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The morning light slipped through the curtains like a warm hand brushing my cheek. I had chosen the calm gray curtains myself, though they also reflected my lover's serious insistence that proper blackout and security measures were non-negotiable.
Our apartment was a one-bedroom, a little roomier than a studio. Woodgrain floors, with rugs scattered here and there—ones I had bought on impulse. On the far wall hung framed photos from winning lives, my favorites. My lover insisted they were embarrassing, but to me they were a source of pride.
The kitchen, on the other hand, had a very lived-in feeling. Mugs I always forgot to put away cluttered the shelf. The fridge was always stocked with pudding meant for children, though neither of us spoke much about who kept buying it.
And in that morning living room, my lovable little sweetheart stood hunched over in front of the mirror.
She was fumbling with a tie, collar spread open, trying her best to manage it with awkward hands. It was so unlike her usually orderly, officer-like movements that she looked more like a child trying to complete some secret craft project.
"...No, that's not right... not like this..."
Every time she lifted the tie in those large hands and tried to form the knot, it tipped unevenly to one side. The loop would not pass through cleanly, the cloth twisted, and her shoulders drooped. Navy blue, apparently inherited from her father. Today was important, she had said, and so she had pulled it out—but...
"...To think an officer of my caliber would be thwarted by something so trivial...!"
She muttered it under her breath. The gesture was so adorable that I could not help softening. I watched in silence for a while, but eventually I moved closer.
"...Meno, are you okay?"
Umamusume are supposed to hear far better than humans, but she must have been too absorbed in the tie to notice me. Her shoulders jumped, and she snapped to attention on reflex.
"G-good morning, Boss! I was merely making my final preparations...!"
"Mm. Good work, up so early. But your tie's tangled again."
With that, I walked over carrying the coffee I had just poured. She glanced away, embarrassed. It was so cute it made my chest go warm, and I felt a smile rise before I could stop it.
"H-however, this was passed down from my father, and I ought to be able to put it on properly with my own two hands—"
"Yes, and that's admirable, but you've mangled it so many times the fabric's starting to look tired."
"Ngh...!"
It was not even a scolding, only a plain statement of fact, but Fenomeno's shoulders sank all the same.
"Stay still. I'll do it for you."
At those words, her body stiffened ever so slightly. I stepped up in front of her. She looked at me with sleepy eyes, and though my heart skipped, I reached out and began straightening the tie. Each time I folded, threaded, and adjusted the cloth, my breath brushed faintly against her chest.
"You're putting too much force into the straight parts. With a tie, the trick is knowing how to relax a little."
"Hrm... Boss, you seem strangely practiced at this."
"I used to do it for my younger brother. Then—like this."
As I said it, my fingers moved lightly. I placed a hand at her throat, slid my fingers gently along the layered fabric, pulled with just the right amount of force, balanced both ends, then smoothed the shape with a caress. It had been a long time since I had last touched a tie, but apparently the body remembers.
I let my shoulders relax and leaned in just a little. Close enough to feel her body heat. My fingers slipped into the knot and gave it the final, soft tightening touch.
Smoothly.
A single motion, as effortless as breathing. Soundless. Perfect.
"There. Easy, right?"
When I looked up with a smile, Meno only blinked in silence, utterly stunned. In the mirror, the two of us looked for all the world like a married couple who had spent years side by side, and before I could think better of it, the words slipped out.
"...Doing this for you kind of makes us look like newlyweds."
The words dropped between us naturally, sweetly—
"Wha—!?"
Fenomeno's face flushed bright red in an instant.
"N-newlyweds means—that is, that Boss and I would be in a legal state of marriage—!?"
The tie ceased to matter altogether. Her limbs flailed, her words tumbled over one another.
"No, that's not—I just meant, as a comparison, like in the morning, I just—"
I faltered and tried to take it back, but in that moment a silence fell between us. Embarrassing, yes, but warm somehow. I looked away and murmured:
"...But, you know. I have imagined it, just a little. If it really were like that. Spending our mornings together like this, tying your tie, seeing you off... living that kind of life."
"I-I have too!!"
"Wah—!?"
"I have as well! I very strongly wish to marry you someday, Boss—!"
"Meno, wait, it's morning—too early for that volume—!"
I clapped a hand over her mouth. The stillness beyond the curtains seemed to hold the two of us in place. At this hour, it was impossible not to be conscious of the next room over.
"Mmph—nn, mmph..."
"I know that one was my fault, but please, for the love of everything, let us proceed in stages before we jump to meeting both families...!"
Meno nodded furiously, face crimson.
...And so our room stood filled with morning air, now beginning to carry the scent of everyday life mixed with a future just a little way ahead.