Chapter Text
Solitude
Something McQueen craved ever since the ever so annoying Gold Ship came into her life. All the time, she would toy with McQueen, subjecting her to whatever insane ideas that come up inside that oh so confusing mind of hers. It was frustrating. She is of the Mejiro Estate, she practiced elegance and class to the point it was akin to breathing, but when it came to Gold Ship none of that mattered to that white-haired devil. This solitude-solitude she's yearned oh so much for-was finally hers. She should be elated!
Usually, she would be attached to McQueen at the hip, to the point where it was odd to see them apart! But as of recent, things have changed, as Gold Ship has been seen with more...eccentric umas. Of course she would still bother McQueen here and there, but not as often as usual, and often she would just straight up leave on a whim! Gold Ship had a life and friends outside of McQueen; Yes, she was quite the notable girl in Tracen, known for her racing prowess and her antics. McQueen knew this, and took no issue with this; Other potential targets for Gold Ship's pranks and not her all the time! But recently, it seems like Gold Ship has little interest in her anymore, and has been on a few ventures with a group of other umamusume. This fact, which should have granted the elegant Mejiro relief, unnerved her.
Am I getting boring for her? Does she not care about me anymore? Maybe my words cut too deep when I scolded her....
Thoughts raced her mind as she tried to pinpoint why exactly Gold Ship's interactions with her lessened outside of a scant few daily interactions. She then goes to think about the respective umamusume in Golshi's little troupe.
Nakayama Festa. Akin to Gold Ship in terms of her muscular build, quite handsome if I must admit, and just a bit shorter.... She tends to indulge in Gold Ship's antics and sometimes they just wander around looking for things to get into.... But I heard she's in kahoots with Tosen Jordan, so that rules her- wait why am I thinking about it in that regard!! Anyways, they seem to be just friends, and I suppose it is fun for Gold Ship to have someone who indulges in her buffoonery....
Orfevre and Dream Journey, sisters who are also in the group. Dream Journey is a good friend, and one for travel. Talking with her is quite nice! Her sister Orfevre is quite intense, known as the Tyrant; And for good reason.
As quickly as those 2 enter her mind, she quickly redirects her attention to two who catch her attention...and ire.
Fenomeno...she's quite the intense-looking one. She's a part of Tracen's Public Discipline Committee, along with Bamboo Memory, so she has very frequent run-ins with Gold Ship. She's a very serious uma musume from what I've seen, and she desires to be a police officer. A person with a level of discipline and a sense of authority...If that's not a prime Gold Ship target, I don't know what is! She's been subject to many of her antics, some things she doesn't even do to me! Why not me...? Am I too fragile for her? Does she think I'm not worth it? She's always had such an obsession with me, even before i joined spica, so what makes this girl so deserving of that more than me?! Wait, get it together Mejiro McQueen, you're better than this. Jumping to conclusions like some...insecure little girl is unbecoming of you. But...can I be blamed? After all I'm usually the one subjected to the more physical pranks, after such a long time of it...I can't help but feel some type of way when someone else gets that treatment....Speaking of someone else...
Stay Gold, the ring leader of the troupe. Everyone there respects and answers to her-even Orfevre! But when I said everybody, I meant everybody. Gold Ship seems to stop acting out entirely when it comes to her! Taming Gold Ship?? She consistently has run-ins with the student council, and her foolish edge hasn't been dulled by the likes of Air Groove! I can only make her calm down by acting out of line in public, and this girl can just do that with zero effort??
Jealousy ran rampant in her mind, and she only smothers her envious fire with one simple thought
Why do I care so much? I'm acting like she's my partner but...we aren't even together.
All this jealousy was pointless. Why was she so worked up? She didn't own Gold Ship, she had no way of dictating what she could or couldn't do (not like she'd listen anyway). But yet...she felt entitled to her. She liked everything Gold Ship did to her far more than she let on. She loved it all. She loved the way Gold Ship broke down her walls, saw her for her, paid no attention to the pretenses she set up. She loved the way Gold Ship dragged her places, made her enjoy delicacies she rarely got to eat-hell, she even ran around a city just so McQueen could eat a parfait without worrying about her weight!
