Title: Curve Ball
Summary: Takaba came and he went, thankfully he left something behind for Asami. Past Mpreg.
I do not own Finder Series.
A/N: Please tell me what you think.
He threw a curve ball, or was it a fast ball? Asami didn't know, he would never know. Every ball looked the same to him, each flew through the air, sometimes too fast for the eye to see. In all honesty, even a man as great as Asami Ryuichi couldn't tell whether a ball was a curve ball, fast ball, splitter or anything of the sort. They all looked the same to him.
"Old man!" The boy seemed to break the business man out of his concentration, as he sat in the empty bleachers, looking ahead at the setting sun. "Did you see me?"
Asami nodded. "You threw another ball." He called.
"No! I pitched! There is a difference between throwing a ball and pitching! Come down here and I'll show you!"
Seeing as it was pointless to argue with the esteemed boy, Asami stood and slowly made his way down to the field where the boy stood there, tossing a ball up and down. That evening, he wore his jeans, sneakers, T-Shirt and cap. From under the cap, sandy locks stuck out.
"Show me." Asami stood there, arms crossed over his suit.
"Okay!" His son caught the ball in his hand again, held it, got in a stance and stood there for a few seconds. He took a deep breath before moving quickly, rapidly extending his arm and leg, and quickly throwing the ball at a firing speed. Asami hadn't even seen it before it hit the fence.
"See that, now that's a curve ball. I finally got the hang of it."
Asami stood. "I thought you were trying to get a fast ball."
"No, I've already achieved pitching a fast ball! Old man don't you pay attention?" The boy sat on the ground.
"Business CEO's don't really pay attention to the different type of pitches." Asami defended.
"You should! I'm going to be a really famous baseball player in the future, so you have to know what I'm pitching, even if you are a CEO!" He hopped up again. "Was there baseball in Japan?"
"Yes, but I was never interested in it." The business man replied. "Perhaps you can explain it to me? Maybe the similarities between a curve ball and a fastball."
The boy sat down again and threw off his cap. Asami had to catch his breath when he gazed at the spitting image of Takaba Akihito.
"You probably wouldn't understand what a fast ball was, there's more than one type. So I'll explain a curve ball in a simple way." He ruffled his own hair. "Hm...you see when it comes, yet you don't expect it. It's here in an instant and gone the next. You anticipate it, no matter what, but you can't always catch it. But when it hits, it hits and before you know it, you strike out. It's gone."
Asami rose an eyebrow. "Unexpected you say?"
"It's a pity, never really makes it to the outfield." He stood and ran for the ball. All the while, Asami remained there, pondering on what his son had told him.
He was never really the one for baseball, or sports in general. The whole concept seemed rather childish to him. Yet, he couldn't quite let go of the term that had just been instilled in his mind.
Curve ball.
Something that was always there, something that was always to be anticipated yet, something you never expected. You saw it, a mile away, and perhaps you'd try to avoid it. It didn't matter though, it still caught up to you. It still struck you out. Like it did all those years ago. Thought that wasn't really a curve ball.
It was just reality. Painful reality.
Something expected, but so easy to be denied. Like a curve ball, he struck out. He was there in an instant and gone the next. He expected it, for sure, they both did, but when it happened, they weren't prepared. Or better yet, Asami wasn't prepared.
He still never figured out who did it, who 'struck' Takaba out of his life. Though, that night still plagued him. That image of his beautiful spouse, pillaged and nearly decapitated, still remained in his mind. It wasn't leaving anytime soon. He still blamed himself for that. No matter how many times he was told he couldn't predict it, he still felt at fault for the cold blooded murder of Takaba Akihito.
The two had predicted that something bad would happen, now that their relationship was made public. They had expected it, but never imagined the magnitude. And like that, Takaba was taken from Asami, from their son. He had received a curve ball and he had struck out. There was no avoiding it, even if he saw it.
It was a shame he couldn't miss it, it was a shame he never made it to the outfield.
"Old man!" He heard that voice break the silence, causing him to look around. His son presently rested on third base. "Are you gonna move so I can pitch?"
As soon as Asami stepped out of the way, the baseball came whistling past his ear. It felt like a bullet that he dodged, he could practically feel the wind.
"Was that a curve ball?" Asami called.
"No, it was a fast ball!" He took his mitt off. "That, one was for you, and dad. Fast balls are quick, they are the most important pitch. You don't have time to think about them. You don't expect them, they come and go, but there's no predicting them." He crossed his arms. "So don't think about it, don't think about dad." The blue eyed boy smiled. "I bet he was important and he came unexpectedly. You always think about him, I know. But you have to stop now. When a fast ball is coming, you don't have time to think, besides, he's doing fine just as long as we're doing fine." He laughed and pointed up. "Look, he's in the sky now, laughing at us. You more so than me. You can't tell the difference between a curve ball and a fastball."
Asami chuckled. "So are you saying he was a curve ball or fast ball?"
"No...no...no!" The boy shook his head. "He was a fast ball, but life is a curve ball. People are fast balls, but the lives they live are curve balls. If we're lucky, fast balls tend to leave things behind. I like to think of it as warnings for curve balls."
"Then it's safe to assume that Takaba left you behind, like a curve ball? You were unexpected, right? To me it sounds like people can be curve balls and fastballs." Asami eventually found himself looking up at the sky. It appeared the sun had set a few seconds ago.
Looking at the stars, kind of caused a hook to pull in his heart. He didn't know what it was about the sky at night that reminded him so much of Takaba. It was somewhat unbearable.
The boy walked over to Asami and nudged his father's side. "It's getting too sad, let's not think about it okay."
The business man shrugged. "I like that idea." He ruffled his son's hair. "Let's go home."
"Aw! Five more minutes! Please! The game is tomorrow!"
"You've been practicing for hours."
After some bickering, the two began their walk towards the car. As usual, Asami's son was ahead of him, running to keep his stamina up. Asami walked normal pace, carelessly making his way to the car until a very painful sensation made contact with his back.
He turned around quickly only to realize that someone had thrown a ball at him, and it had hit him square in the back. He picked it up, and held it in his hands, gazing at the fence to see if anyone was there. Much to his surprise, there wasn't.
He turned the ball around, and noticed a phrase written in blue marker.
Don't strikeout. It read.
He supposed it was a curve ball.
The End
I do hope you enjoyed it.
By the way if you're interested, I've posted a story on Ao3 called Kodak.
Here is the summary:
'He wasn't perfect enough for his photographer until he threw away everything. TwoShot.'
It's explicit I warn you. But if you want to read it, then go for it! I'll post the link on my page.