Diamond no Ace
I couldn't help myself. I had to make a oneshot collection for furusawa since it's quickly growing on me. They're just really cute together. Then, to make matters worse, it seems that chrisawa and harusawa (Haruichi x Eijun) are also getting a small little oneshot collection. Since school was cancelled because an ice storm, I was able to post this early. So, yeah, there will also be some AUs.
So, thanks for checking out my stuff and please excuse my grammatical errors. Baseball anime has taken over my life and I'm just trying to get rid of some of these feels. Also, the cover image does not belong to me and if you would like me to post the source, I will gladly do so.
You're not Alone
The air was cold, the sky was cloudy and the entire place was slowly being covered by white snow. It was falling down lightly, but it's steady pace was enough for it to pile up on the ground. He was standing in the middle of it, extending his hand so he could get a glimpse of the small pieces of snowflakes. Snow always reminded him of his home back in Hokkaido. It always brought him memories he didn't want to remember and painful memories that he was unable to forget. The cold snow resembled his loneliness and his desire to have a friend.
He remembered asking one person after another if they could play baseball with him. However, they would refuse each time, complaining that it was impossible to play with a person like him. For that reason, they would shut him out and exclude him from games. He would stand in the sidelines, watching everyone giving their all. It was only natural that he began to feel envious of them because they were denying him the one thing he wanted the most. He wanted to pitch. He wanted someone to play baseball with him.
"Hey, what are you doing here all by yourself?!" Someone slapped him hard in the back, startling him and snapping him from his thoughts. He turned around to find Eijun standing right behind him with strange look on his face. "C'mon, let's go inside! You're going to get sick out here! It's freezing cold! How can you even stand out here with such light clothing?!"
Eijun shivered despite his thick coat and pulled his hat down some more to cover his ears. Unlike him, he was also wearing some gloves with a scarf wrapped around his neck. He didn't know if it was because of the cold or not, but Eijun's cheeks and his nose were faintly colored red. Rubbing his hands together, Eijun tried his best to keep warm.
If he hadn't come to Seidou, then he never would have known what it was like to be part of a team. He wouldn't have known what it was like to pitch. He still had a lot to learn and he knew that what awaited him the future wasn't going to be easy. However, he didn't really mind because for the first time in a long time he was experiencing something called happiness. For one, he had a catcher and then he had a bunch of teammates that played behind him. They supported him, encouraged him, making sure he didn't stumble on his own. He wasn't alone.
Letting out a small smile, Furuya turned to look at the boy that was next to him. He was kicking the snow around with his hands stuck inside his pockets. He was avoiding looking at him which was nothing really uncommon. They were suppose to rivals since both of them were fighting for the same spot, but they both learned to tolerate each other and they both had their own little ways to show they supported one another. Half of the time Eijun would scream to the coach to switch him in his place. Other times he would impatiently sit in the bench, looking and waiting for his turn on the mound. Then, there were times, when he would angrily cheer him on, telling him to not give up or else he was going to come in.
"I'm from Hokkaido." Furuya suddenly told him, looking down at the white soft snow. "I'm already used to this cold."
"I hate it." Eijun complained, but instead of going inside, he stayed there with him for some reason. He leaned down and picked up a small pile of snow to make a snowball. He held it like if was a baseball and Furuya could see a spark lighting up in his eyes. He could also see his heavy breathing because of the cold atmosphere. "I want it to be summer so we can play again! I want to feel the summer heat as I stand on the mound! This time I'm going to make sure no one gets a hit out of me!"
Furuya stared at him blankly, wondering if he knew how unrealistic his words sounded. Then again, if that was Eijun's goal, then his would be to not give the mound to anyone. With this thought in mind, Furuya smirked and was about to go back to his dorm room when he felt something cold hit the side of face. He turned around to realize that Eijun had thrown the snowball at him.
"What are you laughing at?!" Sawamura yelled at him, making a scene like always. Furuya glared at him, but he didn't say or do anything. He didn't have the energy to put up with him. Shrugging his shoulders, Furuya was about to leave again when he felt another snowball hit him. However, that particular one landed on his back.
Annoyed, Furuya turned to Eijun again who was getting to throw him another one. "Hey! I'm talking to you!" He exclaimed, furrowing his eyebrows and threatening him with the snowball. "Don't ignore me! I'm being serious! Just watch I'll be the best pitcher and-"
Furuya didn't let him finish because he had slammed a snowball toward him and of course, because of his strong arm, Eijun ended up stumbling back a little. This made him more than angry and in turn, he created his biggest snowball yet. It was clear to Furuya he had just engaged himself in a mini war with the idiot. Staring at him intensely, Eijun threw the snowball at him with all his might and even though it curved in rather strange way, Furuya was easily able to dodge it. He wasn't about to let Eijun hit him a third time.
After that, Eijun charged toward him, but he didn't seem that angry anymore. He was laughing and smiling, throwing snowballs at him like crazy. Furuya really didn't want to play along with him. He was feeling rather down and nostalgic because of the snow. He never played with someone in such manner when he was young, so it was strange for him. However, the smile on Eijun's face gave him warmth. His laughter kept telling him that he wasn't alone. Furuya was so lost in thought that he was unable to dodge one of Eijun's snowballs. It smacked him straight in the face, rubbing into his eyes. Somehow, he ended losing his balance, making him fall on top of the cold snow.