She loved Gold Ship.
With her, nothing else mattered. Just the thrill of the moment. No need to worry about being a Mejiro, not worrying about class, all the discipline she has to make elegance akin to breathing. She could just be...Mac-chan.
And the very notion that someone else can experience the same things as her-no BETTER than her? The idea of Gold Ship being with someone else, hugging them with her muscular frame, seeing that smug smile after a successful prank, going on movie dates with them, lifting them up; all THAT. With somebody else that ISN'T McQueen? The very idea made her stomach churn. And she realizes...she's crying.
All this...over someone who potentially didn't even see her as anything more than a friend and a prank target. How unbecoming of her. But what else can she do? She's never felt this way about someone, let alone the likes of Gold Ship. But maybe
"I should just face reality." She whimpered. "Maybe I'm too much for her. After all, I am a Mejiro, so maybe dating someone like me is far too much for her. Oh, Gold Ship-san...."
"MCQUEEEEEEEEEEEEN!"
Speak of the devil, and she shall come. McQueen wipes her tears quickly and puts on her mask to disguise her pain, but at the same time she feels relieved that Gold Ship has arrived.
"G-Gold Ship-san!?"
"Let's go do something! I'm bored and I have absolutely nothing to do so...lets walk around town and see what adventures await us!" Golshi deviously grins as she looms over McQueen. "So whaddya say Mac-chan? I heard a new parfait dropped over by that little place you like to secretly frequent."
McQueen's heart skips a beat. Oh, Gold Ship...If only...."W-well...when you put it like that-wait, no! I refuse! A-and who told you I like going to that spot?! Are you some sort of stalker?! And besides," the mask cracks" Don't you have other people to go bother?"
"Hm?" Golshi questions "I've already clotheslined Jordan, what else is there to do?"
The jealousy rears its ugly head," Maybe that Fenomeno, or Stay Gold? You're always around them spending more time with them and doing things with them...."
"I mean I guess-wait." Ever-so perceptive, Golshi picks up on the iota of jealousy in McQueen's words. "You feelin' lonely or something?"
Saw through like a window. "T-that's not true! It's just...you've just been around more with them so I just thought that maybe..."
"Nuh-uh-uh! Can't get past me! You know how terrible you are at lying!" Golshi exclaims as she holds McQueen in place. "Now...tell me what's really up. Because something's telling me that this is way deeper than it looks."
Always so perceptive...nothing ever gets by her. Maybe...It won't be so bad...."It's nothing! Really! I just thought, you know, you would do something far more adventurous with them! You know, something that can truly sate your need for cha-"
"Mejiro McQueen."
Stunned into silence, she was.
"I know between my crazy pranks and stupid antics, I may seem to be an idiot. But I assure you princess, I'm not." McQueen's eyes widen as Gold Ship lays into her about her reservations "I'm quite the perceptive person you know. So nothing-nothing-gets past me. Tell me what's really wrong. I can see it on your face, and the faltering in your voice. The Mejiro McQueen I know wouldn't let this happen, that's why I know something is wrong." Gold Ship tilts McQueen's chin up. Magenta eyes meet Lavender. "So what's wrong, Mac-chan?"
Her lips purse. She wasn't built for such direct confrontation. And from Gold Ship of all people? She might just explode on the spot. But gazing up into Gold Ship's handsome face, her beautiful eyes. Now or never. She's conquered the Spring Tenno Sho twice, and she'll be damned she, Mejiro McQueen, can't conquer this. Especially when the opportunity to is standing right in front of her. Tears flow as the dam breaks.
"Gold Ship-san...the way you're so physical with Fenomeno...the way you answer to Stay Gold without any pushback...It pains me....I just want to be that way with you. I want to be the one you're that physical with, I may not be as physically strong as Fenomeno, but I promise I can handle it too. I want to be the one you answer to without hesitation, I know I may not mean as much as Stay Gold to you, but I don't care. Because, dammit...I love you, you white-haired, loud-mouthed, tall, muscular, handsome buffoon!"
The world freezes in time. Gold Ship-hell taken aback isn't even the word-is astonished. Not only because McQueen just poured her heart out to her, but the fact that she no longer has to hide these feelings as well.
