Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Goddesses damnit, Scarlet! You're gonna get us late!” Vodka called out to her flatmate as she revved up her bike engine, her tail tapping on her lap in annoyance as she watched her flatmate, Scarlet, stumbling out of the door. “Geez, I told you already, cut back some of the make up. You'll end up looking like a clown by the end of the day.”

“Oh, shut it, what do you know about make up?” Scarlet scoffed as she got behind the other mare, taking the helmet from her and clasping it on her head. “Just go already! We have no time to argue about this!”

Vodka resisted an urge to snap back as Scarlet was right. Her wrist twisted forward as she revved the engine once more, the bike roaring as it began to run, carrying the two Umas to their desired destination.

It's been a couple of months since they graduated Trancen and retired completely from racing, and yet they couldn't help but keep up their habit of riling each other up. Reaching adulthood had mellowed down their emotions, however, being rivals their entire school years meant they needed to learn how not to be rivals— especially now that they're living together.

Neither had ever expected they would continue to be stuck together even after graduation. However, after seeing how high the rents are nowadays, even with all their savings they earned throughout their careers, both knew it would be an absolute no-brainer to live alone.

Of course, they tried to get more people to split the bills with, such as Aston Machan. Unfortunately she had turned them down with her usual smile. “Apologies, but I do not wish to continue being the gooseberry between you two,” she rejected, leading to hasty denials from both Vodka and Scarlet regarding the nature of their relationship. In the end, they ended up to once more be joined by the hips alone. Although this time there's more privacy, and a lot more space.

“How's the dudes in school, now?” Vodka asked as they stopped at a red light, “still tryna hit on you?”

Scarlet shrugged, “not anymore,” she informed with a flick of an ear. “Wouldn't dare to look at my way since you picked me up last month.”

The mare nodded. “Good,” she mumbled, letting a hint of hostility slip past her.

“It's great,” Scarlet corrected with a relieved sigh, not noticing the subtlety of Vodka's tone. “I don't always have to go on a detour around the campus just to avoid the crowded areas, now.”

Vodka, still harboring a spark of their former rivalry, couldn't resist the opening, “I think the exercise would help honestly, didn't you gain— GHK?!” Vodka's grip on the bike's handles tightened significantly as she felt a rough grab around the base of her tail.

“Wanna finish that sentence?”

“Okay, I'm sorry! Now would you let me go?! I'm driving here!”

Scarlet pulled away with a “hmph!” Crimson eyes glaring at the mare in front of her. 

The rest of the ride went without words as they both rolled up to Scarlet’s front gate campus, receiving stares from everyone within eyesights. Vodka flicked an ear in annoyance, it's been a month since she began driving Scarlet to school, surely the initial shock should've died down by now?

“Ah, yeah, no way,” Mejiro Ryan replied in a matter-of-factly tone as worked on a motorcycle in front of her. Vodka stared at her boss as if she had betrayed her, “considering both of your histories, you two being cordial is like catching a shiny legendary in a quickball,” Ryan doubled down with a flick of her tail.

“We've retired for years now!” Vodka argued as she carried a box of parts on her shoulders. “Come on, is that really what we're both known as? Just constantly arguing 24/7? That would've been a miserable dorm life!” When Ryan replied to her with a look, Vodka whined, “I'm serious! We didn't argue that much in our rooms!”

Ryan opened her mouth, closing, then opened it again. “That's… kinda hard to imagine.”

Vodka groaned, “forget it,” she huffed, shelving the box before heading beside Ryan, a wrench in her hand. “Now what's the problem with this baby?”

The older Uma shrugged, “just regular maintenance, oil changing and all that jazz.”

“Boo, boring.”

“You won't be saying that once a real issue rolled here.”

“But that's the fun one!”

“But it also made you bend one of my wrenches in half.”

Vodka grimaced at the memory, “Sorry.”

Ryan let out a laugh as she unscrewed the oil drain, letting the black goop of liquid flow out of the engine before screwing the plug back in. Vodka assisted her by taking off the oil filter, more oil spilling out of the motorcycle and everywhere onto both Uma's arms— nothing unusual, shouldn't expect a clean job when it comes to working in a workshop anyway.

“How come your family lets you open a shop like this?” Vodka suddenly asked Ryan as she was filling up the gasket with oil thinner. “Isn't your family kinda… prestigious?” Vodka pointed out, knowing despite Ryan being one of the few Mejiros in her family that didn't share their elegance, Ryan is still a Mejiro.

“Nah, Meemaw don't give a shit,” Ryan shrugged, “she wanted us to be free of the pressure from the whole Mejiro title thing. So they let us do our own things, you'd think they'd let me and Palmer slide if they were your typical noble family from the mangas?”

Vodka flicked her ears, “true,” she hummed, “Guessing she helped you to open this business?”

“Mhm,” Ryan confirmed with a smile, before chuckling. “I still remembered how surprised you were when you saw me taking your interview, the look on your face was priceless.”

Vodka smacked Ryan's leg with her tail, “come on, I what were the chances of my boss being one of my former seniors?” She pointed out. She remembered how Ryan used to give advice during one of her power lifting sessions, and now here, she helped the mare to secure a job.

