Archive of Our Own

“Heyyyy! Scarlet! I finally got it!”

“Really? That took longer than expected.” Scarlet looked down at her phone, an unphotogenic profile picture of Vodka with terrible bedhead on the screen. Vodka hated the fact that Scarlet had that as her picture for her, but it never failed to bring a smile to Scarlet’s face when it popped up on her phone. Her own bleary-eyed bed-headed scowl on Vodka’s phone was a small price to pay.

She’d been expecting the call that morning, but it was already well into the afternoon when Vodka finally called.

“Yeaaah, I know! There was so much paperwork! Well, it was all digital, but y’know what I mean. But I finally got it and it’s mine! Take a listen to the motor!” There was a slight pause followed by a deep rumbling of an engine’s idle before Vodka gave it a few revs. “Hear that? He’s saying he’s waitin’ for you to meet him outside the gates of the campus! Daaamn, I can’t believe I just did my first rev call! So coooool!”

“Seriously?” Scarlet couldn’t help but smile at the excitement in Vodka’s voice and finally hearing a real motor instead of the silly noises she loved to make.

“Seriously! C’mon, Scarlet. Don’tcha wanna be the first person to ride on my new bike? You’d have the number one spot!”

“Mmm, tempting…” she teased, but she was already getting up from her desk and putting the manga she was reading back on the shelf. Scarlet had been looking forward to this all day from how much Vodka was hyping it up. Five years of hearing her roommate go on and on about wanting a motorcycle. Five years of listening to her rival’s air bike noises while revving an invisible handle. Five years of watching her lover get so excited at the arcade on the motorcycle racing cabinets. Five years, finally coming to an end, with that goal waiting right outside the gates of Tracen Academy.

“Scaaaarlet! Don’t leave me hangin’!”

She giggled at Vodka’s wailing, closing the door to their room behind her, “I’ll be there soon. You know I’d never pass up the opportunity to be number one—even if it’s to ride your new toy.”

“It’s not a toy! It’s my new baby!”

“Mmhm~ Seeya.” Scarlet ended the call and tapped on her text messages from Vodka. Most of it was excited short notes about getting her bike, but surprisingly enough not a single photo. Scarlet guessed that she wanted to keep it a surprise. There was also no mention of a model. Not that Scarlet would be able to tell anything from that sort of information. Whenever Vodka gushed about her motorcycles and started listing models, numbers, or anything else—it went through one ear and out the other for her. But it was always nice to see how Vodka's face lit up so she still listened each time. She imagined Vodka was positively bouncing like a kid on her new bike from how much she yelled on the phone call. Probably looked like an absolute idiot too, like she always did. Scarlet stifled a giggle imagining the sight.

On her way out, Scarlet passed Special Week and Super Creek carrying bags of ingredients and a rather large box of carrots. Special Week’s ears perked up as she said, “Oh hey, Scarlet! Are you headin’ out?”

“Yes, Vodka finally bought her motorcycle and is waiting outside to show it off. So of course she called me to see it.” She looked at the box of carrots in Special Week’s arms, “Another delivery from your mom?”

“Yup! Creek and I are gonna make some treats with ‘em!” Her tail wagged with excitement as Super Creek giggled softly next to her.

Super Creek smiled brightly. “I wanted to try a carrot cake donut recipe I found. Both delicious and convenient to eat, it should satisfy even the pickiest eaters. Especially those who are in a hurry and can’t sit down for a proper meal.” 

“Whoever thought of putting carrots in a donut is a genius!!” Special Week’s eyes shined with a heavenly fervor. “Tell Vodka ‘grats on gettin’ her bike! I bet she’s super excited about it!”

“Please do be careful, I’d hate to see you two get hurt and miss out on a tasty treat.”

Scarlet gave a nod and smiled, “Of course, thank you~!” She lightly waved as the pair continued towards the kitchen. Carrot cake donuts did sound pretty tasty and the carrots from Spe’s mom’s farm were noticeably sweeter than the ones she bought in the market. Most likely from the personal touch from her mom’s efforts.

Outside the dorms, the usual hustle and bustle of students on campus was more relaxed on the weekend. A good number of them enjoyed their time off from training by heading out to the city, visited family if they lived close enough, or simply enjoyed some peace and quiet. Scarlet was one of the latter, using the quiet to catch up reading her manga and novels. At least, until Vodka interrupted that peace with whatever idea she got when she couldn’t goof off with her other friends. And this was one of those moments, except Vodka was interrupting with a literal motorcycle instead of only pretending to have one.

Scarlet finally walked past the open gates of Tracen Academy to find exactly what she expected: Vodka sitting upon a motorcycle. But she didn’t expect an excited Mayano Top Gun flitting about and blocking the view.

“How fast can it go?” the short but energetic girl asked with shining eyes.

“225 kph! This baby’s got a 1833cc 6-cylinder 4-stroke engine!” Vodka laughed with pride as Mayano gasped.

“You could fly going that fast!”

“Yup, right down the highway!” Vodka held up her arm and thrust out her hand forward with a ‘nyroom’ sound effect, “Oh! Yo, Scarlet! Check it oooout!” Vodka gestured to the large black motorcycle she sat upon. “Presenting… the Honda GL1800 Gold Wing Tour!”

Simply calling it large felt like an understatement. She was used to seeing those smaller sporty bikes that were on the covers of Vodka’s magazines and posters, but this was a motorcycle with heft. A machine that had presence. Even Vodka, who was considered tall among the students at Tracen, looked small sitting on the bike. Yet for all its bulk it still looked quite sleek, the body wrapped in smooth, elegant forms. The only spots of color on the black motorcycle were the red Honda emblem on the side of the massive tank, a golden strip in front of Vodka’s leg, and the orange safety reflectors. The rest was shiny black paint, black coated metal, and black leather.

