artist: Sinkingchicken ( sinkingchincken tumblr com / post / 129068141650/ )
beta: Ola (m-kazuya tumblr com)
word count: ~8570
warnings: innuendos, language
A/N Nami: Hello everyone! I'm very happy to show you this fic. Despite the fact that it has references to my other work, Of balls and bats, it can be read as standalone without any problems. Please, follow the link at the top of the page to see sinkingchicken art!
I'd like to thank sinkingchincken because I was very busy this summer and couldn't always reply her immediately (not to mention I asked about switching ideas for a fic at the beginning of August…). She was very serious about this event and made it very pleasant for me.
A/N sinkingchicken: Hello! This is sinkingchicken. I am very happy to have worked with firebyfire, she's a really kind partner and she was really patient with me! I hope my art won't bring down the quality of the fanfic and that everyone will be able to enjoy her beautiful work to the fullest! Thank you for this amazing opportunity and and for the chance to make a new friend!
Of how to handle balls and bats
In Eijun's opinion, the day goes by way too slowly today. He is aware of people staring at him and whispering, pointing their fingers at him when other students think he doesn't see them.
Everything started after the afternoon's practice: to Eijun's surprise Miyuki, for once, was nice to him. Well, as nice as Miyuki can be. He even shared some information about his other favorite baseball position, saying he doesn't only like to catch other people's balls but also likes it when others do the same for him. It surprised Eijun but after a second he decided that this whole revelation should not be that much of a surprise – after all, who would not want to be a pitcher? So then Sawamura, trying to act like a nice future ace, proposed that he may catch Miyuki's balls and that was when all hell broke loose. Kuramochi was laughing, rolling on the ground so much that he won't be able to wash dirt from his uniform; Haruichi was blushing madly (he still has problems with looking Sawamura in the eye which was disturbing in itself, because they were good friends) and on top of that the coach suddenly showed up and ordered Miyuki to run "till his legs will fall off".
Eijun simply could not understand the whole thing! Miyuki was nice to him, he was nice to Miyuki too and somehow it made the other players on their team laugh out loud, not to mention they somehow managed to anger the coach as well… Ooooh, maybe the coach didn't want Miyuki to get hurt while pitching? But Miyuki knows a lot about baseball so Sawamura is sure the catcher would know how not to get injured while pitching…
Weird.
However, before the time for supper comes Sawamura is sure that attention he's been getting the whole day has something to do with what Miyuki said to him. Some students asked if he wanted to catch their balls as well while laughing, so it definitely has something to do with what Miyuki said!
"I don't get it!" yells Sawamura, pulling on his hair, after catching the nth person looking at him and then chuckling.
Everyone is enjoying the dinner in the cafeteria, save Eijun, who can't focus on eating with so many students staring at him, and Miyuki (who is still running outside, Sawamura notices with a note of dark satisfaction).
"Tell me something I don't know," murmurs Kanemaru, starting his third bowl of rice.
Sawamura makes a face at him before turning to Haruichi with pleading eyes.
"Harucchi, tell me what is going on… I don't get it." He furrows his brows, stabbing vegetables with his sticks. "Everyone is looking at me and I don't know why! And why was coach angry at Miyuki? We didn't do anything wrong!"
A few people sitting close to them starts laughing but it's Kuramochi who gets Sawamura's attention when he knocks down his glass. He doesn't seem to realize that he spilled some of his drink onto the table, his eyes locked on his roommate.
"You're fucking kidding me," he says finally, absentmindedly accepting tissues from Furuya. "You really do not know?! You aren't joking?!" His silent 'even you aren't this dumb' goes unnoticed.
Sawamura shrinks in his chair, feeling that everyone is looking at him now. He doesn't like how the look of disbelief on Kuramochi-senpai's face slowly changes into something evil or how Haruichi is blushing like crazy – he hasn't done anything to cause that reaction yet! On the pitcher's right a panicked Toujou is trying to divert Sawamura from answering Kuramochi's question, but the pitcher ignores him. He's going to get his answers in the end! Finally!
"Yes! You guys are so weird since the afternoon practice!" The southpaw is proud of himself for not pouting (yet). "Kuramochi-senpai, tell me…" he whines, hoping he'll get the usual reaction from his roommate. He knows from previous experiences that whining long enough will get Kuramochi to give into him.
"Haaaaah?" Yes, Kuramochi's grin is positively evil now. "What's in it for me?"