"Ha! I got you!" Eijun laughed triumphantly as he walked over to him. He held out his hand to help him stand up, but Furuya could only stare at it with awe. Was this what it was like to have a friend? "C'mon, let's go inside. It's freezing out here."
Furuya didn't say anything and instead of standing up, he pulled Eijun hard enough so that he would fall into the snow next to him. Of course, he immediately threw a tantrum and started exclaiming how he had taken advantage of his kindness. Furuya ignored him since he was already used it. However, when Eijun grabbed his coat and started shaking him back and forth, Furuya let a small smile escape from his lips. He didn't know if Eijun considered him as something more than teammate, but he certainly saw him as friend. Aside from Miyuki, Eijun was probably the only other person that knew how to deal with his low energetic personality.
"Well, at least you're feeling better now. You've been so out of it lately." Eijun patted his back again in a much more gentle manner than before. Furuya didn't know that Eijun had come all the way out there just to cheer him up. In a complete daze, Furuya turned to look at Eijun who was playing around with the snow like a small child. Still, he looked so happy despite his sudden outburst rage. There was no doubt about it. Eijun was probably just as strange as him.
"I guess it's not so bad, huh?" Eijun commented again, letting the snow slip through his fingers. He looked up at the sky and for some reason, when Eijun turned to give him a goofy looking grin, his heart skipped a beat. "I don't like the cold much, but the snow can be really pretty. Especially today. It's been snowing like this for a while now."
"Yeah." Furuya looked up at the sky as well, but in reality he didn't find the snow as beautiful as Eijun claimed it was. His bitter memories soured the scenery, making his chest swell up with something similar to pain. "I guess so."
"Hey, I know!" Eijun suddenly exclaimed plopping up to his feet. Furuya looked up at him curiously, wondering what was wrong with him now. He definitely knew how to change topics easily. Eijun motioned him to stand up and before he ran out of patience, Furuya decided to do as he said. "Let's build a snowman! I haven't done this since I was a kid and I remember my friends and I were always competing! We were always trying to see who could build the biggest one and of course, I was usually the one who won! You're probably good at it, huh? Since you're used to the snow and all."
"I've never made one before." Furuya admitted quietly which caused Eijun to tilt his head with some confusion. Then, he turned to look to at him, his smile slightly dropping. Furuya didn't know why he was so surprised when he already knew that he had little to no social interactions. "I don't know how to make one."
"Fine! Then we'll make one together! You can help me. There's just enough snow to make a small one." Eijun said and despite his quivering hands, he bent down to form a huge pile of snow. Furuya walked toward him, watching silently as Eijun worked hard while he was unsure of what he was suppose to do. "Ah! We gotta hurry before the others find us! They'll probably make fun of us for it. Especially Miyuki. Ugh, I can already hear his sarcastic laughter. I swear that guy can be so annoying sometimes."
Kneeling down a bit, Furuya watched as Eijun rounded his first pile of snow. He was pretty good and even though it was just a snowball, Furuya was still kind of impressed. Since he wanted to help out, Furuya looked around his area, picked up a lump of snow with his bare hands and handed it to him. Eijun looked at his effort, smiled, and said, "Thanks!"
Why was it that he felt so happy just by being there with him? He wasn't pitching. They weren't playing baseball, so why? He didn't understand. Eijun was his friend, but he didn't know if he was the cause of his sudden nervousness. Eijun scooted himself a little bit more and started pulling together a smaller pile of snow. He rounded it just like before, briefly stopping to warm up his hands. Once the shape was nicely set, he placed it on top of the first pile. He looked at with joy before he turned to look at him. "You make the third one. Just gather a small pile of snow and put on top of those two. I'm going to go look for some sticks and stones. I mean, he at least needs to have eyes and hands, right?"
Eijun stood up and walked away, leaving him alone there with the half finished snowman. Following his instructions, Furuya carefully piled up some snow just like the way Eijun had before. However, he was unable to get it round enough. Whenever he tried to press the snow together, the snowball would crumble and he would have to start over. After many attempts, Furuya was able to get the snowball the way he wanted. He carefully placed it on top of the second one, making sure he didn't crush it along the way. Even though it seemed a bit small, he was pretty proud of his accomplishment.
When Eijun came back, he placed two small stones for the eyes. Then, he broke the stick in half for the arms. They both got up after that and looked at their snowman. It was missing a nose and a mouth, but overall it looked pretty good. "There. See that wasn't so hard, right?! Anyways, let's go inside already. It's freaking cold and I'm gonna die out here!"
With this, Eijun waved goodbye and motioned him to come along, but Furuya stayed back to look at the snowman that they had both built. Making sure Eijun didn't see, Furuya approached it and slowly curved a smile on it with his finger. It was barely visible, but he knew it was there.
Then, he quietly whispered to himself, "You're not alone."
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