What caught Scarlet’s attention the most on the new motorcycle was what looked to be a seat on the back of the bike. Like—an actual seat instead of a scant extension of the frame with just a sorry excuse for  padding to sit upon. The seat continued the large-but-smooth design with black leather cushioning and a sturdy frame cradling it from behind. Overall, it was equally unexpected and impressive. Scarlet had no doubt that its performance would be as impressive as its looks with how much Vodka loved motorcycles. Her obsession could be annoying, but she had the knowledge borne of genuine passion.

“It’s… big.” That was the only word that came to Scarlet’s mind to describe the sight of the black motorcycle. It wasn’t like she regularly looked at them. Her only real knowledge of bikes, even after listening to her partner gush about them for so many years, was that they had two wheels, were loud, and went fast.

“‘Cause it’s a tourin’ bike. They only come in one size: Beast !” Vodka puffed up proudly and gave the frame a friendly pat.

Scarlet held her chin in thought, still looking over the motorcycle while Mayano continued to circle around, checking out the various parts of Vodka’s ride with excited noises, “I thought you were going to get one of those sporty ones like on your posters in our room?”

Vodka chuckled and ran a hand through her hair, “I was, buuuut—I’ll tell you about it later. C’mon, hop on! The seat should be hella comfy on this big boy. Also got a helmet for ya. Hopefully your twintails fit.” Vodka handed a royal blue helmet, complete with a pair of horn-like protrusions for umamusume ears, to Scarlet. “Even got it in your color.” She grinned up at her.

“I guess even you can be thoughtful sometimes.” Scarlet smiled at the familiar shade of the blue helmet in her hands. It was just like her signature raceware. A bit uncertainly, she climbed up onto the seat on the back of the motorcycle. An actual seat! She still couldn’t get over that. As she settled in, she found that the black leather padding didn’t just look good, it felt good. Well, big bike, big seat, big comfort was the idea, she supposed. 

“I hope you're hungry ‘cause we’re gonna go to that yakiniku place you really like for dinner. Y’know, the one we gotta take the train to get to in the next town over, The Brown Bear.”

“Wait—we’re going to drive there?” Scarlet asked in surprise. “That takes almost an hour by train.”

“Of course! Did you think I bought this bike to just sit on?” Vodka laughed and pulled her bright yellow helmet on. “This baby needs to stretch out his legs and go for his first real ride.” She patted the side of the fuel tank fondly, “Might as well be for dinner since it’s getting pretty late. Hey, we might even get a nice view of the sunset on the road!”

“Ooooh! A dinner date! A motorcycle ride dinner date!” Mayano practically squealed with excitement, “How romantic! Mayano wishes she could go on a fun lovely-dovey ride too…” she sighed dreamily imagining herself in that very fantasy.

“Ghk! C’mon! D-don’t call it a date!” Vodka immediately responded to argue against Mayano’s words, “We’re just gettin’ food, alright? That’s a totally normal thing to do!” She waved her hand dismissively to shoo away those foul romantic comments.

“Hehe~! It’s absolutely a date.” Scarlet giggled and rested her hands on Vodka’s waist, feeling the soft texture of her leather jacket. “Especially when you’re showing off your new motorcycle.”

“Totally a date!” Mayano chimed in. “You’re even hugging each other!”

“Dammit! Why am I gettin’ ganged up on?” Vodka hunched over in defeat but her dark bay tail wagged happily against the side of Scarlet’s leg. “L-let’s go already!”

“You two have fun on your motorcycle date!” Mayano scampered away a bit and did a spinning turn with her arms outstretched, “Have lots of kisses!” she waved the pair off before running back through the gates with a spring in her step.

Scarlet leaned forward, her arms wrapping even more around Vodka to hug her from behind. She could feel Vodka’s body heat rising from the teasing even through the layers of her jacket and shirt, “You better start moving before anyone else catches wind of you taking me out on a date.” Of course she’d give Vodka that extra push. It was so fun to see her get flustered from being romantic. “You know how fast Mayano’s gossip gets when she sees a couple.”

Vodka’s fingers rapidly tapped on the handlebar, feeling the pressure and warmth of Scarlet’s large chest pressed on her back and arms wrapped around her waist. The physical touches she was perfectly fine with, but those romantic teasing words—they made her ears burn underneath her helmet. Even after dating for a few years, she still struggled with accepting the romantic affections Scarlet enjoyed expressing. “Doesn’t mean you gotta encourage her!”

“You’re still enjoying it based on how much your tail’s hitting my leg.” The mention of Vodka’s tail caused a momentary pause but it soon returned, unable to hold itself back from the allegations. Scarlet hummed bemusely and leaned back to finally put her helmet on. It took a little bit of adjustment with her twintails but she managed to find a way. “Alright, I’m ready. Do I just… hold your waist?”

Vodka perked up with the ball back in her court instead of being teased about the romantic motorcycle ride date she spontaneously sprung on her partner, “Yeah! Or you can lean back and hold onto the grips on the bike, whatever feels more comfortable for ya. Just don’t go leanin’ in the opposite direction when I’m doing turns, alright? And one more thing—” Vodka tapped on a device on the side of her helmet, “Set up some comms between our helmets so we can talk on the road instead of tryin’ to yell over the bike and wind. Even though we probably wouldn’t have a problem doin’ that.” Vodka’s shoulders shook with a chuckle. “C’mere, I’ll turn yours on.” She turned and pressed a finger on the attached set on Scarlet’s helmet until it lit up and gave an announcement that it was on and the battery level. “Now you don’t have to try to communicate with taps on the shoulder if I’m going too fast for you.”

