Chapter Text
Daiwa Scarlet looked out the window, where the warmly glowing glare of her lamp reflected back amidst the dark skies. A distant lightning bolt silently lit up the world outside, reflecting off the damp trees and glistening surfaces of the other dorms at Tracen Academy. She was at her desk, taking notes from her textbook on what would be covered in class on Monday. The weekend had just started, but the rain that started earlier had only gotten worse, so she decided to postpone her weekend plans. It was possible that it would begin to flood before she made it back to her room anyways, and Fuji Kiseki would have her scrubbing the floors for a week if she made a ruckus coming back late. The silence of Vodka's absence was a rare treat too, so she took her opportunity to get things done in peace before her obnoxious roommate returned. Now, the only thing she heard was the sound of her pen, and the alarm that told her that her laundry was finally dry.
Daiwa almost got to finish folding her laundry in the peaceful quiet when she heard the telltale crash of Vodka slamming the door open yet again. "Vodka, I told you not to keep slamming it! You're gonna break it you idiot!" She was too upset to bother with setting down the towel she was folding before stepping back to shoot a glare at her obtuse and inconsiderate roommate. At least that's how she always described her. Vodka had barely begun to explain herself when Daiwa gasped at how dirty and wet she was, coming in from the storm. "Ugh! I just cleaned our floor too, don't you go tracking mud in everywhere!"
Vodka's response was stifled again when Daiwa threw the towel she was folding at her. It was too late, and she was too exhausted to fight back, so she unfolded it and began drying off. Once she wasn't dripping anymore, she looked up and found that the whole room had been cleaned when she was gone. Even the laundry she knew she had to do tonight. In fact, she was using her own towel right now. "Hey, you cleaned up?"
"Yeah, so be careful! I worked really hard, you know." Daiwa's posture began to soften. She was expecting another spat, but Vodka must have been quite exhausted if she didn't have anything snarky to snap back with.
"Huh. Thank you." She looked down at herself, and decided that gambling on her tracksuit and shoes to not track dirt in wasn't worth the risk of making extra work for her tidier roommate. "Can you do me another favor?"
Daiwa let out a soft sigh. "What do you want?"
"Can you pass me another one? I need a shower."
"Fine." Another warm towel was pulled from Vodka's dresser, right from where she normally kept them. She dropped the one she just dirtied to catch it, and used her feet to push the old one along the floor to dry up the puddle she left. Then, she wordlessly opened the bathroom door, carefully closing it behind her so as not to make another ruckus. There was a moment before she finally built up the energy to clean herself. The reflection in the mirror showed her exhausted face. Rainwater weighed down her hair and dripped down her face. Mud stained her cheeks and chin. Even the faucet in the shower seemed to take more energy to turn, but she knew she couldn't sleep being this dirty. While she showered off the mud that stuck to her legs, it had finally caught up to her that Daiwa had put all of her laundry away for her too. Maybe she wasn't so upset with her after all. The thought of Daiwa liking her as more than just friends flickered in her mind, but she chased it away. Obviously it couldn't be true. Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard the door crack open, and she heard her flip flops land outside the shower. "You forgot to ask for those, dummy."
"Thanks, Scarlet."
Words far too short, and a tone too docile.
Piping-hot water rained on her, rolling down her body like a waterfall. She had a huge race coming up, the Victoria Mile. It was a few weeks out, but she was already feeling nervous about it. What if she lost again? What would her fans think of her? Her friends? Her trainer? Her dad? It was never really about athleticism or pushing her limits, she just wanted to be cool. That's an understatement; she had to be the coolest there ever was, and losers aren't cool. When she felt her fingers start to prune, she decided that it was enough wasting away in there.
A nagging worry couldn't be ignored in Daiwa's mind after Vodka began her shower. She couldn't stand how annoying she was, but deep down she would only admit to herself that she had grown to like her. Her novel struggled to distract her from her worries until light and steam poured out of the bathroom into their lamplit room. She peered up from her book. "Don't worry about cleaning the mud you brought in earlier, I already took care of it."
"Mhm."
Daiwa watched as Vodka shambled over to her dresser and pulled out a t-shirt and some shorts. Daiwa could never understand how she let herself wear that, but by now it was a part of the new home she had made at Tracen. After she unceremoniously flopped onto the bed she made for her, Daiwa decided to speak up. "You know, you really haven't been yourself recently, Vodka. Normally I'd be happy to see you be quieter, but not like this."
No response.
