A/N: I posted this on ao3, but figured I'd post it here too. Just giving some furusawa love because I haven't written it in so long and I want to write them better ;-;! This has some switching of perspectives because I wanted to include other people's views instead of the main pair. Oh and just a warning, this has very brief spoilers (like three minor details throughout the story, not sure if it's noticeable, really nothing major in my opinion) so if you care about that stuff then I suggest you don't read this. Okay, byebye.
Miyuki notices it first.
It's when Sawamura and Furuya stop asking him for extra catching sessions after practice. He doesn't think anything of it the first few days, especially because lucky him, he gets to relax and catch up on his much needed alone time. Especially because he never really gets a wink of sleep with Sawamura barging into his room uninvited in the early mornings. Seriously, the kid needs to use that energy elsewhere and leave him alone and not get an injury while he's at it. He feels a little sorry for whoever ends up with Sawamura for the rest of their lives because they'll be getting forced awake at early hours.
Except that after a few days it starts to become a little too convenient. Miyuki even goes as far as being purposefully available for Sawamura because he figures Sawamura is the easier of the two between him and Furuya. The kid's an open book so he can definitely tell when something's up.
Sawamura doesn't even give him any type of acknowledgment, even after practice is done with so Miyuki says, quite loudly with a small smirk, "I'm up for some extra practice. Want to practice on the numbers, Sawamura?"
And yes, he thinks he has him right where he wants him, because Sawamura is hesitating with his steps whereas some seconds before he was rushing out and this has always been Sawamura's weakness. It's what has kept him coming back for more, because this is their thing and no other catcher knows Sawamura as well he does, though he's hoping Okumura will eventually take that spot. He sees Sawamura stop fresh in his tracks, his back still facing Miyuki, and he hears a low whine, his shoulders slump, and Sawamura whines, turns around with a pout and shakes his head with a whisper of, "not tonight Miyuki-senpai, sorry."
And boy does Miyuki's jaw drop. He can clearly see the restraint on the boy. He can't help his awe though because Sawamura would never skip out on extra practice especially because Furuya has been having more time with Miyuki lately due to him carrying the ace number. So this, this completely throws Miyuki off and before he can even ask what the hell is going on with him, Sawamura picks up his pace from where he left off and dashes right out of the bullpen successfully evading any further conversation.
Weird.
So he tries with Furuya next, except Furuya easily tells him he's working more on his running lately and that he's going to meet up with Sawamura at the track because while he's made progress on his stamina, Sawamura is still quite ahead in that department.
Okay so, usually Miyuki would let it go because those idiots have had this obvious rivalry since their 1st year, except he also knows Furuya very well, as well as he knows Sawamura, or at least he likes to think he does but Furuya does tend to be a bit more reserved and despite Sawamura and Furuya being polar opposites, Furuya is also an open book when it comes to his greed for pitching. So yes, Miyuki is definitely suspicious despite Furuya's cool demeanor. Because the way he dismisses Miyuki—Miyuki sees a small flash of something in Furuya's eyes, like he's in a rush to get to the track and Miyuki's being that one nuisance stopping him from getting to his destination.
He wants to be amazed and proud of his ace's dedication but really, he feels there's something more and Miyuki feels a little offended because he's quite used to Furuya and Sawamura fighting over him as their catcher. This is the part where Kuramochi would probably throw a jab at him and ask him if he's lonely or feeling neglected by his two pitchers. Ugh.
He decides to simply follow them one night because that's what he does when he wants answers. That's when he catches a sight he supposes is none of his business but he really had to know what the hell was going on, can anyone blame him? He doesn't blame himself. Except he slightly regrets this now. It isn't like they're kissing or anything but—the scene seems a bit too intimate for his taste and Miyuki's seen a lot of physical contact between his teammates, especially in the baths, but this, this is something warm and tender—something that seems to be a secret between the two usual loud pitchers. While Sawamura's brash on the field, Furuya's strength alone is loud enough to cover the field with no need for words. It's a completely different kind of attention grabber in comparison to Sawamura's usual magnetism.
He supposes he can use this to his advantage at some point though because the way both boys are sitting side by side holding their knees against their chests with their faces turned towards the moon on the damn track—they're getting along far better than Miyuki's ever seen them get along and he'd mostly expect this from Sawamura and Kominato or even Furuya and Kominato, but not these two polar opposites that butt heads without even trying. Miyuki decides to stay just a few minutes more before he decides to crash their little night after party because he needs to sleep and so do those idiots and he really doesn't need all of them getting into trouble with the next upcoming games.
He hears them quietly talking amongst themselves, sees Sawamura animatedly talking to Furuya about something while Furuya just gives Sawamura all the attention in the world and it amazes Miyuki how Furuya can just sit there and focus on his rival's voice, on every word being said without getting annoyed or ignoring him like he usually does and this is what Miyuki means by intimate.