“Hmph! I don’t like it when you’re right… but I would rather not have to yell over the road noise. You’re surprisingly well prepared for all this.” Scarlet made herself comfortable in her backseat and rested her hands on Vodka’s waist. Given the option of holding on to handles or Vodka, the choice was obvious.

“I’m not just some poser motorcycle fangirl, y’know! I live and breathe this stuff!! I’ve even driven my Pop’s bike plenty of times! And finally—finally I’ve got my own. Daaaaamn! This is so cool! You ready to finally hit the road, Scarlet?” Vodka looked back, only her eyes showing through the visor of her yellow helmet. Scarlet had no doubt, though, that there was a huge grin hidden underneath.

“You’ve kept me waiting long enough, talking about it for five years. Let’s go already.” Scarlet patted Vodka’s waist with one hand and soon felt the motorbike begin to roll forward as Vodka eased on throttle. It was smoother than Scarlet expected. Vodka was probably doing it more slowly for her sake—she assumed it would normally go more like those loud sports bikes in the drag races Vodka begged her to watch. But it was quite a nice surprise to feel a smooth ride.

“Yeah! Let’s fuckin’ hit the road!” Vodka cheered as she drove away from Tracen and started down the street. The large touring bike felt like a powerful rumbling beast underneath her, slowly waking up with her gentle touches. She knew she could crank it up hard with the massive engine between her legs, but now wasn’t the time. The beast would have to wait for that nice strip of quiet highway to be allowed to run wild. For now, it was city streets and traffic lights. “It should take us less than an hour to get there by bike ‘cause there’s not as much walking from the station this way.”

Scarlet heard Vodka’s voice nice and clear over the steady rumble of the engine and wind with the comm next to her ear inside her helmet. It was such a welcome addition that never came to her mind whenever Vodka talked about wanting to go for a ride together. In fact, it was something she didn’t even know was a thing for motorcycles. “Makes sense. We had to walk a while to get to that side of town. But I’m surprised you’re driving so smoothly.”

“Heh, expected me to jerk the throttle and make the bike jump?” Vodka chuckled lightly, “Naw, I had years of practice on my Pop’s bike before getting my license. Mom hated it but knew she couldn’t keep me off. As long as my old man taught me how to ride safely, she tolerated it.” She merged onto the highway, picking up speed as the roads became smoother and wider.

“Mm…” Scarlet mused to herself, reminded of how differently the two of them were raised. They were complete opposites from Vodka being so close to her father and Scarlet admiring her mother. But it always stung when she listened to how other people had such close relationships with their family at home compared to her more lonesome life. Her mother was always out on business and not even her older sister was home that often. She’d rather be hanging out with her friends than with her family, and often stayed the night with them. 

Vodka always shared that sense of warmth and comfort with Scarlet, making her feel more than welcomed—especially when invited to have dinner with Vodka’s family. It was certainly different having so many people at the same table. It was never just Vodka and her parents but also always a handful of younger siblings. To shake off her moody thoughts, she quipped at Vodka, “At least that’s one subject you’re good at.”

“Hey! It’s different from schoolwork, okay? ‘Cause it’s so much cooler!” They laughed together as they drove down the highway, with the setting sun at their side.

The trip was nice and uneventful. It was so surprisingly smooth and comfortable for Scarlet’s first time riding on a motorcycle. The sights felt completely different seen this way than they did from the cabin of a train. There was no window or metal container keeping them separated from the outside. This was absolutely bare, open, free. She felt the wind blowing against her whole body, not unlike running on the track at full speed. Scarlet could see all around her, the sky above, the stretching horizon with the sinking orange sunset, even the nearby cars they passed that made her squeeze Vodka’s waist in nervousness at being so exposed. She even caught a few chuckles over the comms from her motorcycle enthusiast lover when she tightened her grip. Yet Vodka kept them at a steady speed and position, not muscling through any gap she could find like how she raced upon the track. She didn’t talk much, clearly focused on her first long drive. But it was nice, so nice, to join Vodka like this in her greatest passion.

It was completely worth the wait.

—

In under an hour, just as Vodka estimated, the pair rolled up to Scarlet’s favorite yakiniku restaurant, The Brown Bear. It wasn’t anything fancy or high class, simply a cozy, rustic, family owned business from Hokkaido that served great cuts of meat with great service. The sun was already setting, halfway below the horizon, when Vodka stopped to park.

“Damn… It’d be cool to just sit here and watch the sunset like this.” Vodka sighed wistfully, making a mental note to ask Maruzensky for some sight-seeing spots later. “But we still gotta make it back before curfew.” She turned her head to look back at Scarlet, “You all good back there? Ride wasn’t too bumpy?”

Scarlet shook her head, “I was surprised how smooth it was. You really did practice a lot on your father’s bike, huh?”

Vodka removed her helmet and shook out her hair, her dark bay locks fluffing right back up after being pressed down by her gear. “Good! I’d be worried it wasn’t! You can hand me your helmet, I’ll take care of it so we don’t gotta carry ‘em with us inside.”

Scarlet fiddled with her helmet strap for a bit before unlatching it and handed her royal blue helmet to Vodka who locked both of their helmets to the bike with a secure strap and latch. She truly was prepared for everything when it came to motorcycles. Scarlet dismounted the bike and enjoyed a small stretch after sitting for so long. Even with such a comfortable seat, it was still nearly an hour of sitting on a rumbling engine. She looked towards her favorite yakiniku restaurant. It was decked out in traditional kibori kuma decorations, carved wooden statues of brown bears holding fish and various cuts of meat in their mouth. A particularly large one, holding a steak, stood at the entrance. It was part of the charm of this place.

