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Under a crisp autumn sky, the Uma Musume of Tracen Academy were busy with training — bearing down on the serious racing season that followed summer camp. Their energy filled the air.
One grey-maned Uma Musume, however, was walking around with no particular destination, stifling a yawn.
"Haaah... boring..."
Today was a rest day after a race, and her trainer had told her to take it easy. But "taking it easy" wasn't really in Gold Ship's vocabulary. The weather was too good to waste inside a room doing nothing — so she'd slipped out. The problem was that her usual companions were nowhere to be found: her trainer had vanished somewhere, and neither Fenomena nor Joan of Arc were around.
Normally she'd go explore the unknown reaches of campus by herself, but today she'd wanted company. Just one person.
She immediately thought of McQueen, then immediately shook her head.
"Nah, McQueen's off-limits right now... Teio's got like a six-foot security perimeter around her..."
She could still picture it vividly: the time she'd tried to drag McQueen out for a treasure hunt. Teio had materialized out of nowhere, attached to McQueen's arm, giving Gold Ship a stare that communicated very clearly that she was not taking McQueen anywhere. And McQueen — while technically chiding Teio for being rude — had been smiling. That traitor.
"Haah... is there anyone around who's free...? Oh." She stopped. "Hey, that one looks pretty bored."
Across the training area, she could make out a familiar profile standing motionless: chestnut-brown hair, upright posture, staring at the training field with unusual intensity.
Gold Ship jogged over.
"Yo, Just a Way! You free? Obviously you're free! Come on, let's go treasure hunting—!"
"..."
"Oi. Just a Way-kun. Ignoring me won't make me go away."
"..."
"I'm standing like two feet away from you. With my hand in front of your face."
"...Hm? Oh — Gold Ship." Just a Way finally turned. "Sorry, I wasn't paying attention. What is it?"
"What is it, she says. I've been standing here calling your name for like a minute. What were you staring at?"
"Ah — would you like to look as well?"
"Sure, why not."
Gold Ship followed Just a Way's gaze across the training field.
"...It's just a bunch of people training."
"Look more carefully. All of those girls training right now... they're grey-maned."
"..."
Oh boy, Gold Ship thought. Here we go.
"The two running together over there are Oguri Cap and Tamamocross," Just a Way continued, voice warm with something that was dangerously close to reverence. "Rivals who can't stand to lose to each other in competition, and yet they train together daily — sharpening each other's edge. Their grey hair catching the light as they push through the sweat... isn't that wonderful?"
"And over there — Biwa Hayahide and Narita Brian are having a conversation. People often say Brian makes Biwa's hair look big, but that's because they don't understand the sheer care and dedication that goes into maintaining that volume. The luminosity she achieves — truly remarkable."
"And in the corner — is that Seeking the Gold being scolded by King Halo again? She must've been caught napping during practice. But even her short grey-and-white coat is distinctive — it suits the sky, it suits the green of the grass, it suits everything around her. There's something beautiful in that."
"And furthermore—"
"You know," Gold Ship said, "normal people find one or two things to obsess over. You're doing the whole field."
"I simply appreciate what deserves to be appreciated."
"You're saying you'd be fine with any grey-maned girl, is that it."
"Not any girl, necessarily... but grey is grey, and there's beauty in all of it—"
"So basically yes."
Gold Ship absently pulled a strand of her own long, silver-grey hair forward and wound it around one finger.
She was well aware that her hair was one of the things in her life that she genuinely cared about. Long, naturally grey from birth, wild and alive — she wasn't vain about most things, but she thought her hair was something special. And it wasn't as though she hadn't noticed that Just a Way had a type.
What she hadn't fully acknowledged until right now, standing here watching Just a Way rapturize over half the training field, was that it bothered her.
The grey on the field wasn't her grey. And yet Just a Way was looking at all of it with the same warm, careful attention that Gold Ship had — at some point she'd apparently started wanting to be the only one receiving.
...Well, Gold Ship thought sourly. Would look at that. Can't laugh at Teio after all.
"...Oi."
"Hm? Did you say something, Gold Ship?"
"—!!! ...Nothing!! Come on, stop staring at other people's grey, your grey is right here—!!"
"What—? What do you—ow!!! Why are you suddenly in a headlock?!"
"Who knows! This is just what I feel like doing right now!"
"That is not a reason!! Let go—!"
They scuffled.