Furuya's looking at Sawamura like he's the only thing that matters at the moment, like they hadn't stopped catching their breaths or stopped profusely sweating by cooling down together a while ago. They should be at the baths, but instead they're sitting and talking while looking over at the moon every once in a while. It sounds almost romantic to Miyuki, which brings out a low chuckle in him.
One minute's up and he briefly notices that Sawamura's stopped talking and that Furuya is getting a little closer to Sawamura, that their legs are lightly touching. Sawamura's staring up at the moon again and Furuya's still looking over at Sawamura with half lidded eyes now, but then—
"AH! FURUYA!" Sawamura tries pushing Furuya off, but realizes mid push that he's fallen asleep on his shoulder and he can't find it in himself to move. Something in Sawamura doesn't move and Miyuki takes notice of all the small reactions Sawamura gives. Like the small look of panic on his features, he even looks around to see if anyone's nearby, and then Sawamura huffs out a laugh with a small blush and he is flustered because of course Furuya would randomly fall asleep on him and he is sort of surprised he hadn't fallen asleep while he was talking about his friends back at home.
Sawamura's quite surprised at what a good listener Furuya can be. It brings a small smile to his face and that's where Miyuki feels like he just stumbled upon a secret. Sawamura's smile is oozing out fondness and it almost makes Miyuki want to just leave them to their own devices but of course, he wouldn't be Miyuki Kazuya if he didn't act like a senpai every now and then, right? So he decides to come out from hiding and rain on their parade.
"Getting a little too cozy, don't you think?~" Miyuki says with a shit eating grin and Sawamura instantly jumps away from Furuya letting him fall to the floor because why did Miyuki of all people have to be here?
He and Furuya were having a moment, thank you very much and wait—what? No, no. They were not having a moment but Miyuki is an asshole, Sawamura thinks bitterly.
Miyuki almost feels sorry for both parties, keyword almost.
"MIYUKI KAZUYA!" Sawamura points at Miyuki accusingly and just grits his teeth from where he stands, "Why are you even here?!"
"Well, I'm your captain and senpai for starters. So someone has to keep an eye on you two idiots. Two, I figured you were both here running and I came to stop you from tiring yourselves out but what do you know? I was wrong for once. You two were obviously having an intimate moment."
Sawamura instantly flails around in a panic and furrows his eyebrows. "WHAT. NO! YOU HAVE IT ALL WRONG, MIYUKI KAZUYA! WE WERE JUST TALKING. CAN'T WE TALK?"
And Miyuki almost says no, no because they're supposed to be rivals and rivals shouldn't be so buddy buddy but again, none of his business so he chooses to stay silent and continue grinning over at Sawamura because he knows that makes his blood boil and it's so much fun, really.
"Miyuki-senpai," a soft voice beside them calls his attention and Furuya's rubbing at his eyes pushing himself up. "Sawamura and I were having a moment. We thought this would be good for you because you'd benefit from this and get your much needed alone time."
Miyuki raises both brows at Furuya because since when were his kohais so considerate? They're the greediest of pitchers and he knowknows this from personal experience.
"YEAH! You're always complaining about us hogging you and not letting you take care of yourself, so we'd rather just practice extra in other areas we're not good at until you stop having those ugly bags under your eyes, senpai."
And Miyuki's eyebrow twitches in annoyance at Sawamura's cheek. While he wants to tell them he doesn't buy the excuse of them suddenly being considerate, that there has to be a catch—and damn, he thinks it might be because they want Miyuki to be well rested enough to constantly pester him for the next upcoming weeks again. It almost makes him count his current blessings. He would not put it past them. So he decides to tease them both, because it's the easier route.
"Oh?~ So you do admit to having a moment with Sawamura?" He smirks over at Furuya meeting his stare.
And Furuya gives him a straight face, merely nodding in agreement while he hears Sawamura squawk in indignation.
Miyuki can't breathe from all the laughing these two have caused him. Really, they're both great at entertaining him.
###
Haruichi is honestly thankful that Sawamura and Furuya are getting along much more because he was getting tired of having to play mediator with their sometimes pointless competitions. After their win against Yakushi and after Sawamura challenging Furuya once more for the ace number, things really took a turn for the better. That's when he thinks this friendship became extremely noticeable. The smile that graces Furuya's lips at Sawamura's declaration that day, now, that definitely comes as a surprise to Haruichi because he's never really seen Furuya genuinely smile at someone like that. He likes to think Furuya smiles that way when he's thankful for something or just plain happy and Furuya seems to be a simple person who has a never ending love for baseball, but Furuya is also a very quiet person who keeps to himself but wishes to also communicate better with his teammates so this development almost makes Haruichi want to question more.