Vodka followed suit, a big grin on her face after the rush of her first real ride. “Man, I love all the silly bears in this place! Yells out ‘Hokkaido’ with a big roar, haha! C’mon, the smell of grilled meat’s making me so hungry.”

The pair walked in together, with Vodka giving the large wooden bear at the entrance a pat on the head where it was worn smooth by years of customers doing the same thing. Inside, there was even more memorabilia, bears of all sizes and materials on the shelves and on the walls. They were hit with the delicious aroma of meat being grilled. A waitress greeted the pair, “Welcome to The Brown Bear! A table for two?”

“Yes, please!”

“Right this way!” They were led to a small table with a grill in the center. Their drinks and order were placed: the Uma Musume Special. The usual for the pair.

Vodka let out a pleased sigh after taking a swig of her chilled barley tea, “That really hits the spot!”

“I swear, you sound like an old man with a beer whenever you do that.” Scarlet chuckled behind her honeydew soda.

“Naw, it’s cool! Enjoying your drink with full gusto! Anyways, how did you like your first motorcycle ride? Was it really cool?” Vodka perked up with excited anticipation, eager to hear Scarlet’s answer.

“Mm,” Scarlet traced the rim of her glass and smiled, “It certainly wasn’t what I expected at all.” She watched Vodka arch a brow in confusion, “With how you go on and on about roaring engines and speed, I expected something more rowdy—like you.”

“Hey!”

“It was incredibly smooth and comfortable. Almost luxurious.” Scarlet let out a pleased hum after that description. Maybe this was a luxury bike Vodka bought? It certainly had that look and feel about it. “Reminds me of sitting inside Maruzen-senpai’s sports car but without the insane speed and drifting she does when driving. No— don’t you get any ideas of doing the same on your bike! Ugh, stop smiling like that, you dummy!”

Vodka laughed at Scarlet’s protests, “I won’t do any drifting on this bike, but he can still go pretty damn fast when I put the pedal to the metal! But I’m glad it was comfy, heh. That was part of the reason why I went with a Gold Wing.”

“Oh right, you said you were going to explain why you bought that giant bike instead of those smaller ones. I swear, you’re always so unpredictable with your decisions.” Scarlet let out a sigh. That was a trait that she hoped Vodka would grow out of but it only became a part of what made Vodka well… Vodka. It certainly meant that there was rarely a boring moment when around her.

Massive plates of stacked thin slices of meat and bowls of rice arrived at the pair’s table. They briefly thanked their server and Scarlet took the reins of manning the cooking as she always did when they had yakiniku. It wasn’t that she didn’t like Vodka’s style or pace of grilling. It gave her something to occupy her hands and mind from wandering. Plus having a routine led to less arguments.

“Yeah, yeah. I didn’t wanna explain it while on the bike ‘cause I was itchin’ to drive and Mayano was hovering about but in short—it was my Pop’s idea. I originally wanted one of those speedy Ninjas so I could tear through the roads goin’ faster than any uma can run. But I kinda, uh, do talk ‘bout you with my old man a lot.” Vodka paused to take another drink of her tea to cool down the slight heat she felt on her face at that admission. “‘Bout how I really wanna give you a ride and go tourin’ like he does with me and mom. I haven’t been able to go tourin’ with him in a while ‘cause of runnin’ in the Twinkle Series but man, those were some of the best trips I took as a kid. We’d hit the big race tracks, the regionals too, relax in mountain hot springs, or just enjoy where the road takes us and take in the sights.” Vodka rested her jaw on her hand, thinking wistfully of those memories.

Scarlet served cooked slices of meat between the two of them and filled the grill back up while listening. “Wasn’t the last time you had a ride with your dad when you fussed about not wanting to go to summer camp?” She remembered how much Vodka turned it into some cheesy scene of stupid excuses when everyone else was excited to go to summer camp.

Vodka snickered, “Yeah. Damn, I was really lame thinking I was too cool to hang out with my friends at camp ‘til my Pops talked sense into me. But the rides were so much fun, and definitely cooler than riding on the bus!” She dipped her meat into one of the sauces and enjoyed the delicious melody of flavors, “Mm! So yeah, all that talk ‘bout wanting to go tourin’? It ain’t talk! I really wanna do it. Hittin’ the roads, seein’ the sights. The whole deal! So my Pops tells me ‘bout when he was ‘courting’ Mom.” Vodka paused while Scarlet stifled a giggle before continuing, “Yeah, that’s his words! Like some knight. Anyways, when he started dating Mom, he would take her out on long drives on his bike. Not full on tours but still. Of course she enjoyed them well enough—they hooked up! But Pops said the only thing he regrets is not having a more comfortable bike for her. He rode one of those custom bosozoku bikes. Y’know those badass biker gangs from back in the day that people customized to have handlebars up to here?” Vodka lifted her hands up to head level, “That was my Pops when he had hair. A pompadour!”

“Seriously?” Scarlet giggled at the image, especially knowing that Vodka’s dad barely had any hair left on his head. “Was he really in the bosozoku ?” She lifted her brows in curiosity, having never heard this history about Vodka’s father.

“Yup! Well, not as deep as what you’d think when you hear the name since he couldn’t afford all the customization but he rode with a small crew. Ah, ‘til he fell head over heels over Mom after watching her race. But Pops told me after hearing me talk about how bad I wanna go tourin’ like he did with you ridin’ with me— ‘Get a bike meant for tourin’. Simple and straightforward. Vodka, my girl,’” she stated with a deep gruff voice imitating her father, even holding a finger up in the air for emphasis. “You need to give your girlfriend the most comfortable ride so she can fall in love with your bike as much as she’s in love with you. That’s the secret to a happy relationship.”

