Work Text:
Pages fluttering in the breeze, rows of calculus wait to be attempted, but her mind stalls. It isn’t her first time attempting such a task, yet it towers over and pins her in place. Her fingers run through her hair again as she continues looking at the first question. This is going nowhere. Classes, races, her, it’d follow if she called it a day and went back to her dorm to celebrate another day of mediocrity. After all, what did any of it even matter if someone was going to overshadow her anyway? Teio takes a year off and wins the Arima Kinen while she gets third despite everything? Nature couldn’t bring herself to feel hate toward the champ, but reminiscing, it all felt like some cruel joke sharing the generation.
The shapes of the numbers remain on the paper in front of her, resembling eyes staring back, waiting for her to do anything with her time. If Teio was doing this, she’d gracefully bound over this hurdle with not an ounce of enthusiasm lost… Nature warmly smiles at the imagery of the monarch running a steeplechase with the questions as the hurdles. Against the likes of her, she’d probably fall flat on her face, but just being there with Teio would make it all worthwhile. Her presence was electrifying in every sense, her hair, her looks, her dance, the way she sang about that honey drink in the commercial, there wasn’t a single place her charisma originated from, either. Nature’s expression morphs into a muddled smirk, her thoughts almost shining through the skin as she finds somewhere in her bag to shove the untouched assignment… Fading away just as Teio completes the calculus steeplechase.
But there wasn’t much reason for the Tokai Teio to care about some third-rate Umamusume. As much of a friend Nature thought she was to her, she was probably another spectator compared to Mcqueen. The chain of thoughts repeats until all the warmth in her cheeks extinguish. Never enough, too insignificant, too late to tell her… Why do I do this to myself?
Like a flock of vultures, the thoughts pick away at her, one by one, until she’s a trembling husk. The Ritto dorm isn’t too far from the park she secluded herself in, but Nature can’t find it in her to leave. It all weighs down, sinking her back into the park bench.
Pages fluttering in the breeze, rows of calculus wait to be attempted, but her mind stalls. It isn’t her first time attempting such a task, yet it towers over and pins her in place. Her fingers run through her hair again as she continues looking at the first question. This is going nowhere. Classes, races, her, it’d follow if she called it a day and went back to her dorm to celebrate another day of mediocrity. After all, what did any of it even matter if someone was going to overshadow her anyway? Teio takes a year off and wins the Arima Kinen while she gets third despite everything? Nature couldn’t bring herself to feel hate toward the champ, but reminiscing, it all felt like some cruel joke sharing the generation.
The shapes of the numbers remain on the paper in front of her, resembling eyes staring back, waiting for her to do anything with her time. If Teio was doing this, she’d gracefully bound over this hurdle with not an ounce of enthusiasm lost… Nature warmly smiles at the imagery of the monarch running a steeplechase with the questions as the hurdles. Against the likes of her, she’d probably fall flat on her face, but just being there with Teio would make it all worthwhile. Her presence was electrifying in every sense, her hair, her looks, her dance, the way she sang about that honey drink in the commercial, there wasn’t a single place her charisma originated from, either. Nature’s expression morphs into a muddled smirk, her thoughts almost shining through the skin as she finds somewhere in her bag to shove the untouched assignment… Fading away just as Teio completes the calculus steeplechase.
But there wasn’t much reason for the Tokai Teio to care about some third-rate Umamusume. As much of a friend Nature thought she was to her, she was probably another spectator compared to Mcqueen. The chain of thoughts repeats until all the warmth in her cheeks extinguish. Never enough, too insignificant, too late to tell her… Like a flock of vultures, the thoughts pick away at her, one by one, until she’s a trembling husk. The Ritto dorm isn’t too far from the park she secluded herself in, but Nature can’t find it in her to leave. It all weighs down, sinking her back into the park bench.
“Yo, Natie!”
“Palmer, it’s Nature.”
If it weren’t for Teio, she likely wouldn’t be hearing it from anyone, though it’d be ridiculous to get so worked up over it. An extrovert was the last thing she needed, but there was something nice about seeing someone at the end of the day, not that she wouldn’t see her roommate later. For a moment, Nature isn’t sure if she’s supposed to go to her or wait for her to walk up to her, the later feeling a little ruder. Nonetheless, Palmer sticks an open hand in front of her with a cheery smile.
“Dap me up.”
Her hand reaches out toward Palmer’s, assuming she asked for a handshake, but as their palms connect, Palmer retracts and their fingers hook for a second. Nature wants to ask what dap meant; however, the former continues like they’re both on the same wavelength.
“Sorry about the name, I saw you doomgazing, so I thought I’d check on you.”
“Doomgazing…? Well, thanks, but you really didn’t have to.”
Nature’s fingers run through her hair again as her mind takes inventory of the new words.
“I’m totally fine, I was already going to leave, so if you need to go somewhere, you’re probably-”
It’s too late. Palmer slides into the chair across from her, a keychain with a small Helios cutie jingles as the rest of her bag descends under the table.
