Sun-Soaked

4th place  

First entry for SlightlyMad's Annual All-Showjumping Show 

>>STORY<<

Rush woke Joachim up early in the morning, before the sun had risen, shaking his boyfriend's shoulder lightly. Joachim grumbled, whacking his hand away sleepily before turning over, pulling the blankets up further, and snuggling into his burrow of warmth.
"Joachim, you have to get up to get Dreamer ready," Rush puffed, straightening out and crossing his arms.
"5 more minutes," Joachim slurred groggily, not moving. Rush shook his head and chuckled.
"No, Joachim, you already got 15 extra minutes while I was getting ready," he reminded, nudging his side again. Joachim grumbled, then slowly sat up and yawned. He rubbed his eyes, then ran his hand through his tangled, poofy hair and slid out of bed. Rush smiled, walking over to the window and opening the curtains.
"I'm going to go check on the horses, I'll see you there in twenty minutes?" he said, tugging on his boots.
"Yeah, sure," Joachim said with another big yawn, waving his hand while stumbling around, collecting his clothes. Rush smiled and walked out towards the trulli Neo was in. He glanced around at the morning mist-shrouded Italian landscape, hands in his pockets, then entered the cool, small round building.
"Hey, boy," he smiled softly at Neo, whose ears pricked immediately. Neo nickered, breathing warmly against his hands, and nuzzled them curiously. Rush pulled a piece of apple from his pocket and fed it to the stallion, then headed over to where Dreamer was, to start getting him ready for Joachim. He was standing, though a little less quietly than Neo; his nostrils were flared, ears turning towards every little sound, head raised. 
"Hey there, Dreamer," Rush smiled, patting his neck before sliding his halter on and leading him outside into the warming sun, "No need to be worried about anything." He brushed the horse off thoroughly until he was shining, picked and oiled his hooves, then untangled and braided his mane. Like they had agreed, Joachim arrived halfway through the grooming, wearing his show clothes. His hair was still down, and Rush sniggered, knowing how much his boyfriend hated having it up in a bun. Shadow joined them a bit later and helped Joachim get ready, putting his hair up in a tight, neat bun and straightening his clothes out. Dreamer pranced around a bit, chomping on his bit and looking around alertly. 
"Now you have to be good, alright? Just remember what you did in training," Rush told him, patting his nose. Joachim chuckled and took the reins from him. Rush tightened the girth, then gave him a leg up and held the reins until he was all collected. Joachim looked at him and gave a smile, though it was tight with nervousness, pushing his heels down and adjusting his seat. Rush touched his knee softly.
"You're going to do great," he said softly, straightening up onto his tiptoes as Joachim leaned down to give him a quick kiss.
"I hope so," Joachim chuckled, voice shaking a bit, and he nudged Dreamer's sides, walking him towards the designated warm-up place in the field by the outdoor jumping arena. Rush and Shadow headed to the Maiden class arena and leaned on the fence. Rush watched the other few contestants quietly, mouth drawn into a line, his face expressionless. It would be another little bit before it was Joachim's turn, so he had time to muse about everything that had been going on. Joachim had come over to Sterlingwood a few days earlier to get ready for the competition and ride Dreamer a few more times to get back into horseback riding. Shadow had been training the gelding every chance he got, to get him ready for the competition, so Joachim had come back so Dreamer would get used to him being on his back again. Rush sighed and rubbed his forehead; his boyfriend was starting to stay away for longer periods of time, starting to get the taste for his home country back again and being more and more reluctant to come back to Sterlingwood. Maybe, one day, he'd decide to never come back because he would no longer miss the horses. And Jesse and the others. Maybe he wouldn't even miss Rush and realize that he'd wasted all this time with him that could have been spent somewhere else, with someone more enjoyable. Rush shivered uncomfortably and looked over at him and Dreamer, fiddling with his lip piercing nervously. He decided to push the thought to the back of his mind for later, so he would be able to focus on the day, and turned his eyes back on what was going on in the arena quietly, brows drawn down slightly. He would talk to Joachim about it later, at the end of the day when everything for them was done.
"What's wrong?" Shadow asked him, looking over. Rush debated telling him what was passing through his mind, then decided to leave the 19-year old to worry about his own things, not anyone else's.
"Nothing," he puffed, "I was just thinking about what could go wrong." Shadow chuckled and looked back at the arena, shaking his head.
"Don't do that," he suggested, raising his eyebrows. Rush said nothing in response.

Word Count: 869 words

Horse ref: SEA Traumst Du Mit Mir
Horse age: 6 years
Rider ref: Joachim Ruhig
Rider's age: 21
Class: Maiden Class

Extra images
- Warming Up - Extra Show Image

Tools used: PC Mouse and Paint Tool Sai
Time: I stopped counting
References:
- National Dressage and Jumping_99 by CalyHoney 
- sta.sh/0hhz1rs8svj (for jump)
- Princess - Lunging by SlightlyMadStables (for background)