“Fall in love with your bike?” Scarlet could barely contain her laughter at both the quote and Vodka’s delivery. She had to cover her mouth to stop herself. It sounded absolutely ridiculous and cheesy.

“Yeah! That’s what he said!” Vodka shrugged and sighed, looking away to continue in a half mumble, “Okay, so I talk to my old man ‘bout you. Like, a lot. Probably knows me better ‘bout this than myself because my thoughts get all jumbled up and embarrassing if I think too hard on it. So I kinda, don’t think much.” Vodka distracted herself momentarily with another serving of grilled meat from Scarlet. Her ear flicked in slight annoyance with Scarlet’s under-her-breath response of ‘ Obviously ’ to her admission, “So we decided on getting a tourin’ bike for… y’know. You. ” She mumbled out the end, avoiding eye contact and drinking her tea.

But even the fainted mumbles were easily picked up by umamusume ears. Especially the large ears of the girl sitting across from Vodka watching with surprised magenta eyes. Did Vodka really buy this motorcycle just to give her a comfortable ride?

“Hey Scarlet… You got any plans for the next few weeks?” Vodka continued to mumble, her jaw resting on her hand again, covering part of her reddening face. Her sienna eyes mostly gazed down at her plate of meat and rice with the occasional glance at Scarlet.

“Hmmm, not that I know of. Beyond my usual classes and studies, that is.” Scarlet answered aloofly, distracting herself with watching the meat sizzle on the grill. But she knew what was coming. It wasn’t a surprise from how often Vodka talked about it but this time…. This time it felt different. There was the heavy weight of anticipation.

“Come with me on a bike tour across Japan. I…” Vodka lifted her head to face Scarlet with more strength in her voice, “I wanna make up for not being able to travel with you for our races. Not once, but I did it multiple times when you had to stay here. And continuin’ to run for a year after you retired. I figured… you’ve waited long enough for my wayward ass.” She left out a long sigh of regret.

“Understatement of the century but yes— you always kept running. Chasing those jumbled up stars you wanted.” Scarlet lightly swirled the straw of her soda with a sad knowing smile. There was no way she could have even attempted to stop Vodka from her disjointed path. Once she set her mind to something, Vodka threw herself into it. It was an admirable trait, but frustrating at the same time.

“All ‘cept for one. The number one star that always waited for me, no matter how stupid I was.” Vodka let out a soft pleased huff when Scarlet froze at the sound of those words, “C’mon, I wanna give you that ride I promised you. Not this short ride to dinner but a real one.” Vodka smiled at Scarlet from across the table, still holding her jaw in her hand.

“Of course I’d love to. How could I say no, you dummy? I can’t believe you bought a bike thinking about me instead of yourself! But it’s… sweet of you.” Scarlet sighed, feeling her cheeks start to grow hot, “U-unlike how you are normally!” She quickly added and turned her attention back to tending the meat on the grill.

Vodka chuckled with the biggest grin on her face, “Hell yeah! It’s gonna be so much fun! We’ll hit all the sights, visit so many hot springs, eat ‘til we’re stuffed! Just the two of us, my bike, and the open road.”

“Goodness…” A bemused smile brightened Scarlet’s face, and she flicked her gaze back to Vodka, “Is this how your dad ‘courted’ your mom?” 

“Well um. … Okay. Yes. Yeah, it was.” Vodka arched a brow wondering what the big deal was. That was pretty normal, right?

“Daddy’s girl.” Scarlet cooed while flipping the meat on the grill.

“Hey! I’m not about to take that from a Momma’s girl!” she pointed her chopsticks at Scarlet.

The both of them shared a laugh at their table after throwing insults at each other for a good few minutes. All the stress and embarrassment from earlier, gone and forgotten. It was just the two of them hanging out, enjoying dinner with fun conversation.

“We’ll see if your father’s advice is on the mark or not about that ride.” Scarlet smirked while serving the next batch of meat. “Don’t hold your breath about the part where he says I’ll love your bike as much as you though. There’s no way you’ll convert me to a dumb motorhead like you.”

“It is on the mark! ‘Sides, we’re uh… further along than he said he was when he gave Mom her first long tour. So we don’t gotta worry ‘bout that.” Vodka devoured a bowl of rice while waiting for Scarlet to finish serving the current set of grilled meat.

“Vodka… Just how much have you talked to your father about us?” She stared hard at Vodka. Scarlet didn’t know if she wanted to actually hear the answer but had to ask from how much she was bringing up her father tonight when it came to talking about her.

“....” Vodka paused with her chopsticks in the air in mid bite; her red face and sideways-glancing eyes said everything. Her rice slowly dropped back into her bowl.

Scarlet stared and answered flatly, “...You truly are the biggest idiot in the world.” Then she jabbed the tongs towards her blushing partner, “Ugh! It’s so embarrassing that your parents know that much about us!!” 

“Hey! Don’t tell me you haven’t talked to your mom about anything like that!” Vodka’s chopsticks joined in the pointing. “I know you call your mom a lot so it musta come up at some point.”

“Not details like you obviously went through! I keep my conversations respectable and my love life private!”

“I was asking for advice, okay!” Vodka dramatically shrugged her shoulders, “Who else was I supposed to ask, huh?”

“ NOT your parents! Anyone else! A friend! Or look it up in a book or on the internet! Un -belivable!” Scarlet held her face with her free hand and shook her head, “You’re making me feel embarrassed for your sake!”

“He was cool about it—it wasn’t even that embarrassing.” Vodka stated matter of factly and returned to her bowl of rice.

“I don’t even know if that makes it better or worse… I can’t believe I’m going on a cross country tour with an idiot who asked her father for that kind of advice with her girlfriend.” She dramatically sighed and held her forehead to express her woes.

