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“…Fwah… Is it morning…?”
I woke to the rattling sound of the window. When I looked outside, the sky was in a terrible state.
The moment I slowly sat up, a sharp ache ran through my head.
“…Ow…”
I am usually fine when it rains, but when the weather is as rough as it was today, such as when a typhoon is approaching, I often suffer headaches, perhaps because of the air pressure.
Holding my aching head, I climbed out of bed and searched the drawer for medicine. Unfortunately, it seemed I had none left.
“…Come to think of it, I have not had many occasions to use it recently, so I forgot to restock…”
Strangely enough, even when the weather had been terrible lately, I had not been getting headaches. I tried to think back and recall when that had started, but the pain kept my thoughts from turning properly.
Then I happened to look at the bed beside mine, where she should have been sleeping with her usual quiet breaths. She was not there. I glanced at the clock. Its hands pointed to six-thirty.
“Ah, that is right… She said she would do strength training in the morning…”
I let out a sigh and hurriedly changed into my uniform. In truth, I wanted to rest, but I could not allow myself to take the day off over something this minor.
⏰
My throbbing head nearly made me grimace, but I somehow kept my expression calm as I walked down the hall. Even so, it must have shown on my face somehow, because the girls who passed me looked at me with concern, and occasionally with fear. Do I really look that displeased…?
I continued to the dining hall, where Gold Ship-san noticed me and walked over.
“Oh! If it ain’t McQueen! What’s with that cranky look on your face?”
“Gold Ship-san… Does my face look like that?”
“Yeah. You’ve got the same face you make when you’re cutting weight or when you couldn’t buy the sweets you wanted.”
“That is not—!! …Ow…”
I nearly raised my voice without thinking, and pain stabbed through my head. Seeing that, Gold Ship-san peered into my face with concern.
“Hey, hey, you okay, McQueen? You feeling sick or something?”
“…Yes, I have a slight headache…”
“That ain’t the face of someone with a slight anything… You should go to the infirmary.”
“Thank you for your concern… But I will be all right…”
“Yeah, but…”
“Huh? What’s up with you two?”
A new voice called out to us. When I turned toward it, Teio stood there in her jersey. The moment I saw her, strangely enough, I felt as if the pain in my head eased a little.
“Nah, McQueen here’s—”
“Good morning, Teio. Have you finished your strength training already?”
“Yeah, I just finished and took a shower. More importantly, what’s wrong, McQueen?”
“Nothing, I merely had a slight headache…”
“Huh!? Are you okay!?”
“Yes. It has eased a little, so there is no problem.”
Teio looked a little relieved, while Gold Ship-san stared at my face with her mouth hanging open. She looked as if she wanted to say something. What could be the matter?
“Then, McQueen, you haven’t had breakfast yet, right? Let’s eat together!”
“That sounds good. I shall join you. What about you, Gold Ship-san?”
“Nah… I’m good… Watching you two gives me heartburn… (She looked like she was about to die a second ago, but the moment Teio shows up she’s all smiles, huh…)”
“? Did you say something?”
“Nope… Nothing. See ya…”
With one hand over her mouth and her complexion looking rather poor, Gold Ship-san staggered off somewhere. As I watched her go, Teio addressed me with a puzzled look.
“What’s with Golshi?”
“Who knows… Well, never mind that. Shall we go, Teio?”
⏰
After that, we ate breakfast, went to class together, and attended our lessons, but…
“(This is bad… It is beginning to hurt again…)”
The pain in my head had returned. Until just a little while ago, when I had been with Teio, I had been fine…
I tried enduring it, thinking the pain might ease after a while, but it showed no sign of letting up. In the end, I had no choice but to ask the teacher for permission and leave early for the day.
I returned to our room, changed into my sleepwear, and crawled into bed.
In the dark, quiet room with no one else inside, the only sound was the rain continuing to fall outside. You, who would normally be in this room with me, were in class now.
