vi was already dressed and ready to work, while Caitlyn was standing there with a little bed hair, an oversized T-Shirt Vi lend her and her panties.
Vi had trouble to not look too much, she really was cute.
She finished her quick breakfast and took the keys, but a second after she stopped.
“Here. Just lock the door when you leave and bring me the keys, okay? I’ll be cleaning up the boxes after letting out the horses to the paddock.”, Vi said and handed Caitlyn the keys.
“Oh, uh, yes, of course!”, she said and Vi went over to the door.
“See you later then, Cupcake.”, she smirked, winked at her and was gone a second after.
Caitlyn was still standing in the small kitchen, tea and keys in her hands, starring at the spot where Vi was standing a moment ago.
“…Cupcake?”