"Come on, Vodka. Not even a 'mind your business!' or a 'shut up!'?" She glanced over to the motorcycle calendar she kept on her side of the room. It was beside her desk, which proudly held all her trophies and none of the books she was supposed to be studying. The date of the Arima Kinen was circled twice, but she didn't have a trophy to show for it.
So that's what it was.
Daiwa's heart sank. As much as Vodka irritated her, she drove her to new heights, and truth be told she liked her far more than she would usually let on. When Vodka struggled, she struggled too, and vice versa. It was the same way when she lost the Shuka Sho. She remembered how bitter and angry she was. When she couldn't shake it off, it drained the life from Vodka too, but she was the first to try cheering her up. So she spoke up again, gentler this time. "Vodka? You know what's cool?"
Her voice was tired and annoyed, "what, Scarlet?"
"A good comeback story. Who cares if you couldn't make it last race, you just need to dust yourself off and get ready for the next one."
"Leave me alone, Scarlet." She rolled over, facing away from her rival.
Daiwa frowned. Maybe it was too soon, or too much. "Come on Vodka, you can't mope around all the time. What happened to your flame?" She rolled onto her side to face Vodka's back. Somehow, it looked like even laying on her side was too much effort for Vodka to manage right now. Maybe the best thing to do was to find that spark that ignited her again. "Where's the Vodka that told me that losing is 'nothin' more than a roadbump?'"
Still nothing. Daiwa sighed.
"Good night, Vodka." She turned off her lamp, and tried to get comfortable. It was a struggle though. Something felt missing, and no matter how much she tossed and turned she could never quite feel right. Eventually she gave up, and stared at the ceiling.
"Everyone was rootin' for me, Scarlet." Daiwa looked over, and Vodka was mirroring her blank stare above. "Our trainer, our friends, my fans, my dad–" the pause in her voice felt like a wound in her words. "And I let them down. I just couldn't make it." A deep, defeated breath filled the space between them. "I can't do nothin' about it now. It's finished. I'm finished."
"You know that's not true, Vodka. Remember the last time you slipped up? You picked yourself up and went at it again." At least she was talking now. Any sign of life was better than her hiding inside herself, so she clung onto her hope. "I know I never talk to you like this, but I've always thought that was the coolest thing about you, Vodka. You've never let a loss keep you down." It wasn't like her to bare her thoughts like this so easily. If that wasn't enough to get Vodka back on her feet, it'd drag them both under.
The silence grew between them, and it began to choke Daiwa. Not a moment too soon, Vodka spoke up again. "You think so?"
The tension now released, Daiwa smiled so bright she worried that Vodka could see it through the darkness. "I know so."
"Huh."
It felt improper to speak up now, so Daiwa waited again, but without worry. She still wasn't certain if it was enough to shake the sense back into her rival, but it was enough to give her hope that the clouds would break and they'd be on their way forward again.
Vodka zoned out and let her memories stream into her mind. The first thing she did the last time she lost a race was to go right back to the track to train again. She would be damned if she took another loss after that, so she trained and trained until it wouldn't happen again. Her next race she won by a solid five lengths, and she still remembered the roar of the crowd as she crossed the finish. She remembered when she was younger, learning tricks on the bike her dad bought her in lieu of a motorcycle. She failed over and over and over, painting her body with bruises and scars, but she couldn't rest until she got things right. Then she practiced until she couldn't get them wrong again. A bad race wouldn't bring her down before, so it couldn't bring her down now. Maybe Scarlet was right. Maybe the coolest thing was her resilience.
"I'd never thought of it like that. Thanks Scarlet."
With that, now she could get back to trading jabs with her partner like she had before. "You're welcome. Now come on, no more moping around. Don't be lame and let me pass you without a fight!" The rustling that suddenly came from Vodka took her by surprise. The moonlight fell on her bed, showing her roll over, then the smug smirk that came with the confidence she remembered.
"You know I'd never lose to you, Scarlet!" There she was, the Vodka that Daiwa loved and hated. The moon even twinkled in her eyes, the moment couldn't have been any better – or any cornier, but it was getting late and Daiwa knew she couldn't stay up long enough to keep jabbing at her rival. Vodka held onto the last words proudly for a while, and watched Daiwa's expression. It wasn't angered or determined to beat her like it always was. This time, it was soft and proud, sharing in Vodka's determination. In time, Vodka softened to meet it.
"So what's made you so eager to help me, Scarlet? I always thought you'd leave me in the dirt like you always said." She looked so vulnerable like this. Her hair was down; her tiara sat on her nightstand. No proud dress or fierce competitive spirit in her eyes. Daiwa was hiding nothing, so clearly she'd answer truthfully.