“It's a small world,” Ryan chuckled. “Especially with a lot of us staying in Tokyo, it's not really farfetched for us to bump into each other every now and then.”

“True…” Vodka mumbled as she checked the bike's tires for any holes. “Even then, the chances are still pretty low.”

“Yeah, considering everyone has their own things to do now,” Ryan agreed, albeit her tone was melancholic. “Wonder how Ines is doing right now…?”

Vodka blinked in confusion, “isn't she—?”

“Ryan, can you quit talking as if I'm not at home?” A sudden voice scolded, causing both umas to jump from their position in surprise. 

“Ines!” Ryan shot up with a wagging tail akin to a dog as she hugged the other uma. “I missed you!”

“You say that everyday as if we’re not married,” Ines giggled as her eyes softened, returning the hug with a similarly wagging tail. 

“Wait, why are you here? Something going on at home?” Ryan asked once she pulled away, a worried look replacing the smile on her face.

“No, silly, you forgot your lunch,” Ines replied as she lifted up the lunch box that was in her hand the whole time. “Don't want you starving out here while working hard to provide for both of us.”

Ryan placed her hand on her chin as if she had received an epiphany, “perhaps I should forget my food more often so I could see you at lunch time.”

“Ryaaann!” Ines pouted.

“I'm joking, I'm joking!” Ryan laughed before pulling Ines close and giving her a quick peck on her forehead. “Thanks, hun, I would've been cranky if I didn't get your cooking for today.”

“You know you'll get it for dinner too, right?”

“But I wanna eat it for lunch too!”

Vodka only watched silently as the two wives chatted, her grip around the wrench tightened as a familiar feeling welled up in her heart. She bit her lips, trying to tell herself to chill out. But the longer the uma stared at how loving they were, the stronger the feelings grew.

She was envious.

Not of Ryan or Ines, she was envious of their relationship. One that she wished she had, one that she regretted not pursuing when she was younger, when she had all the time in the world to try and develop something.

But no, all that was in her brain was to train and race; to win the Derby and race overseas; to be better than Scarlet; to impress her. Yet all it did was fueling more fire into Scarlet's desire to win against her, and it fueled her back, an everlasting cycle until both of their bodies failed them. Vodka shook those memories away, ears drooping as she wondered, what would’ve it been if she had…?

“Vodka,” the call of her name caused her to snap out of her deep thoughts. It was then she realized that her hand had been gripping into the wrench, hard. When she relaxed her grip, she found that the handle was dented and bent due to Vodka's natural superhuman strength.

Ryan sighed, “I'll have to cut another part of your paycheck to replace that,” she told the mare as Vodka could only respond with a nod of defeat and a depressed sigh, tossing the bent wrench to the side as she got up to head to the bathroom to splash cold water on her face before being stopped by a hand on her shoulder. “You're distracted, talk to me.”

“Nothing, just—” Vodka glanced around, finding that Ines was gone. “Was thinking something unimportant.”

“Something unimportant won't lead you to bend my wrenches.”

“It's… something I gotta deal with on my own.”

“Is this about Scarlet?”

Vodka’s head whipped up immediately, “how do you—?”

“You're not as subtle as you believed you are,” Ryan informed with a teasing chuckle.

Blush crept up onto Vodka’s cheeks, “damnit.”

“Well?”

“Well…” Vodka flicked an ear, “I…”

Yeah, there's no way she's gonna tell her boss straight up that she got envious watching her and her wife being lovey dovey in front of them while yearning for her roommate and herself to be in a similar situation. Yet, her body, on the other hand, was more honest, betraying her way too often. The mare could only let out an annoyed groan the moment she felt blood trickling down her nose as Ryan quickly shoved the nearest rag at her.

“Goddesses damn, man, you're gay.”

“HEY!!”

The sound of a laptop turning off echoed through the room as Scarlet wrote the last few letters in her notebook. “—we'll conclude today's lesson, make sure to review them,” the professor reminded the class before knocking on the whiteboard to gain their attention. “We'll have a quiz next week to reflect how much you've learned.”

The class immediately erupted with low groans and cries of protests as the professor simply ignored them and left the class, clearly used to such reactions. The class quickly shifted to the sound of laptops and books being packed alongside a couple of loud chatters as Scarlet finished taking her notes, beginning to pack her own bag before being approached by a familiar uma.

“Scarlet-san! Wanna hit the mall today?” asked a gray maned uma with black ear coverings. “I heard they have the new skin lotion in one of the stores! You want to go?”

“Sorry, Curren, I'm on cooking duty today,” Scarlet apologized to the umastagram influencer as she packed her bags. “Maybe next time? I'm free on Thursday and Sunday,” she offered.

Curren frowned, “hmm, no can do, I have a replacement class on Thursday and I promised Maya-chan to go out on Sunday,” she explained, “can't you tell Vodka-san that she gotta cook for the night?”

Scarlet shook her head, “that'll be unfair, she was already on cooking duty for two days straight, and we already agreed on this schedule last Sunday. I can't back out on our agreement just because.”

Curren let out a small ‘ooh’ before giggling, “you two sure are lovey dovey till this day!”

Scarlet's pencil snapped in half just as she was packaging it back into her pencil case. A flushed and shocked expression on her face as she snapped her head to look at Curren as if she had grown a second head. “L-lovey dovey?!” She exasperated.