In the middle of it, Gold Ship spotted a familiar figure walking across the courtyard — lavender hair, graceful posture, McQueen — and notably, without Teio anywhere in sight.
"Oi, isn't that McQueen? Rare to see her without her security detail."
"McQueen? Ah — indeed. She looks lovely today as well. The color of her hair—"
"Alright, that's enough, I'm tired of hearing about other people's hair."
She'd said it a bit louder than intended. Just a Way had gone quiet.
"...Gold Ship?"
"Nothing. Let's go say hi."
"Oh — good afternoon. Just a Way... and Gold Ship."
McQueen had noticed them and smiled — with about fifty percent of her warmth reserved for acknowledging Gold Ship's existence.
"Hey there, McQueen — you ditching Teio for once?"
"I haven't 'ditched' anyone. I simply had an errand."
"Good afternoon, McQueen," Just a Way said, with a very different quality of attention in their voice. "Your hair is as beautiful as ever."
"Ah — thank you." McQueen blinked, a little nonplussed at the sincerity of it. "That's kind of you to say."
"Rather than standing here, would you care to join us at the café? I'd love to hear more about your recent races—"
"I'd be happy to."
"Ooh, look at you, just inviting her like that," Gold Ship said. "I'm right here, you know."
"You're welcome too, of course."
"Obviously I'm coming. Someone's gotta chaperone this."
They settled at a corner table in the cafeteria. McQueen and Just a Way fell into easy conversation — race analysis that swiftly became something closer to mutual enthusiasm, McQueen's eyes brightening as she talked. Gold Ship stirred her coffee with a Rubik's cube and said very little.
McQueen had mentioned Teio twice in the first five minutes, which Gold Ship had been tracking.
"...You know," Gold Ship said, setting down the cube, "I'm gonna step away for a sec."
"Hm? Going to the bathroom?"
"Something like that."
She stepped outside, pulled out her phone, and dialed.
It rang twice.
"Hello? What is it, Gold Ship?"
"Hey, Teio. Quick question — you know where your girlfriend is right now?"
"Hm? At the cafeteria, she said she had—"
"She's having tea with Just a Way and it looks real cozy."
"...I see."
The voice that came back was the same voice as before, technically. The same cheerful pitch. But it had gone several degrees colder, in the way that a clear sky goes dark right before a very dramatic weather event.
"...Exactly how cozy?"
"Pretty cozy. Lots of eye contact. I personally have no stake in this, just letting you know—"
"Where are they sitting?"
"Cafeteria, corner table—"
The call disconnected.
Gold Ship counted to ten.
Then she turned around and walked back inside, just in time to step aside as Teio came through the door from the other direction — not having come through the main entrance, just... appearing, as she did, with that supernatural speed of hers.
"Oh, hey Teio!"
"Hey." Teio's voice was flat. "Don't tell me there's nothing wrong."
"I mean..."
"There's nothing going on," Teio said, quietly, to herself, as if reassuring herself. "I know that. McQueen wouldn't — and Just a Way just likes grey-haired girls. But."
But apparently but was enough, because she was already moving toward the corner table.
Gold Ship watched her go. The pressure coming off her was frankly impressive.
"Wow," Gold Ship muttered, mostly to herself. "That's her possession mode, huh..."
She watched Teio approach. She watched McQueen's face do something complicated and guilty — and then she watched Teio's smile, which looked perfectly cheerful to anyone who didn't know her, land on the table like a thundercloud.
I live for the drama of this school, Gold Ship thought, and went to get a refill.
"Aren't you back quickly," Just a Way said when Gold Ship returned.
Gold Ship dropped back into her seat to find McQueen was conspicuously absent.
"The, uh — the two of them take off?"
"McQueen chased after Teio." Just a Way was watching the direction they'd gone with a slightly complicated look. "It seems Teio was... not pleased."
"Yeah."
"...I may have created a problem."
"I mean, Teio was the one who called—" Gold Ship stopped. "Actually, I was the one who called Teio. So technically."
"...Gold Ship."
"I'll write her a fruit basket."
Just a Way exhaled. Then: "We were just talking about racing. And McQueen's insight is genuinely exceptional—"
"I know, I know. You didn't do anything." Gold Ship shrugged. "It wasn't really about you."
"Teio's... rather possessive, isn't she."
"She's something, yeah." Gold Ship propped her chin on her hand. "What I don't get is, why doesn't she just stake her claim publicly? Big announcement? She's Teio, she could pull that off."