“Your ears were all drooping, there’s gotta be something bugging you.”
Palmer’s legs cross under the table, slightly leaning over the table with a curious expression. Nature tracks every movement, glancing from the corner of her eyes as she weighs her options. The comfort Palmer radiates in her approach makes a convincing argument.
“Fine, I just won’t go into detail…”
No matter how much she looks away and back, the visitor is still in front of her.
“So, I raced against her a few times…”
Checking, Palmer’s expression remains the same. The words take their time to formulate, giving Nature time to wonder if Palmer is the best person to tell this to.
“She’s the apple of everyone’s eye, but I’m probably not even worth being anywhere near her…”
Nature’s eyes drift between her fingers in her hair and Palmer, the usual cheerfulness on the latter’s face fading into something more sly as her voice trails.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Teio?”
Nature can almost hear Palmer laughing under her breath. A rush of embarrassment explodes under her cheeks, the single word causing every inch of her to jolt.
“Dude, we already went over this! Remember at the stump?”
“Okay, well… Tha—That’s not the problem this time!”
Nature shoots up from her bench, tail slapping it out of frustration as she leans over the table.
“Her record, looks, personality, it’s all perfect, but… I just don’t know if I’m the right person to talk to her… Doesn’t she deserve someone better?”
Having stated her woes, the thought of fleeing crosses her mind, but looking up to check on Palmer, Nature finds that her smile has dimmed, a more sympathetic expression taking place.
“Guess we’re in the same boat—how about I help you?”
Having said that, Palmer turns away and starts ruffling her hair. It was one thing for an extrovert to run into her, but now things were getting out of hand. Nature tries stopping Palmer, but a part of her hesitates.
“Help? Nonono, you really don’t need to help me! In fact, Teio’s busy right now, so we should actually start…”
Fingers push, mesh, and mould, finally straightening the white streak along her bangs over her head as she gets up and distances herself from the bench. Palmer’s improvisation leaves Nature dumbfounded, the figure before her barely resembling a certain monarch.
“Hachimi, hachimi… Is it close enough?”
Palmer awkwardly laughs to herself as she hops from one foot to the other. Her arms mindlessly swing from side to side, hardly knowing what to do with them, while her face turns a soft shade of red, matching the Umamusume across from her.
“I know she does something like this, I don’t have that dawg in me, haha~”
It’s nothing like Teio’s step, but Nature can’t help but dumbly grin and laugh along at the performance.
“Kheh—you’re supposed to be, like, marching or something…”
Inching closer to Palmer, Nature decides to give the game of charades a shot, her memory rewinding to the countless times she watched Teio closely, though the attempt turns up short when all she remembers is her face. She tries it for a moment, but her stiff movements make the dance seem more like a warm-up, forfeiting in almost no time. The other continues for slightly longer before giving up and sticks a peace sign at Nature, in another attempt to emulate.
“Well, you get the point. Just rizz me up like I’m Teio!”
Rizz, must be another one of those “words” her circle uses. The enthusiasm leaves Nature as she enters deep thought, crossing out weather and tasks from possible openings. A sense of stillness drones out between the two as they stare at each other, Palmer taking it as a sign to help her.
“Don’t think about it too hard, just tell me how you feel.”
Nature knows it’s obviously Palmer with her blaze to the side, but her blue eyes and the way she smiles at her reminds her of Teio too well to not try. Her feelings outweigh logic, her heart beating like it was the Arima Kinen all over again. Looks like we’re really doing this…
Even if it was only the two of them, it felt as if a crowd amassed out of thin air around Nature. The blue, expecting eyes on “Teio” didn’t help alleviate the pressure either.
“I obviously don’t like losing, but after getting to know you in our time racing, you became much more than a rival.”
A sentence in, Nature starts to doubt this being a good way to start a conversation, but if “Teio” wants to know how she feels, she might as well continue. Her surroundings start to blur as she reaches deeper into her mind
“You’re capable, smart, pretty—anyone can see that at a glance, but as I got to know you, perseverance became your most defining trait… The part of you that smiles and dances, regardless of how bleak things get, I can’t get enough of it.”
Nature felt herself growing lighter with each word, the mock confession feeling realer than she anticipated.
“If Umamusume are born to run, you are my reason to live. I'm third rate, I never won a G1, you probably think I'm like any other runner you triumphed against, but I feel so hollow without you and I never thought I'd be able to approach you because of it… To get to the point… I love you, Teio. In my time of getting to race against you, I've grown to cherish these moments in our lives, and I would like to share more of them with you…”
At this point, a light breeze would carry Nature back to her dorm. She could practically see how flush the silly role-play made her, tugging at her uniform to cool herself.
“So, uh, what do you think?”
Fidgeting with her hands as the adrenaline wears off, she waits for Palmer to respond, but a closer observation traces the latter’s blank stare behind her. Stepping back and carefully pivoting on her heels, a distinctive pair of blue and pink ribbons come into Nature’s view.