Curren tilted her head as she placed a finger on her chin, “have you two not been dating in secret and recently going more PDA with it? That's why Vodka's been dropping you off everyday?”

“NO!!?” Scarlet denied the claim with a face that matches her namesake, “we're not a thing! Never was!” She hissed.

“Ehh?” Curren uttered out in confusion, “but Digital-san said—”

“Your first mistake was believing whatever delusional gossip came out of her lips,” Scarlet interrupted, before sighing. “Vodka offered to drive me here because dudes kept chasing my tail, you know how annoying it is.”

Curren cringed in response, having a fair share of similar experience as an umastagram idol, “fair enough.”

“Besides…” Scarlet mumbled, her ears drooping, “that idiot can't handle romance anyway, I doubt that she…”

Scarlet remembered when Vodka was left with a tissue stuffed face mid-way watching a romance movie back when they were still students of Trancen, one that left them panicking to not get blood on sheets while trying to not wake anyone up with their screaming. The incident left both of them sleep deprived, one that cost one day of their training session as their trainers had sent them back to sleep the missing hours instead.

It didn't help that all they did during their years as roommates and rivals, all they did was rile each other up to push the other further with their races, one that Scarlet had regretted for only focusing on being the number 1 uma musume. Now that they've retired, nothing much has changed, sure, they've been bickering less and less and actually manage to hold a conversation during dinner that didn't lead to a taunting spree— but she can't help but feel like she wasted a lot of opportunity. Wondering what it would've been for them if she had just…

“Scarlet-san?” The call from Curren brought her back to reality. “Sorry, did I pry too much?”

“No, no! Just… was thinking of something unimportant,” Scarlet mumbled before noticing the clock behind the mare, the time showing 3:21. “Shoot! I gotta go now—!” She exclaimed as she hastily threw all her stuff into her bag before rushing out of the classroom, “sorry Curren! See you tomorrow!”

Scarlet didn't wait for a reply as she sprinted down the hallway. It'll approximately take her 15 minutes to the nearest bus stop by walking, and the bus arrived precisely at 3:30, if she missed it, she'll have to wait for another half an hour for the next one— meaning, she won't be able to get dinner done in time by the time she reaches home, which means, Vodka would be starving for longer than necessary after a long day at work. No, both of them would be starving for an extra hour.

If she ran, however—

A sharp stinging pain hit her leg as she sprinted, causing her to stumble and slowed down her pace. She hissed with each step she took, “not. Now!” She cursed herself as she leaned at the gate, grasping at her stinging leg. The mare winced with every throb of her faulty leg, tears forming in the corner of her eyes as she waited for the pain to subside.

Even after all those therapies, an injury is still an injury; an awful reminder whenever her leg throbbed, and an awful situation to be in as Scarlet took out her phone, wincing with every step she forced herself to take as she limped towards the bus stop.

3:36

As if adding more salt to the wound, the bus she was supposed to get on drove past her. Scarlet could only stare hopelessly as her ears dropped. The pain on her leg was long gone, but the one in her heart had surged instead, replacing the initial pain she had felt 10 times worse as she sat alone in the bus stop for the next bus to arrive.

When she got back home, it was already 6:21, her bad luck piling up when the next bus was caught in a traffic jam, causing the delay. Vodka would be home soon, and there's almost no time for her to cook dinner.

Guess they're eating instant ramen for tonight.

The sound of the front door unlocking gained Scarlet's attention, quickly shoving her bag into her room as she opened the cabinets to find the packets— face paling when she couldn't find them, remembering that they'd eaten the last packets on a lazy Sunday and hadn't restocked yet.

“I'm home!” Vodka announced herself as she walked through the door, tired and sweaty. “Sup Scarlet, what's for dinner?” She enthusiastically asked despite the fatigue in her eyes, making Scarlet feel worse for having nothing to serve, especially since it's her turn to cook dinner for both of them.

“Sorry…” Scarlet mumbled out weakly, “I couldn't catch the bus home and there was a traffic jam—” she rambled, “and I just remembered we ran out of instant ramen so—”

“Ah,” Vodka responded, she sounded disappointed, but it was clear it was not directed at Scarlet. “I mean, we could go to the nearest W☆ndy's then! Been craving some junk food anyway.”

Scarlet's ears perked up, “really?”

“I mean, all we've been eating is the stuff we cook—” the mare pointed out as she began tossing the keys. “Come on, no way you're not craving for one! We've only been eating stuff we cooked these past few months!”

Scarlet's ears flicked, she'd been friends and roommates with Vodka enough to be able to recognize her behaviors and manner of speech. Vodka is by no means a good liar, she's horrible at it— from the way her ears flicked nervously and her face slightly faltering alongside her rapidly tapping feet— Scarlet had to be both blind and deaf to not realize Vodka’s lying. Yet, she decided to let her slide this time, knowing the other mare was trying to brush their current predicament off to cheer her up, and Scarlet can't help but smile inside at her act.

Besides, it'll be stupid to say no when both of their stomachs are grumbling in hunger.

“Only if you let me pay for the whole thing,” Scarlet agreed, “and you don't get an energy drink.”