“He even asked me how it went and was proud of me when I said you really enjoyed it..... Sooo, it worked, yeah?” Vodka commented mid-bite, almost too casually.

“...” Scarlet froze her lamenting to glare at Vodka. She was right, absolutely right, and Vodka knew it, based on that little shit-eating smirk she wore. Scarlet’s face flushed red as those words repeated in her head. Yes, it worked. Too well . That grinning idiot across the table knew just how to make her shiver and curl her toes— apparently thanks to her father’s advice. “A-anyways! When did you want to prepare for the tour?” She quickly changed the subject to escape before the cheeky fox could poke at her opening.

Vodka immediately perked up, “Oh, around a week or two so we can map out a route and figure out what’s hot this time of the year in the mags I’ve got. Sound good? Packing’s gonna be the least of our worries because it’ll be light. Ain’t much room on the bike so it’s about picking your favorite fits!”

Scarlet was thankful that bringing up motorcycles was always a good choice in getting Vodka to leave uncomfortable subjects. If only there was a way to get her to stop talking about them. Even after years she still didn’t have an answer to that. “That’s more time than I expected from you; good to see you’re improving on that.”

“‘Cause you’d kick my ass for real this time if I jumped the gate.” she snickered,  “But yeah, I have been looking forward to this for a long time. Mannnn, it’s gonna be so cool!”

“I’ll admit, I’m looking forward to it too.” Scarlet tapped at her cheek, imagining how the trip would be. How different it’d feel from her first ride with Vodka. “Visiting different hot springs sounds like a great way to relax after retiring from the Twinkle Series. Even if it’s been a year for me, I haven’t felt like I’ve actually truly taken the time to ever relax . It’s been a lot of… frustration at first with the rehab with my ankle. On top of that, I’ve been burying myself in my studies.” It was more of an excuse to keep herself occupied and distracted.

“Exactly!” Vodka held up a finger, “You’ve been working way too hard! We’ll kick back and relax and chill until we become pudding.”

“And you’re the one who needs it the most after running so hard this past year. You got really… intense to put it lightly. Getting nosebleeds while racing and that bloodshot eye… you looked absolutely wild. Hey! Don't you smile about that! It wasn’t cool, you made me worry, idiot!” Scarlet tossed her head to the side with a huff, “I swear, you’re so reckless when it comes to running. I don’t know what got into you but that last year… I was scared for you, okay?”

Vodka chuckled slightly, “Yeah… yeah, I know. It’s bad when the doc orders you to retire on medical leave to just relax and calm down.” She rubbed at her nose, “No regrets ‘bout how I raced though! I’d do it all over again if I could. But it’s time for a new chapter! Here’s to cuttin’ loose and carving our new paths!” Vodka picked up her glass and held it up, “C’mon, Scarlet! I’m tryin’ to make a toast here!”

“I swear I can’t go anywhere without you making some sort of stupid scene…” Yet she lifted her own glass and lightly tapped it against Vodka’s with a smile. “To a new chapter. Together this time.”

“Together!”

—

The sun was already gone and the stars were beginning to twinkle in the night sky by the time Vodka and Scarlet finished their dinner.

“Ah damn, I guess we spent more time eatin’ and chattin’ than I thought.” Vodka looked up at the evening sky. “But the food here’s so great! No wonder it’s your fav!” she turned to look at Scarlet who had her phone pulled out to check the time. “How much time do we got before Fuji shuts the gates on us for being ‘bad ponies’?”

“Less than an hour. There’s no way we’ll be able to make it in time even if we left right now.” Scarlet sighed and hung her head, “I can’t believe you lured me out here with the promise of a delicious dinner to only get us in trouble for being out after curfew.”

“Haha!” Vodka laughed and placed her hands on her hips with a huge grin, “Perfect!”

“What the hell are you on about now?” Scarlet glared at Vodka, hating the fact that she was laughing about getting caught for being out past curfew. Sure, it would be fine for her, but not for Scarlet! She wasn’t a troublemaker like Vodka was.

“This is the perfect situation I wanted! C’mon, Scarlet! Put on your helmet and let's ride!” She handed Scarlet her helmet then grabbed her own, popping it back on her head, “I was drivin’ slow on the way here but now it’s time to really let that engine roar and show you how fast he can go!”

“That was slow ?” Scarlet pulled her helmet on and once again had to adjust her hair before climbing onto the back seat. Why weren’t these helmets made with space for her twintails? “You better not do anything crazy on the road or I swear I’m not going on that stupid tour of yours!”

“Don’t worry your perfect little head. I know how to handle the speed and power of this bad boy. I ain’t a fresh faced newbie when it comes to ridin’, y’know.” Vodka turned on the ignition of her bike and the Gold Wing rumbled to life. “There shouldn’t be as much traffic now so the road will be ours to cut through. Plus it’s the weekend! Just hold on tight, got it?”

“G-got it!” Scarlet’s voice wavered as she held Vodka’s waist, lacking the confidence that her partner’s carried as they peeled out back to the road. But that didn’t ease Scarlet’s worries about making it back on campus before curfew. She had an image of a reliable honor student to her juniors, not a risk taking delinquent who’s now out taking joyrides on a motorcycle. But she’d be lying to herself if she wasn’t enjoying her first ride with Vodka. It was nice, freeing, and—most of all—comfortable.

They soon merged onto the highway, escaping the narrow roads of the small town into the stretch of wide smooth pavement lit by endless copies of lightposts banishing the night away. As Vodka predicted, there were fewer cars on the highway. Hopefully her timing was as accurate or Scarlet would have to give the idiot an earful, no matter how delicious their dinner was. 

Vodka’s driving was just as steady as on their way out here. “I’m gonna kick it into gear now.” she warned over the intercom between their helmets.