That was only natural, of course, but it felt a little lonely. As I lay in bed thinking such things, my eyelids gradually grew heavy.
“…Tei…o…”
When I murmured that, I thought I heard the sound of the door opening, but my consciousness slipped away.
“McQueen, are you here…? Oh, there you are.”
McQueen had left class midway through and never returned, so I asked the teacher and heard that she had gone back early because she wasn’t feeling well. After that, I bought various things at the school store and hurried back to our room. Inside the bag were sports drinks and sweets that McQueen would probably like.
When I entered the room, you were there, sleeping with quiet breaths. But you looked somehow unwell… Come to think of it, you said this morning that you had a headache. Did it get worse?
After putting the things I bought into the refrigerator, I knelt beside McQueen. When I gently stroked her cheek, McQueen gave a soft, melted smile, and I smiled too.
“You’re so cute, McQueen…”
As I watched her and stroked that smooth hair, a good idea came to me.
I quietly lifted the blanket and slipped in beside McQueen. Carefully, I slid my arms around from below and hugged her. Your sweet scent drifted softly around me.
“Hehe… Since I’m here anyway, maybe I’ll just sleep like this too.”
When I said that and looked at McQueen’s face, you seemed somehow peaceful as well. I gently kissed your forehead.
“Good night, McQueen. Sweet dreams.”
Then I closed my eyes. I should not have been especially sleepy, but holding you like this made me feel so calm that, in only a few seconds, I fell asleep.
“Mmm… I slept so well… Huh? Teio?”
The evening sunlight shining through the window woke me. When I slowly opened my eyes, the sleeping face of the person I loved filled my entire field of vision. Teio slept with steady, quiet breaths, and both of her arms were wrapped around me as if she had no intention of letting go.
…How strange. I am certain I had been sleeping alone.
As I gazed at her in a half-asleep daze, Teio made a small sound and slowly opened her eyes.
“Fwah… Ah, good morning, McQueen… Did you sleep well?”
“Y-yes… Teio, why are you here with me?”
“Mm… I came to check on you, McQueen, but you looked kind of sick while you were sleeping, so I thought maybe if I hugged you while you slept, you could relax.”
“I see…”
“So… Are you okay now? Does your head still hurt?”
“Yes, thanks to you, it has completely gone away… It seems I was able to sleep soundly because of you. Thank you, Teio.”
“Really? I’m glad. Then… should we get up?”
Teio asked me that with a gentle expression, but… I wanted to remain in the comfort of her arms just a little longer.
“…No. Let us stay like this a little longer… When I am with you like this, I feel calm…”
“You’re such a spoiled girl, McQueen… Your face is red, you know?”
“So is yours, Teio.”
“…I guess we’re the same, huh?”
“Indeed we are.”
“Haha.”
“Hehe.”
With our noses touching, the two of us laughed softly together.
The time we spend competing in races, or going on dates and making each other’s hearts race, is wonderful too. But spending these ordinary moments together, just the two of us, makes me unbearably happy…
After that, the two of us began sleeping in the same bed almost all the time. Once we started doing that, neither of us ever felt unwell, and our race results improved too. It brought nothing but good things.
…However, there was one small side effect. On mornings after we could not sleep together, such as when one of us was away on an expedition, we were both in terrible condition.
When that happened, we would try to meet first thing in the morning and recover by hugging each other. If an expedition lasted several days, we decided the other would accompany the one going away.
When rumors of that spread and I heard that everyone at the academy was secretly calling us an idiot couple, my face turned bright red with embarrassment and I felt as though I might die of shame. But Teio’s hugs are irreplaceable… and part of me was happy to be called that, so I decided it was fine.
And today, once again, the two of us fall asleep holding each other.
Feeling the person I love just inches away,
Feeling my lover’s warmth in my arms,
“Good night, McQueen.”
“Good night, Teio.”
May these happy days continue forever.
Fin