Vodka snorted, “we're gonna eat junk food, me buying an energy drink is the least of your worries.”

“How many cans did you drink for work today?”

“Oh wow, look at the time! I'm starving! Come on Scarlet!” Vodka nervously chuckled, avoiding the glares Scarlet shot her as she sped out of their shared flat.

The ride for their food and back went on without too many words exchanged between them, much like every other ride they've shared. They’ve tried before, only for the wind to drown any words that would've left their lips, always ending up straining their throat from all the shouting in order to be able to keep up a decent conversation.

In honesty, Scarlet enjoyed the silent ride between them— reminding her of when she was still in Trancen, speeding through the tracks in ease with her hair flying behind her. Her legs ached for some movement, pleading her to get off the bike and race Vodka down the road. It was childish and reckless, especially coming from Scarlet, but the mare couldn't help but be filled with these instinctive desires.

“An Umamusume will always have a desire to run,” she remembered her former idol, Tachyon, telling her during one of her rambles. “We have this bestial need to run, to push our muscles to the limit. Yet, how cruel it is that our legs are also fragile! It's as if the universe didn't want us to surpass a certain threshold, like an inescapable fate has been chasing us all this time and running only brought it closer to us.”

Scarlet rubbed her injured leg with one hand, interrupted before she could lament by Vodka suddenly hitting the brakes, sending her to bump onto her back. “Hey!” She scowled before realizing that Vodka hadn't driven them back to their shared flat, instead, to an empty park with a few lampposts to illuminate the area.

The biker didn't say anything, just gesturing towards the bench under one of the lampposts, the bag of their food in hand. Scarlet didn't protest any further, taking off her helmet before following Vodka to sit on the bench with their food as the divider between the two. A small breeze made Scarlet shiver at the sudden coldness, before feeling a light weight around her shoulders, where Vodka’s jacket now wrapped around her.

“I don't need it,” Scarlet said.

Vodka didn’t bat an eye as she unwrapped her burger. “Try not to shiver next time then,” the mare said before taking a bite of her burger, munching a few times before deciding to break the silence. “So, how's your day? It looked like you had it rough.”

Scarlet let out a huff as she swallowed, “It's so-so, just…” she glanced down to her leg. “Nevermind, it's none of your concern.”

“Mhm,” Vodka simply hummed as she took another bite. She knew that Scarlet didn't like talking about her bum leg the same way Vodka didn't like talking about her nose— it was a silent agreement that neither talked about, regardless they understood not to tiptoe around it since they've each sustained those career ending injuries.

“Oh, but,” Scarlet began as she snatched a French fry in the box between them. “Curren told me there's a rumor going around at campus—” 

Vodka rolled her eyes, “there's always a new rumor every 3 days.”

“Well, you probably want to hear this bullshit,” Scarlet grumbled, her words gaining Vodka's full attention as her ears turned to face her. “There's a rumor going on that we're dating—”

A flurry of coughs and choked wheeze escaped Vodka's throat before she quickly chugged down the cola she had bought alongside their food. Her face, now red from both nearly choking to death and getting flustered by the new rumor Scarlet had shared with her. “What the fuck?!” She wheezed at the end of the sentence before chugging more of her drink. “How— why— who would– oh right, Digital is there.”

“You're not the only one who's miffed here,” Scarlet pointed out, “I told Curren that the rumor’s false, but Digital's influences spread like fire in a forest,” she sighed.

“Think it'll die down in a few days?”

“Not a chance, not when you're gonna keep driving me there.”

“Do you want me to stop—?”

“No.”

The hastiness in Scarlet's reply made Vodka raise an eyebrow. “I thought you hated riding my bike, said it smelled like disgusting oil?”

“I did,” Scarlet reiterated, snatching another fry. “But after a while, it wasn't so bad. It almost felt like I was running again,” she muttered as she chewed. “Besides, who knows what'll happen if you stop showing up. I don't want guys getting on my tail again.”

“What am I? A scary dog privilege?”

“More like a loud dog, all bark and no bite.”

“Yeah, cuz you'll do the biting with those fangs of yours.”

“Excuse me!?”

Vodka chuckled at Scarlet's reaction, “what, never thought of being a vampire?”

“Just who do you think I am?!” Scarlet scowled. “Besides, I could get suspended for assaulting another student."

“Do you want me to do both the barking and the biting?”

“I'm not bailing you out.”

“No worries, I'll bail myself out.”

Scarlet rolled her eyes as she realized they've eaten all the fries, “well I guess we should go home now.”

“Hmm,” Vodka hummed as she drank the remaining of her drink before chucking it to the nearest trashcan. “We should probably do this more.”

“Do what?”

“Eating outside at night, the breeze felt nice.”

“It's gonna be winter soon.”

“Then let's do it starting next spring.”

“Why does it feel like you're scheduling a date or something?”

Vodka didn't deny, words refusing to form in her mind and to leave her lips, the gears in her brain turning as fast as they could to come up with a reply—

“So what if it is?”

Vodka nearly slapped herself for the daring question her brain produced instead, her face steadily turning into a tomato and her legs eager to take her out of this city. Her heart threatening to adios itself out of her chest as her guts churned with fluttering butterflies.