For Haruichi, he notices the little things between those two. Like when they're in the cafeteria eating together, and when Sawamura refuses to eat his natto, Furuya will actually pick at it and eat it for him in exchange for Sawamura eating certain vegetables Furuya doesn't want. And while it shouldn't be anything to be suspicious of, because friends do each other favors like this all the time, Haruichi can't help but feel there's a certain level of closeness that's been achieved, a wall that Sawamura somehow passed through with Furuya because while it's normal to be chummy with your teammates—Furuya never really seemed to outwardly consider Sawamura anything but a rival before and he has to ask, he just has to because he's their friend too and for once he feels out of the loop.
"Um, Furuya-kun, Eijun-kun—is there—what I mean to say is that you two sure are getting along now." He gives them a small smile because he can't think of anything else to do.
"W-WHA-WHAT? HARUCCHI." Sawamura's face is contorted awkwardly, like if what Haruichi has stated is blasphemy.
"Close your mouth at least and don't choke on your rice. I'm not helping you if you choke on your food," Furuya says this with his usual deadpan stare and Haruichi wants to chuckle but refrains from doing so.
And that's exactly what Haruichi is talking about. That level of concern and banter, it seems warmer. No real bite behind the tone and it's different between them. Not a bad different, but it's something Haruichi will get used to as well.
"SHUT UP FURUYA! I know you'd save me because I've saved your ass countless times in the baths!"
A few heads turn around to look over at them and Haruichi feels his face warm up because leave it to Sawamura to draw attention by saying something out of context, out loud.
"Eijun-kun, be quiet. You're giving people the wrong idea and I didn't mean what I said as a bad thing," Haruichi reassures because Sawamura looks pink from his ears to his cheeks, while Furuya looks completely unfazed, like he's come to terms with this next level of closeness and once more, though much less noticeable and Haruichi is only able to catch a glimpse of it because he happens to be looking over at Furuya at the moment—he sees the corners of Furuya's lips curve into a soft smile, his eyes a little brighter, like they're laughing at Sawamura.
Huh, different indeed.
Haruichi thinks it really is for the better because at least Furuya is expressing a bit more than he used to and that's always the next step to communicating properly.
###
Kuramochi's not even getting into it with Sawamura this time. He's staying out of whatever is going on because the last time he even said anything he unintentionally got Furuya in trouble with Ryousuke (it wasn't like he thought something was going on, he had actually just joked about it but apparently Sawamura thought otherwise and word got around) but he supposes karma exists because he then got Sawamura in trouble with Miyuki, unintentionally, again.
It was his bad so yeah, he's not making a single comment about how Furuya and Sawamura are hanging out a lot more often after practice or how they eat each other's food every now and then or how Sawamura's been running off to drag Furuya away to the center of Tokyo because according to him, not everyone is from Tokyo and the only days they ever get to go places are on Sundays and, 'Furuya needs to get out more instead of sleep in like a hibernating bear'. During those days, he tells Haruichi to go with them before they get lost together but Haruichi eventually stops tagging along with them and that brings suspicion to Kuramochi.
Because really, since when did Sawamura concern himself so much with Furuya? It ticks him off seeing Sawamura so carefree because wasn't he rivals with Furuya? Aren't they supposed to be competing for the ace number? Are they still even competing for—
"Kuramochi? While I appreciate you coming over to talk to me during break it isn't nice to keep me waiting."
Kuramochi scowls from where he's standing because Miyuki is being a shit grinning at him from his desk.
"I'm just—you know, don't you think Sawamura and Furuya—ah never mind." He waves it off because he tells himself he's not supposed to be concerning himself with this shit.
Miyuki raises an eyebrow at Kuramochi. He isn't used to Kuramochi having trouble getting his words out. He's usually blunt, which is why it's easy for them to talk to one another half the time. So this is definitely different.
"Actually, you may be onto something this time."
"Wait, no. I was wrong about you and—"
Miyuki gives him a smirk, "I still can't believe you thought Bakamura and I had something going on. At least you didn't think Kominato and I had something going on. Ryousuke-san would have killed me because of you."
Kuramochi visibly winces at that. "Alright, I get it. I screwed up, but you're pretty physical with Sawamura sometimes. Actually you're only physical with him. You guys banter like an old couple too. So maybe I got carried away with my teasing." He shrugs.
Miyuki laughs again and he thinks it'd be a bit entertaining, the idea that is, but no thank you. He enjoys time to himself more and the addition of letting another person into his personal life, it doesn't really appeal to him right now. He likes the relationship he has with his teammates. They have a good thing going on. He's only a third year in high school. He has the rest of his life to think of silly things like this.