Sawamura gulps, recalling how much he already owes to the second year. He should really learn not to bet against his roommate… "Um…"
"So? ~ What will you give me?" Kuramochi is leering at Sawamura, leaning over the table to have a better look at the pitcher, who is looking more and more uncomfortable with each passing seconds.
" Maybe –"
"Sex." A quiet voice interrupts Sawamura.
Kuramochi moves back so fast he actually falls out of his chair. If Sawamura was not the one being in this uncomfortable situation, he would laugh his ass off for sure.
"What the fuck, Furuya!" Kuramochi yells at the black-haired pitcher. "I'd never touch that!"
"Hey!" Sawamura yells angrily, only then remembering he'd never do… that with Kuramochi-senpai, and he looks at Furuya who seems to be unfazed by everyone around them laughing again. "How did you even…! Why did you think…!" Gods, he can't even finish a sentence. It is not normal that he's feeling how hot his cheeks are, right?
"Furuya-kun," somehow Haruichi's soft voice sounds pretty loud despite the ubiquitous laughter. "I don't think this is what Kuramochi-senpai m-meant." The boy flushes, avoiding everyone's gaze.
Furuya blinks, raising his brow.
"No, I meant with Miyuki-senpai." He yawns, rubbing his eyes and Sawamura wants to pour coffee down his throat to get a sentence from him that makes sense. "You agreed to have sex with Miyuki-senpai."
"I – What?" Now it's Eijun's turn to laugh. "Good joke, Furuya, I knew you had it in y –"
"No." Furuya shakes his head, frowning. "During the afternoon practice Miyuki-senpai talked to you about having sex."
Sawamura's eyes widen. They didn't talk about sex! What is Furuya talking about?
Still…, a quick look over his friends tells Sawamura that the other pitcher isn't lying.
Kuramochi stands up, dusting off his trousers.
"Thanks, Furuya. I was hoping the idiot would agree to clean the room this week." The second year sighs and then points his finger at Sawamura. "Your flirtatious little chat with Miyuki was full of innuendos which is why the coach was angry. You do not flirt on a field." Kuramochi shudders, as if he once committed that crime and is now remembering the consequences."Huh, I thought you were playing innocent but you really didn't know…?"
Sawamura slowly shakes his head, processing the real meaning of his talk with Miyuki slowly but steadily.
"Miyuki and I talked about having sex," he repeats dumbly, looking at everyone sitting close to him, missing the alarmed look Haruichi shoots at Furuya. Kanemaru nods, not laughing anymore. "Me. And Miyuki." Pause. "Sex."
He suddenly gets so quiet that first years and Kuramochi look at each other with concern. It's the first time they see Sawamura's face being so expressionless; no-one's laughing anymore.
"Eijun-kun?" says Toujou, smiling calmingly. "Why don't we –"
Whatever he wanted to say was cut off by the loudest yell Sawamura's has ever let out.
"I'M GOING TO KILL HIM!"
"That stupid ass!"
"Shut up already, I'm trying to do my homework here!"
Eijun looks at Kuramochi from where he is lying on his bed, taking a break from cursing the catcher continuously.
"I hate him!" he yells, tousling the pillow in rage.
"It was the thirteenth time you said that." Kuramochi rolls his eyes, turning back to his essay. "Stop thinking about it. Everyone will soon forget about it."
Sawamura scowls, looking at the pillow as if it hurt his family.
Of course everyone will forget about it… one day. The pitcher doubts it'll happen quickly though; not after what happened in the cafeteria, where everyone witnessed how he ran to the field where Miyuki should have been running at that time. He is sure he heard someone yelling after him whether he was going to see his boyfriend. Assholes, all of them! And Miyuki was the worst, not even bothering to apologize to him! He dared to ask if Sawamura came to catch his balls! If it wasn't for Haruichi coming after Eijun with Furuya, Eijun would have definitely –!
He has no idea what he would do beside aside from hurting Miyuki. Somehow. Sawamura was, is, furious and he doesn't understand it, why he's so angry. It wasn't the first time Miyuki pulled a prank on him but this time it felt a bit more personal? It definitely hurts more…
No, Sawamura isn't going to think that that bastard catcher has hurt him. No way. Because he totally didn't.
There is only one thing he needs to find out the truth about.
"Kuramochi-senpai?" he whispers, lying on his back and looking at the bulk above him with unseeing eyes. He needs to know that even if he'll end up cleaning their room till the end of next year. Hearing simple 'Hmmm?' in an answer, the boy turns on his stomach, locking his eyes on his roommate, praying he isn't blushing this time. "Can I ask you something?"