Scarlet stared at her for what felt like forever, blinking once, twice. “This isn't funny, Vodka,” she responded, an attempt to harden her voice foiled when she quivered at the mention of the mechanist's name. Crimson eyes met with Vodka’s autumn brown, scanning for any signs of ingenuity in her face.

Every voice in her brain screamed at her to abort, play it as a joke, act cool like nothing happened. But the anxious look on Scarlet's face, the slight hope gleamed in her eyes, and the way she seemed to hold her breath as she waited for Vodka's confirmation—

Vodka took a step forward.

“What if I'm serious?”

Chapter Text

“No way, she said that!?” An excited squeal came from Teio as Rice covered her lips in surprise, Golshi gave a similar reaction by making a face as if Scarlet had grown a second head, clearly not expecting the information she was receiving from her friend. “And then? And then? You said yes, right?”

“What else was I supposed to say?” Scarlet asked the other uma, “there's no way I could've said no! Do you know how awkward it would've been between us if I did?!”

“Wait, so you accepted cuz you don't wanna make shit awkward?” Golshi accused playfully, “yeesh, Scarlet, didn't know you're like that.”

“Don't attack my character like that!” Scarlet scowled at the accusation, tail swishing in agitation. “Of course I didn't accept just because! I—” Scarlet took a deep breath as she stared down to her drink, avoiding the looks from the other three umas. “I've… always liked her, since our days in Tracen,” she confessed, her face now akin to a tomato’s.

“Oh yeah, we know,” Golshi gave her a nonchalant reply, causing Scarlet to shoot up with a confused look. “What? You two were clearly tryna get into each other's pants since Trancen! We'd think you two would be married by now.”

“Wh- wha— WHAT?!” Yelled the mare as she went to look at the other two umas for their opinion.

“Sorry Scarlet, but Golshi's… not insane for once,” Teio chimed as she took a sip from her drink.

“Yeah… Rice always thought you two were secretly dating, like in fairy tales,” Rice added with a shy smile.

Scarlet would've let out the most guttural yells if they weren't in public, embarrassed by how apparently Digital's opinion wasn't just a result of a himejoshi's delusional fantasy gone too far. Because apparently even her friends believed her and Vodka were an item since back in Tracen! And she was apparently— according to Golshi's wording— blind to Vodka clearly crushing on her!

She was gonna need glasses, or two, or three, because dear three goddesses she was as blind as a mole if the entire academy knew they were into each other but not themselves! Just how in the world could she miss that? She was the one between the two who read and watched romance media! How could she not realize Vodka liked her since long ago?!

Wait, VODKA LIKED HER??!?!

“Uurrgh!” Scarlet grumbled as she facepalmed, “why didn't I say anything— no, why didn't she say anything?!”

Golshi shot Teio a look, who seemed to reply telepathically before turning to look at Rice who nodded in reply. This didn't go unnoticed by the mare as she raised an eyebrow, “what?”

“Nope, nothing,” Golshi fake whistled, “totally nothing Vodka told us before, nope!”

“Golshi, you idiot,” Teio hissed as she facepalmed herself.

“What?” Scarlet asked once more, demanding an answer from any of the three umas awkwardly glancing at each other in front of her.

Rice, being an uma who generally could not handle pressure well, was the first to give in to the fiery glare from the chestnut maned uma, “Well…”

Two hands were slammed down the table, causing glasses to clatter and drinks to spill out as an uma stood up from her seat. “YOU THOUGHT SHE WAS OUT OF YOUR LEAGUE!?!?” Screamed Ryan in disbelief, gathering eyes from everyone around them. “Wh— you— she was constantly trying to get into your pants!!”

“No, she wasn't!” Vodka defended the mare, an offended look on her face on behalf of Scarlet. “None of her behaviour even suggested that!”

“Wait, not even when you're alone in the dorms?” Kitasan asked with a surprised look as she pulled a dumbfounded Ryan back to her seats.

“NO?!?!?” Vodka immediately replied with a strained scream, her face turning bright red as she grabbed the tissue box in preparation to stuff its contents up her nose. “What makes you think that?!”

“Oh, I don't know, the constant unanswered sexual tension between you two whenever you guys started arguing?” Taishin jabbed in with a roll of her eyes, “like geez, I thought you two would ‘wrestle’ to settle things out but guess not.”

Vodka looked mortified, “we were underage!”

“Doesn't stop most people,” Taishin shot back, earning stares from the other three Umas, “what? Teens are hormonal and stupid, surely one of you lost your V-cards before 18?”

“NO!!!” Screamed all three Umas at the shortest of the bunch with matching red faces as Taishin covered her ears with her hands with an annoyed groan.

“Alright, alright, I get it, geez, y'all loud as shit,” Taishin grumbled as she flicked her ears to get rid of the ringing.

“Can we drop this subject, please?” Vodka begged as she wiped blood off her nose. 

“Alright, alright, no more NSFW talk, let's focus back on helping Vodka-san with her predicament,” Kitasan agreed as she was uncomfortable with the current topic as well.

“Which is?” Taishin asked.

Ryan chimed in, “helping Vodka step up her rizzmaxxing game with Scarlet! Or at least, that's what I learnt from Helios—” 

“Utter those words ever again and I will use what I've learnt in class to drive you insane.”