"Because," Just a Way said, quietly, "what she wants isn't just to have McQueen. It's to be... the person McQueen would always choose."
A pause.
"...Okay, when did you get wise?"
"I've thought about it," Just a Way said, and there was something else in their voice — something beneath the casual surface that Gold Ship had started to pay more attention to recently.
Gold Ship studied them for a moment.
"...Oi. You said you like grey-maned girls. You said it was because a grey-maned girl inspired you to look at all the others, right?"
"That's essentially correct."
"Which one inspired you, then?"
Just a Way looked at the table.
"...I won't say."
"Now? After dangling it like that?"
"...Some things are better kept inside until I can say them properly." Just a Way looked up. Their expression was calm. "When I've become someone who can stand beside that person with confidence. When I'm ready to be honest."
There was something quiet and certain in it.
Gold Ship held their gaze for a second. Then, for some reason, her face felt a little warmer than usual.
"...I'll tell you eventually," Just a Way added. "When the time comes."
"That's massively annoying."
"I know. I'm sorry." Just a Way stood, then — and Gold Ship blinked, surprised, when they reached over with both arms.
"Wh—oof, hey—"
Just a Way had lifted her out of her chair. Gold Ship found herself braced against Just a Way's shoulder, feet dangling slightly.
"I promised I'd go on the treasure hunt," Just a Way said, already walking. "Lead the way."
"Put me down! I can walk, you enormous—"
"You said you wanted company."
"Not as a portable situation! I have legs! They function!"
"You've been patient enough today. I'll indulge you."
"THAT'S NOT — okay fine but I'm deciding the direction—"
"Of course."
"Come on, stop dragging your feet!"
"Then please put me down—"
Gold Ship's laughter rang out across the courtyard. And even as she complained about being carried, she was not, strictly speaking, trying very hard to escape.
Whatever it was that Just a Way was keeping secret — whoever had first made them notice grey hair in a crowd — Gold Ship wasn't sure she needed to know.
What she did know was that being looked at like that, even sideways, even incompletely, was something she hadn't realized she'd been wanting.
...And, she thought, being swept up and carried around like luggage is apparently something I'm fine with too. Note to self.
"Where are we even going?!"
"Somewhere interesting! I'll know it when I see it! Now keep up—"
"You're the one carrying me at shoulder height!"
"Minor detail!"
The autumn sun hung golden and warm above them, and the two of them disappeared around the corner of the building in a tangle of laughter and protest.
Bonus Scene
"Teio... please look at me."
"Hmph."
"...Teio."
McQueen had been chasing Teio across half the campus, and she'd finally caught up to her in the courtyard behind the sports equipment storage — Teio sitting on a low wall with her back to McQueen, ears slightly flattened.
"You're not being fair," Teio said, without turning.
"I know. I lost track of time, and I completely forgot we had plans. That was wrong of me."
"We were supposed to do the game tutorial together."
"I know. I'm sorry." McQueen came closer. "I'll make it up to you. Tomorrow after class, if you're free—"
"You could've remembered before I had to find you."
"...You're right. I could have."
A long pause.
Teio still hadn't looked at her.
McQueen reached out and put her hand on Teio's shoulder, gentle. "Teio. I know I've been taking your time for granted. And it's not an excuse that I enjoy talking about you — I should have left to come find you rather than letting myself get absorbed. I won't do it again."
Another pause.
"...Fine," Teio said finally.
"Thank you."
"You owe me a game session."
"First thing tomorrow."
"And I pick what we play."
"Whatever you like."
Teio finally turned — and whatever expression she'd been wearing had shifted to something she was trying to hide. She looked at McQueen from under her lashes.
"...You're lucky you're cute."
"I — what—"
"McQueen—" Teio reached up, grabbed McQueen's collar, and pulled her close, pressing her lips to McQueen's before she could finish the protest.
McQueen went still.
The kiss was brief — warm and just slightly demanding and over before either of them had properly processed it.
Teio let go.
"Okay," she said, already looking elsewhere. "Truce."
"..." McQueen touched her own mouth. "...That's — Teio, we were in public—"
"Nobody saw."
"That's not the—"
"C'mon. Let's go back to the room and I'll show you that game."
"Teio—" McQueen exhaled hard. "Fine. But next time warn me."
"Where's the fun in that."
"...Honestly."
Teio's smile had gone entirely warm, and she reached over to take McQueen's hand.
McQueen — against her will, completely — let herself smile back.
Honestly, she thought. But she held the hand.
Fin