"Wow, you really are a dummy, aren't you?" Daiwa smiled and giggled, but her tone and her eyes invited Vodka to share her joy.
"Hey, what's that supposed to mean!" Vodka looked offended as she propped herself up again, after settling in before.
Daiwa shook her head and smiled. "Godesses, of everyone here, it just had to be you..." Her eyes met Vodka's again, and they were just as ready for a fight as the rest of her. She looked as handsome as ever with the moonlight illuminating her across the room. It was a moment Daiwa wished she could preserve forever. "Vodka," she began with a sigh and a dreamy smile, "I like you a lot. A lot more than I let on." Anger melted into blushing bewilderment in Vodka's face, and she was too shocked to tell Daiwa to stop her giggling.
"Y-you like me? Whaddya mean you like me? I-I–," the sudden confession of Scarlet's feelings caught her off guard. Vodka was always terrible at handling romance, but her awareness of that didn't make her any less embarrassed. Remembering that this was just the same way she had reacted when she was a child made this that much worse for her. "I mean yeah I like you too!" A fatal error. Vodka was so flustered that she blundered, and confessed the feelings that had grown inside her ever since they became roommates.
Daiwa could hardly hold back a laugh at Vodka's terrible retort. "Vodka, you're so pathetic sometimes..."
Her lovestruck roommate quickly hid her cherry-red blush in her pillow, which muffled the sounds of her painful embarrassment. "Gah, I'm such an idiot! I'm the lamest ever!" Daiwa howled with laughter while she watched Vodka grapple with the anguish of her hopeless reaction. After several minutes of laughing so hard she came to tears, she calmed down and found Vodka still deeply buried in her pillow.
"Come on out, Vodka," she giggled, "it's okay, you're only a little bit lame."
"Screw you, Scarlet! I wanted to be cool and sweep you off your feet or somethin' but you got to me first!" Vodka's words were loud enough to be heard clearly, despite how muffled they were by the pillow.
"Hmph, looks like another win for me, isn't it?" She let Vodka kick out her frustration while she crawled out of bed in case she had to pry her out from underneath her pillow. She'd always known Vodka deeply cared for her too, despite how buried it was under her pride and horrible sense of romance. An admission of it was all she needed to feel comfortable pushing further. "Vodka~," she teased as she knelt beside Vodka's bed, "I want a prize for winning." In an instant, Vodka bolted straight up, and Daiwa realized what she had just said. "Wait not like that! Get your mind out of the gutter, I want to cuddle!"
"You should've led with that, Scarlet! You had me thinking you wanted way more than that!" The shock gave way for the first laughter, and tears, they'd share as a couple. "Aw man, my abs hurt from laughing that hard," Vodka managed to sneak out between laughs. She wiped her eyes, and bent down to meet Scarlet. "Hold still now, I don't wanna poke your eyes out with this." With one hand she held up Scarlet's chin, and the thumb of her other gently chased away the tears from her will-be partner's eyes. When she was done, she noticed for the first time just how beautiful they were. Scarlet rarely treated her to the privilege of meeting her gaze for long enough to appreciate it.
"Enjoying the view?" Daiwa gave Vodka a smug grin, knowing full well the effect she had on her. Vodka suddenly let go and averted her gaze, just as planned. "You'd better get used to it from 2nd place on the podium, Vodka."
"You're never gonna stop being a pain in the ass, are ya?"
"No more than you are. Now scooch over, make some room for me." Vodka rolled her eyes, and begrudgingly obliged. There wasn't much room on the beds provided by the university, but there was enough for Daiwa to feel comfortable weaseling her way between Vodka's sheets. She tossed and turned through positions that were just a little bit too uncomfortable until it finally irritated Vodka.
"Are ya gonna settle down, or are you gonna squirm all n–," she was abruptly cut off when Scarlet finally settled on being the big spoon tonight. Fortunately, Scarlet didn't hear her grumbles, or see her blush again. At first, it felt foreign to her. She felt a gentle warmth radiating into her core. The soft skin of Scarlet's arm covered her own, and their fingers effortlessly interlaced. Before long, Scarlet became still, save for breaths filling her chest like gentle waves.
It had finally happened. Vodka had always worried that Scarlet might not like her the same way, or that she had eyes for someone else. Months of the swelling tension in her heart resolved on Scarlet's terms. She wasn't even bothered that she hadn't won her heart in some cool heartthrob way like had happened in the movies or stories she liked. Next time she'd make up for how romantically challenged she was. For now, knowing Scarlet was happy was more than enough for her.
"Good night, Scarlet." Vodka smiled, and joined her partner in sleep.