“What kinda future psychologist are you?!”

As the two umas bicker, Vodka let out a sigh as she stirred around her drink, playing with the ice inside before opening her mouth. “You can't blame me for thinking she was outta my league, though,” she muttered, “she's everything I'm not, smart, beautiful, perfect. And I'm someone who barely survived high-school if it wasn't for her teaching me the subjects.”

“That's not true!” Kitasan exclaimed, “you won 7 G1 races! That's an already amazing feat by itself!”

“Besides, you're not exactly unattractive,” Taishin pointed out, “other than you being too much of a try hard to be cool, you got a lot of fangirls back then, didn't you?”

“Uh, no?” Vodka looked confused, “I know that I'm popular— especially after the Derby. But I barely know any other fangirls other than Red and Digital. I do know that I have a lot of fanboys though,” she muttered, “at least, I don't recall being stopped by for autographs or photos too often by women.”

“Probably because you always stick by Scarlet-san wherever you go?” Kitasan pointed out.

“What does she have to do with stopping fans from coming at me?”

“Cuz they thought you two were having a date and unlike most dudes, are respecting your boundaries,” Taishin bluntly replied.

“WE WEREN'T EVEN DATING, WHERE DID THAT CONCLUSION COME FROM?!?!”

“You never looked up your name online?” Ryan questioned, “actually, don't, especially if you find a site called Umao3, don't open it.”

“Umao3?”

“Don't.”

“Guys we're losing the plot again!” Kitasan exclaimed, redirecting the conversation once more. “Vodka-san, do you have a plan on what to do now?”

“... no,” Vodka answered honestly, ears drooping down as she covered her only visible eye. “I said what I said in the heat of the moment, I didn't think of what to do if she had said yes.”

Flicking an ear, Teio stirred the melting ice in her glass, “are you guys seriously gonna wait until spring before you two have an actual date?”

Silence.

“Seriously!?” Golshi let out a frustrated groan, “wow and I thought Teio was shit at romantic advances.”

“Hey!”

“Actually, we don't even know what we are right now,” Scarlet admitted, her ears drooping. “She did ask me out, and I said yes, but—” she sighed. “After that, we just went home, didn't talk further and did our own things. I had an exam to study for at the time…”

“So you're in a situationship,” Teio concluded.

“Dude, this is worse than a situationship.”

“Shut it, Golshi.”

“T-then!” Rice chimed in, wanting to help, “why not build your relationship before your date in spring? I'm sure the date would be more enjoyable then!”

“I agree,” Golshi nodded, “if you waited until spring before talking out your relationship, who knows what kinda weird Dovewing-Bumblestripe situation you'll be in.”

“Once again, I can never understand your analogies,” Scarlet sighed.

“You guys should really pick up Warrior Cats.”

“Back to the topic, Rice, do you have any suggestions on how to start up their relationship?” Teio asked, causing the other two umas’ attention to shift towards the children's book author.

“H-huh!? Well, uh…” Rice mumbled, her face flushed. “Rice and Bourbon mostly spend our time together at home. Since Bourbon often felt drained after studying, all Rice could do was cook dinner and watch movies with her.”

“That's just what we've been doing since we started living together,” Scarlet mumbled.

“And you two still don't have rings on your fingers?” Golshi commented.

“What about going to a karaoke? McQueen and I like to go to karaoke to relieve some stress!” Teio suggested brightly.

“Wouldn't that just mean they'd have to go on a date?” Rice questioned.

“Going to karaoke doesn't have to be a date!”

“But in this context, it might as well be…”

“True…”

“Then why not have a home karaoke?” Golshi proposed, “hook up your phone to a Bluetooth speaker and jam your hearts out!”

“That's…” Scarlet thought for a moment, “not a bad idea, though, I haven't sung since my last live concert together with Vodka.”

“Then we'll help you practice!” Teio happily offered, “I'm pretty sure McQueen won't mind us borrowing her karaoke room!”

“Are you sure that would be fine? You know I could just rent a room and—”

“Nonsense, I'm sure Dia-chan would be eager to help!” Kitasan reassured, patting Vodka's shoulder. “Besides, it's been a while since anyone used it, with college and all that draining our soul.”

Vodka didn't look convinced, “Are you sure Diamond will be fine with this?”

“Of course! I've been live-chatting Dia-chan this entire time, she says it's fine!”

“YOU'VE BEEN WHAT!?!?”

“Sorry, McQueen wanted to know since she can't come, ahaha…”

Somehow, even if they were far apart from each other, fate found a way to connect them. Although they knew words would be out sooner or later, both umas were still left flustered from their respective friends’ revelation regarding their predicaments to their partners.

“In the end, it doesn't matter what we suggest you to do if you don't talk to her regarding this,” Taishin yawned as she leaned back. “You guys wanna start dating? Start talking, keep clamming up and you two won't go anywhere.”

“How should I talk to her?” Vodka asked, hoping for a clear guidance.

“That's for you to figure out,” Teio shrugged, “you know her better than any of us. Besides, I'm sure it'll go well between you two.”