"He responds to it the most, that's why, but why are you concerned with Sawamura and Furuya anyway? I thought Sawamura was your only concern."
"Yuck, why are you making me sound like his keeper? I'm just wondering what happened to make them so chummy with each other all of a sudden."
And the thing is Miyuki would like to say it was all of a sudden, but he knows this happened gradually. He knows that Sawamura and Furuya have pushed and pulled at each other since they first pitched to him and declared themselves rivals. While their styles are distinctly different, and while they both bring out a certain thrill, he noticed that with each experience, each victory and defeat—they both came together as teammates and not just rivals. They both realized that in order to become stronger they could learn from one another. Instead of fighting amongst themselves, they learned to acknowledge each other's strengths and are more inclined to work together for the team.
What Kuramochi doesn't seem to notice is that despite them being closer off the field, Sawamura and Furuya still do compete against one another on a daily basis. Just because they've become more friendly with one another and gone an extra step into the friendship zone doesn't mean that they don't intend to surpass one another for the ace number because at the end of the day, they're both pitchers, both hungry contenders.
Furuya has never once thought that he needs to stop practicing because he's simply achieved his title. He knows he must work hard to maintain it and get into the role of an ace. Sawamura uses Furuya as that extra driving force to get to his goal.
And Miyuki thinks, maybe this is a good thing too. Even if Sawamura and Furuya aren't aware of that something more, it's still an added bonus for them to get along like this. Especially because it's driving Kuramochi insane with curiosity. While he knows Kuramochi doesn't want to interfere he expects him to eventually wrestle an answer out of Sawamura.
###
So that time comes sooner than he thought. Miyuki isn't even surprised when he comes into Kuramochi's dorm the next night and finds Sawamura twisted into a damn pretzel, begging for his senpai to let him go and Kuramochi does not show mercy. He definitely feels sorry for Asada being their roommate but the kid isn't even around for him to witness this, though Miyuki's sure he's gotten his fair share of shows.
"I TOLD YOU, SENPAI! FURUYA AND I ARE NOT LIKE THAT!"
Miyuki wonders if Furuya's the only one who's pining after Sawamura then, because the boy looks at Sawamura like he's something to look forward to each day even when he's annoyed at him or ignoring him. There's a light in his eyes, like when he pitches a perfect inning against a strong opponent and gets praised for it.
Miyuki gives a pitying look and blurts out, "I feel little sorry for Furuya then."
"What? Why?" Sawamura gives a frustrated sigh and, "senpai, please don't get involved. Furuya and I aren't like that, but—but, this is between him and I so I'd appreciate it if you would stop already! Both you and Kuramochi-senpai! Furuya doesn't seem to care what you guys say or think, but I do! Because it's embarrassing! We're just getting along."
Kuramochi and Miyuki give each other unconvinced looks, but decide to let it go because Sawamura is being surprisingly polite on telling them both to mind their own business and not get involved in whatever the hell is going on. It doesn't stop Kuramochi from giving him one last smack to the head though.
###
So both Kuramochi and Miyuki stay true to their word. They don't bother asking or demanding answers out of Sawamura the following week. Although Miyuki can't help it sometimes and he'll tease Sawamura about Furuya being his pretend boyfriend. And Sawamura will deny it fiercely while Furuya responds with sighs, because Sawamura is so easy to provoke.
It isn't until the next day when Miyuki is off to buy his beloved canned coffee from the nearby vending machine that he catches sight of something oddly familiar, except this time it isn't on the track in the middle of the night. It's in the evening, the sky is beginning to darken and it has hues of pink and orange, with hints of dark blue making it look almost purple in some areas and it's quite relaxing.
Apparently Sawamura thinks so too because this time he's the one leaning on Furuya's shoulder sleeping soundly on a bench and Furuya is looking over at Sawamura with his usual impassive stare, but Miyuki isn't fooled. He sees a hint of fondness in his eyes, along with the way he absorbs Sawamura's sleeping image and Furuya probably likes Sawamura the best in these cases because Sawamura looks so out of character when he's sleeping serenely on his rival's shoulder. Like if it's the best possible spot to nap in, leaving himself exposed and Miyuki chooses not to interfere this time because this—this is good for them, he tells himself.
It's also good blackmail material, but he'll keep that one to himself. He'll also keep a mental note of how Furuya timidly runs his fingers through Sawamura's strands of hair. Definitely, intimate.
This can stay between them, as long as they continue pushing one another. Really, it's none of Miyuki's business but he makes sure to tell Kuramochi the next day that he's probably right. And Kuramochi will ask what the hell he's even talking about, but Miyuki will say no more because what fun would it be to be completely clear with him?
End note: I've been on a self indulgent roll :D. Peace ya'll!