"Heh, you certainly got a way with words, don't you princess?" Golshi smirks "To think...I have you so...well, like this. Man, I must be the best!" Old habits die hard, even in her most vulnerable moment, Golshi still manages to poke fun at McQueen. But just as quick as she jokes, she instantly locks in," But...this is a huge relief off my back too."
As Golshi cups McQueen's cheek in her hand and closes the distance, McQueen hesitates.
"Wait."
"What's wrong? You don't want this?"
"It's not that but...I would want this to not be for naught."
"Even when we're this close you still can't see? Jeez, you're even more oblivious than I thought. Mejiro McQueen," Foreheads meet, lips open up, waiting for each other," I've loved you since the day I laid eyes on you."
Lips meet, and the world falls away. Nothing else matters anymore. Just two yearning emotionally constipated fools kissing in the middle of the road next to a riverbank. Slow and sweet, relishing the moment. They finally got what they wanted. As they pull away, saliva creating a bridge between their mouths, they stare into the windows of their souls.
"So, was that good enough for you princess? Or do you want a take two?" Golshi jokes.
"As tempting as that sounds, I'm afraid I'll have to decline, because we need to set some house rules." McQueen's finger trails up Golshi's muscular frame and cups her hand around her cheek. "First off, I'M the only one who gets the physical pranks. Are we clear on that? No tackling other people, no clotheslining. None of it. That courtesy is reserved only for me."
"But Mac-chan!" Golshi whines. "Clotheslining Jordan is a part of my life! What about putting Kitasan in a headlock! DROPKICKING THE TRAINER???"
"I'll make an exception for those three. Those and those only. And given how you massively respect Stay Gold, I won't intrude on whether or not you answer to her, but I won't tolerate having to raise my voice for you to heed my word any longer. When I tell you to quit it the first time, you will do it the first time. Are we or are we not clear?"
"Jeez, never pegged you for a girl with a program...or the one wearing the pants in the relationship...but yeah, sure! Your words are law!"
McQueen's eyes furrow," You can do better than that."
"Y-Yes ma'am."
"Good girl."
Golshi's eye's widen, both in shock at McQueen's dominant demeanor as if she wasn't crying a couple minutes ago, but the fact that...she's oddly into this?
"Good girl huh..." Golshi thought. "I just hope she doesn't use that too often...otherwise I'm cooked!"
"Now that we have the rules established," McQueen gathers herself "I think I would like to travel the city. There's actually a new movie that I'd love to see!"
And just like that she's back to regular ol' McQueen...like she didn't just alter my brain chemistry...."Sweet! Lead the way!" As Golshi bows as butler would and beckons her to take her spot in the lead.
As they walk together, McQueen grabs Gold Ship's hand and smiles toward her. Gold Ship, in true Gold Ship fashion, flashes her all her pearly 32, getting a laugh out of McQueen. In the distance, another couple watches them walk away, spectators of the spectacle from beginning to end.
"Wow, you were absolutely right about those two, huh." Nice Nature scratches her head. "Guess that date's on me after all."
"Yup! McQueen's my bestie, of course I'd notice the way she got around Gold Ship!" Tokai Teio cheers. "That bet was rigged against you from the start! So...about that date...I wanna go to Bubblyland!"
"Bubblyland?!"
"Yup! I've heard about it a lot from Spe and Scarlet! So I've been dying to go there! C'mooon, won't you do it for your lovely girlfriend? You made the bet after all...."
"You're right about that...Oh well. Guess I gotta start saving money to go there."
"Yay! Now let's go get something to eat! I'm starving!" Teio begs as her and Nature start to walk off, head on her shoulder.
"First Bubblyland, then you want to get something to eat?! Honestly...you sure do ask for a lot. How does the President keep up with you?" Nature whines as she totally gives into her girlfriend's charms. "So...what is it that you want?"
"I don't know! But I'll eat anything you cook. I loooove your cooking! Just like I love you!" Teio cheeses at Nature.
"Haha...it still makes me think I'm dreaming every time you say it. The Monarch, telling average ol' me you love me. I love you too."