Scarlet didn't answer immediately, glancing down at her drink as she began to think. It has been established since that night that the feelings between the two were mutual, and it had stayed as small sparks for far too long before it finally burned into something more. Scarlet remembered the look of Vodka's eyes that night, determined, fiery, but also a hint of nervousness.

‘Dork,’ Scarlet smiled at the memory, talking to her might be fine like Teio said. “Thank you,” Scarlet thanked, “I'll try finding some time to talk to her.”

“Alright!” Golshi exclaimed, jumping up from her seat. “Let's go!”

“‘Let's go’? Go where?” Vodka asked as Ryan approached her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Now Vodka, everyone knows your endurance with romance is very lacking,” Ryan began with an amused grin. “So, we're gonna train your endurance!”

“Wha—?!”

“Oh?” Taishin raised an interested eyebrow, “how so?”

“Easy!” Ryan exclaimed, “near here is a bookstore with a lot of romance manga!”

Vodka was ready to make a run for it the moment she heard the word romance and manga combined, unfortunately Ryan had gripped her by the shoulder, preventing her from being able to run away as Kitasan and Taishin surrounded her to block any possible escape paths.

“Taishin, you too?!” Vodka exclaimed in disbelief.

Taishin only sneered, “you gotta admit, your reactions are entertaining.”

Before Vodka could protest any further, she was already dragged away by the three umas. Vodka could only accept her doom, praying to the Goddesses above that would survive without too much blood loss by the end of the day.

Scarlet watched as Golshi slotted the coins into the DDR machine as she stood on the pads after being dragged into an arcade place within the area, the chestnut maned uma glanced behind to find Teio and Rice not too far from them, occupied with the claw machines with multiple uma plushies inside.

“Alright!” Golshi suddenly exclaimed beside her, “Let’s go for this one!”

Returning her attention to the screen in front of her, Scarlet’s eyes widened in horror as she saw that Golshi had chosen the hardest level possible in the machine. “Golshi, are you insane?!”

“I am!” Golshi laughed as she stomped on the pads. “Come on, Scarlet! Let’s see how far we can survive this level!”

“Why didn’t you grab Teio instead of me?! She’s literally a dance coach!”

Golshi paused, “honestly I didn’t think of that.”

“Golshi!!”

At the end of the day, both Vodka and Scarlet were left utterly exhausted from their groups’ shenanigans. Scarlet was left with the same soreness she had felt after running for Arima Kinen, her legs shaking the moment she got off the game pads. With her body long past its peak and not exercising as much anymore leaving her to be more breathless than usual.

Vodka wasn’t any luckier, the ‘training’ left her embarrassed from the amount of blood that exited her body in a span of 10 minutes. She was surprised she didn’t need immediate blood transfusion after her nose acted like a hose for those few minutes. It was embarrassing to have to discreetly clean up the blood from the floor before any store clerks walked in on them, much more when she had to leave the romance section with a bazillion tissues shoved up her nose.

“Ah,” both mares stopped in their tracks upon seeing each other reaching their shared flat at the same time, a quick glance of their droopy ears was enough to convey that they had a bizarre adventure with their respective friends. Without exchanging any words, they entered their home and flopped onto their couch. Vodka being more sluggish between the two, probably due to the amount of blood she had lost.

Silence filled the air as they were unsure what to say or do. They hadn't exactly gotten the chance to talk to each other since that night— and even if they did, they were too flustered to continue. Yet, now they’re sitting together, still awkward and with jumbled up feelings all over their stomach as the tension continues to rise with every passing seconds.

That ends tonight.

“Hey—” “yo—”

Both Umas stopped in their tracks upon the sync, staring awkwardly at each other for a few moments until Vodka nodded lightly. “You first,” she muttered with a gesture.

“Well,” Scarlet began, her tail flicking anxiously behind her. She took a breath, “you look… tired,” she pointed out, deciding to start with a casual approach.

Vodka groaned as she rubbed her nose, “don't worry about it,” she grumbled. “I survived.”

“Survived??? Vodka, what in the world—?”

“What about you? You don't look any better yourself,” Vodka interrupted, not wanting to explain to Scarlet what had happened during her hangouts.

“Golshi.”

“Ah,” Vodka nodded in understanding, silently grateful that Golshi wasn't the one she invited in her hangouts— no, she would rather endure another round of Ryan-Taishin-Kitasan's special training than invite her to talk about her circumstances. Vodka shuddered at the possibilities imagined, yeah, she'd rather have Taishin roasting the living tail out of her.

“So,” Scarlet continued, her ears twitching nervously now. “About the other night…”

Vodka's heartbeat spiked, her ears stood tall in alert as her tail swished nervously. “What about it…?” She replied, glancing away as her nose began to itch.

“It's not just ‘what about it’,” Scarlet firmly pointed out. “You confessed that night, and I accepted your feelings,” she recalled. “So, what are we?”

Vodka’s entire body stilled the moment Scarlet asked that question, her head turned to face Scarlet’s expectant look as the tension got thicker in an instant. “We’re…” Vodka trailed off, trying to remember the glimpse of scenes during her ‘training’ with Ryan and the crew. Which in hindsight, probably not a good idea, but Vodka too wants to know what they are. “We’re rivals, roommates, friends…” she began, inhaling a deep breath as she prepared her next words carefully. “We only know that’s what's been up between us all our years knowing each other, but—” she took another breath, swallowing nervously as her cheek flushed. “I would be lying if I said I didn’t wish we'd been more.”