Scarlet answered with a tighter squeeze around Vodka’s waist and soon felt the powerful motorcycle underneath her lurch forward with a low roar of the engine. How fast did she tell Mayano this thing could go? She prayed she misheard Vodka saying over 200 kph. She did not want to go that fast.

Other cars were quickly overtaken by Vodka’s speed, reminding Scarlet of how her lover raced. Scarlet only experienced running past others at the start of the gate and the occasional challenge at the final stretch but Vodka fought battles on the whole track to escape the crowds to hit the finish. This is what Vodka must have seen when she ran. It was both frightening… but thrilling. Scarlet couldn’t help but gasp in excitement reliving the races she missed so much.

“You good?” Vodka’s voice rang in her ear over the wind and rumbling engine.

“Mm!” Scarlet nodded and then remembered Vodka couldn’t look back to see, “Yes! This feels… amazing!”

“Haha! I know! That’s why bikes are so cool!”

“It reminds me of the track. Like we’re racing each other again.”

“Oh yeah? I can see it! Here comes Vodka and Scarlet breakin’ outta the pack at the final corner! The both of them pullin’ ahead by a length! No, two lengths! More! They’re leavin’ the rest behind! The race’s all theirs! It’s Vodka! Scarlet! Vodka! Scarlet! It’s too close to tell!” Vodka burst out laughing and was soon joined with Scarlet’s as they sped down the highway. They continued their fast pace and excited chatter until they had to leave the speed filled excitement of the highway into lamentable slower paced city roads on their way to Tracen Academy.

“Oh hey, gate’s still open!” Vodka commented as they arrived. She glanced down at the time on the motorcycle’s dash, “Toldja we’d make it before curfew!” She steered them through the gate and turned to the campus parking lot.

“You cut it close on purpose, didn’t you?” Scarlet mused after they stopped to park.

“Juuust a bit, to be fashionably cool.” Vodka pulled her helmet off and grinned happily. “Plus, I couldn’t pass up a fifth serving of grilled meat!” She dismounted her new bike and carried her helmet under an arm with Scarlet following suit.

“You’re the worst, I hope you know that.”

“You remind me almost every day.”

The both of them laughed and shouldered each other as they walked back to the Ritto dorms. Vodka pulled open the door to let Scarlet in before her and they found their dorm leader waiting for them.

“Welcome back my little ponies. Did you have fun on your motorcycle date?” Fuji Kiseki smiled at the pair.

“Ghk!” Vodka froze midstep at the dreaded word.

Scarlet giggled nervously, “I guess Mayano did tell everyone after she ran off.” 

“Oh she was positively brimming with excitement saying how our Vodka here looked like a black knight stealing the fair princess Scarlet to elope together.” Fuji brought her hand up her mouth to stifle a giggle. “Quite the imagination the girl has, no?”

“U-uhhh!!” Vodka stammered at how each word only made the whole situation worse and worse.

Even Scarlet was blushing in embarrassment at how Mayano spun their date and now the whole dorm knew. Probably the whole campus in Tracen knew. Even the director and her cat would know now about her ride on Vodka’s new motorcycle.

“Luckily the black knight brought the princess back home before the guards found out. I suggest not lingering for long before any more little birds catch wind of your arrival and ask questions about your new ride.” A single finger pressed against Fuji’s lips in a hushing gesture.

“Th-thank you!” Scarlet quickly bowed to her dorm leader with Vodka following suit. The two of them quickly jogged away to their room before anyone could ask them where they were so late while carrying helmets.

Once they made it to their room, the door locked behind them, the both of them sighed in relief. Finally, a safe sanctuary. Free from curious onlookers.

“Heh… heheh, hahaha!” Vodka burst into laughter as she leaned against the door.

“Heheheh!” Scarlet couldn’t help but join in. The both of them laughed long and hard until tears came to their eyes.

“Haha…. Whew…” Vodka wiped her eyes, “That was… so much fun! Man, being told I looked like some black knight runnin’ off with a princess… So embarrassing, but… also pretty badass...”

“Hehe… I can’t believe we did that… But you’re right,” Scarlet replied. “I haven’t had this much fun in a while! I don’t know how Mayano spun our date into that sort of story but you’d be the worst knight. All you do is look for trouble.”

“Like you’d make a good princess with that awful attitude of yours!” Vodka shot back as she placed her helmet upon her desk, smiling proudly at how natural it looked next to her motorcycle magazines and models. As if it was always meant to be there.

“Ohh, it’s because you’re such a pain in the ass! I’m perfectly fine when you’re not there causing me trouble.” Scarlet looked around for a place to put her new helmet, unsure where the rather large gift would fit. She’ll deal with it tomorrow and set it in the middle of her desk.

“The coolest pain in your ass.” Vodka puffed up, jabbing a thumb at her own chest, “With a sick new motorcycle, vroom vroom!”

“Ugh, and here I thought you getting a bike would bring an end to your dumb sound effects. But I’ll admit, you are pretty cool with such a nice motorcycle. I don’t like how the helmet’s messing up my hair though. It’s even got yours messed up and I didn’t think that was possible.” Scarlet walked up to Vodka, “Lemme fix it for you.”

Vodka checked the mirror, seeing that her hair was flattened down by the helmet. Scarlet’s soft hands brushed along her cheeks and combed through her dark bay locks, teasing them back out to her usual fluffiness. She smiled warmly from the close gentle touches.

Scarlet stepped back to look over Vodka’s all too happy face to check she was properly fluffed up; that was the best way she could describe her wild hairstyle. “There. That’s better. Now if only it was that easy to fix my own hair.” Scarlet sighed and ran a hand through one of her twintails.