Scarlet's breath hitched, “how long… have you been feeling this way?”

“Why do you want to know?”

“Just answer me.”

Vodka's ears twitched, “you're so unfair you know? Pushing me into a corner like this,” she grumbled, letting out a sigh as her cheek flushed even redder. “I've liked you… since our days in Tracen ok?”

“Vodka…”

“Your turn!” Vodka quickly quipped, catching Scarlet off guard by the sudden raise of her voice. “Since when did you like me?!”

“H-hah!?” Scarlet exclaimed, her face quickly flushing to match Vodka's. “Why do you—?!”

“It's only fair! You asked me! So I gotta ask you too!”

“I—!” Scarlet pinned her ears backwards, now it was her turn to be cornered. “So what if I liked you too since Tracen?!”

The answer seemed to have taken Vodka aback. “You… what?”

“I've liked you since Tracen too!” Scarlet confessed once more, her tail swishing wildly behind her. “I've liked you before we graduated, I've liked you before you had to race overseas, I've liked you before the Derby!” Scarlet didn't know why she confessed again and again, perhaps she wanted Vodka to know how long she'd like her. 

And she did, judging by how stunned Vodka looked, as if she didn't expect this amount of confession from the mare in front of her. “Wow,” she muttered out, a hand covering her tingling nose. “Goddesses, we're—” she stifled a laugh. “We're so stupid aren't we?”

Scarlet gave an offended look, “stupid?!”

“Sorry, sorry, I mean—” Vodka chuckled, “Goddesses, we wasted so much time, didn't we?”

Scarlet didn't argue back, letting out a sigh instead as she laid back to the couch, staring up onto the ceilings. “We were ambitious with our goals,” she muttered before cringing as several memories flashed by. “Maybe too ambitious. Goddesses, I was a miserable priss back then, wasn't I?”

“No, you're not,” Vodka swooped in, “you always kept me in line, I thought I was an annoying jerk.”

“You weren't,” Scarlet chimed in, “you weren't annoying, Vodka. You were loud, but… I enjoyed hearing your voice.”

Vodka's face flushed even redder. “Oh…”

The tension from earlier had died down, replaced with a comfortable warmth spreading from their chests to all over their body.

“Hey—” “So—”

Both stopped at the same time before bursting out with laughter. “Your turn, Vodka,” Scarlet giggled.

“Well,” Vodka chuckled, “I guess we're an item now?”

“Unless you want to go back to being rivals again.”

Vodka snorted, “then… are we… girlfriends?”

Before Scarlet could answer, her ears shot tall when blood began to trickle down Vodka's nose. “Vodka!” She exclaimed, quickly rummaging her purse for a napkin before shoving it up the other uma's nose. “Geez, really?!”

“I can't help it!” Vodka whined, embarrassed and annoyed at herself for ruining the moment. “I'll get used to it! Then maybe I'll stop bleeding!”

“Well, you better be!” Scarlet exclaimed, wiping the blood away. “I don't wanna taste blood when we kiss one day!”

“K-ki—?!” Vodka exclaimed, more blood dripping down now.

“Oh my Goddesses, Vodka!”

“Gaah! I ruined the whole mood!”

It took a moment before Vodka's nose would spare her from any other embarrassment. With tissues up her nose once more, Vodka couldn't help but hide her face into the pillows by the couch as she rambled about how lame she was for ruining the mood between the two.

Only when she felt a weight and a slight tug on her, she stopped her rambling. Vodka turned her head to find Scarlet having intertwined her tails with her while looking away with a bashful look, “well, since we're uh… girlfriends, now,” the word rolled off awkwardly, a bit too rigid. “I guess we gotta start doing couples stuff?”

Them? Couple stuff? Vodka? Couple stuff?

“W-well—” she squeaked, “we don't gotta… we could just… chill out like we're used to, just a bit more… I guess?”

“Then…” Scarlet scooted closer, “maybe like this?” She asked, leaning down to rest her head on Vodka's shoulder who jumped slightly at the unexpected movement. “If we watch movies like this, it's not gonna be so different from our other nights, just a bit more… right?”

“Y-yeah…”

“Then, we can start calling each other girlfriends, right?”

“Yup.”

“And our hang outs… they're dates now.”

“If… you want them to be.”

“And uh,” Scarlet fidgets, “do we gotta… sleep in the same bed now?”

That made Vodka scuttle away. “N-no—!” Her voice cracked, “n-not that I don't wanna! It's just—!” Goddesses, her voice was as high as a chipmunk. “It's too fast—! Maybe one day— but not now!”

Scarlet nodded in agreement, flustered herself for suggesting the idea, “fair enough,” she muttered, leaning closer. “So… are you free next Sunday?”

“I should be, why?” Vodka asked, ears twitching nervously.

“Wanna go for karaoke?” Scarlet asked, “we haven't sung in a while and uh, rather than going to a fancy dinner… it'll be much more fun for both of us, won't it?”

Vodka's heart lurched, talk about perfect timing. “Sounds like a plan.”

“So, Sunday?”

“Sunday.”