“Y’know, you could always just let your hair down. It’ll be easier to wear a helmet and comb too. Plus…” Vodka flicked her gaze away but her smile widened, “You look kinda hot with it down.”

“Hmph, I can’t tell if you’re being helpful or cheeky when you say stuff like that. But thanks, I guess. I still need to comb it out to fix it…”

“I’ll do it. ‘Sides, it’s ‘cause of my bike anyways. Plus you fixed mine.”

“That didn’t even take a minute though?”

“So? Still felt nice. Now sit your butt down and lemme help.” Vodka dragged out Scarlet’s chair from her desk and placed it in front of the mirror in their room. She then patted the back post, “C’mon, I’m not always this willin’ to help tame that mane of yours.”

“True… but you’re getting very suspicious with how nice you are tonight! You even paid for your half of dinner instead of trying to get out of it.” Scarlet let out a small huff but still took a seat. She loosened the fluffy light blue ties to her twintails and slid them off.

“Hey, what can I say? Finally getting a bike of my own put me in a good mood.” Vodka shrugged and grabbed Scarlet’s hairbrush. “Honestly, I’d be more weirded out if you were nice to me for a whole day.”

“And there it is.” Scarlet ran her fingers through her hair, spreading out the once tied locks back to their natural state. Well, as natural as they could be from being tied up all day and then pressed down by a helmet. “The way you run your mouth like that makes it impossible for me.”

Vodka chuckled lightly as she began brushing Scarlet’s long chestnut hair, “At least I’m honest unlike a certain Perfect Princess. Hey, don’t gimme that look! That’s one thing I don’t go blabbin’ ‘bout ‘cause I know it’s important for ya. I like pushin’ your buttons ‘cause it’s fun and you push mine plenty of times too. So we’re even.”

It was difficult for Scarlet to stay annoyed at Vodka for long with her brushing her hair after such an enjoyable ride and dinner. This might have been the first time in the years they were together that she was actually being spoiled and pampered by Vodka. All because of that new bike she got. It was a really nice motorcycle, as much as she hated to confess. “Hey…”

“Yeah?” Vodka’s eyes flicked up to look at Scarlet’s reflection in the mirror.

“The way you sped down the highway… I haven’t felt that kind of excitement since the Arima Kinen. It felt like I was running on the turf again. Not for training but an actual race.” A wistful sigh escaped Scarlet’s lips as she leaned back against the chair as Vodka continued brushing, “It never hit me how much I missed it. I’ve been burying myself in my studies or helping other students to distract myself. Anything to just…” she trailed off.

“Run away from the truth?” Vodka finished her partner’s thought.

Scarlet gave a slow nod, “Yes.” She tapped her left heel upon the floor, appreciating that there was no longer pain in her ankle after a year of reduced activity and rehab. “I can run again but it’ll never be like it was before. I don’t think I ever really fully accepted it until now.”

“Yeah. I could tell it was hard on ya…” Vodka finished brushing Scarlet’s long hair and gave her a pat on the shoulder before stepping away to put away her brush.

Scarlet turned her head to find Vodka staring at the ceiling with her hands on her hips, shoulders rising for a moment, then falling with a sigh.

“I felt like an ass still being able to run when you couldn’t. But we’re now in the same boat, heh. Took long enough.” Vodka ran a hand through her hair, turning around to face Scarlet again. Her expression was a bit downcast as she admitted, “Y’know why I wanted to get a bike so bad after I retired from the Twinkle Series? Because I never wanted to stop feeling that thrill I get when runnin’. I’d get straight up stir crazy. You’re a lot stronger than me when it comes to that. It’s really admirable. But I’m glad you felt the same rush I did when we were tearing down the highway!” Her gloom transformed into a bright grin as she recalled the ride, like a kid sharing their favorite toy.

Scarlet rose back to her feet, lightly shaking her head and running her hands through her hair, looking much better after the brushing. She’d have to remember to tease Vodka about admitting she said she looked hot with it down like this. One of the advantages of how she always ran that mouth of hers was catching unintended confessions. But that was for another time. “I still want to say thanks. For sharing that with me. You were actually thinking of that for me the whole time when I couldn’t race?”

“Of course! Winnin’ races for you is nice and all but they’re not a replacement for how it feels to be out there runnin’.” Vodka took a few steps closer to Scarlet to close the space between them and draped an arm around her shoulder. “This is just the start, Scarlet. I can’t tell you where we’ll end up but I’ll show you the excitement of makin’ your own path. Starting with a tour to remember!” She thrust her free arm out to some unknown horizon beyond the walls of their dorm room.

“I still don’t understand what you mean with your wayward path but if that tour’s as fun as tonight’s ride…” Scarlet took a turning step and grabbed Vodka’s leather jacket with a fanged smirk, “I want more of it.”

A short tug closed the gap between the two,Scarlet capturing Vodka’s surprised parted lips with her own. She felt Vodka’s arm slip from her shoulder to wrap around her waist, keeping their bodies right up against each other as she melted into the kiss.

Scarlet led with her tongue, invading Vodka’s mouth and tasting the lingering savory dinner they shared. She felt Vodka groan in pleasure, the fingers wrapped around her waist starting to clutch at the fabric of her dress. Scarlet’s hands slid up from the front of the leather jacket to wrap around her lover’s broad shoulders. Slowly, she pulled away from the kiss, with a lingering playful nip of Vodka’s bottom lip. “I think I’ll grow to like your new motorcycle and wandering after all. Especially since now we’re not chasing each other’s tails and I’m not waiting for you anymore.”

“C-cool…” Vodka chuckled with a flushed face and an excited swishing tail, “This is gonna be so cool!”

Just like a kid with a new toy.