Something in Sawamura's tone had to catch the second year's attention because he swirls around in the chair, facing the pitcher and nodding.
"That sounds serious," he says, no traces of usual humor on his face.
"Because it is. D-don't laugh, okay, Kuramochi-senpai?" Sawamura sits up, feeling how his hands are sweating. It's stupid being this nervous about asking a stupid question but it's awkward and embarrassing, and unfortunately it's too late now to back out. Gulping, Sawamura confesses: "I don't… How would it work with guys? I mean me catching Miyuki's balls?"
This time Kuramochi does not even look surprised that another first year managed to make him fall down from his chair in shock.
What happened next was one of the most embarrassing events in Sawamura's life (it was even worse than birds-and-bees talk with his father before he came to Seidou). His question about baseball innuendos were answered without problems but questions about how sex between two guys worked made Kuramochi sit him in front of a computer, opening an adult website and leaving the room before anything started playing. After first five minutes the pitcher got way too many answers to his questions (why did he licked that? Are they going to…? …Shit, they are.). No wonder Kuramochi chose to show him porn instead of talking; Sawamura was sure it'd be more than awkward for them.
After watching that movie – he would never admit that he did not want to close that tab of the browser - Sawamura thought about the Plan. The Plan which would put the best strategists in the history to shame. Sawamura is going to get revenge on Miyuki! Of course it's going to be a tough task since Sawamura doesn't know any baseball innuendos and almost no other innuendos but he knows how to use the Internet.
The pitcher is sure that he wouldn't blush if he tried hard enough. He may not be the sharpest pencil in the box but he has noticed how people think he's oblivious to many things (even the coach tried to protect him by stopping his and Miyuki's talk earlier!) and now, he's going to use that! Miyuki will never know what hit him!
… Good Gods, Sawamura is going to die from embarrassment if he says anything considered slightly 'naughty' to Miyuki. But he can't let Miyuki win! Not after how the catcher humiliated him in front of the whole team!
With new-found determination, Sawamura continues to scribble details of his Plan into the notebook, keeping an eye on his teacher. It wouldn't be good if anyone, particularly teachers, saw his notes.
Sawamura starts "Operation: catch the catcher" two days after that embarrassing event with Miyuki.
He starts at breakfast, by asking Miyuki if he could check his glove because it "doesn't feel tight enough around his fingers". It is a miracle he doesn't blush; Miyuki looks at him suspiciously – probably remembering how not so long ago Sawamura was screaming he's going to hurt him – but apparently the pitcher's silly grin is enough to fool him. Although Sawamura might overdo it with saying aloud that his stamina is impressive and he can go all night long without stopping. Judging by the flabbergasted expression on Miyuki's face, the catcher doesn't know that Eijun's sentence was an answer to Haruichi's concerned 'You can't run for too long, Eijun-kun. You will be too tired to practice'.
Huh. Thinking about it now makes Sawamura realize just how often Miyuki stays close to him. Weird.
Well, he will think about it later. The team is practicing batting with pitchers and right now it's his turn at bat with Kawakami pitching.
"Try to hit the ball, instead of going for a bunt, Sawamura," says Miyuki, using his captain-voice and adjusting his facial mask. "Our opponents already know you mostly just bunt."
"I know." Sawamura grips the bat hard, sticking out his tongue. Yuuki-senpai said he should do everything that might help him hit the ball and apparently sticking out his tongue in concentration is one of those things. "I'll hit it so that I can get to first base when it's your turn at batting, senpai. We know you can't bat well without runners on bases."
"Hah?" In the corner of his eyes the pitcher sees how Miyuki cocks his head.
For a moment Sawamura thinks he wouldn't get any reply, but then he hears Miyuki's voice:
"It's not a bad idea. But you will stand on the third base." The catcher sounds confident and Sawamura looks at him, curiously. Not teasing Sawamura back is really not Miyuki-like and… yes, there it is, that shit-eating grin which doesn't mean anything good. "After all you don't have too much experience with sliding into homebase, you should practice that."
Sawamura blushes, turning away quickly. Kawakami grins at him, trying to encourage him, but he almost doesn't notice it. Did Miyuki notice his innuendos and started answering them? It wasn't supposed to be like that! Miyuki was supposed to be embarrassed!
No, no, of course not, that wasn't an innuendo at all! Miyuki was just referring to how he, Sawamura, doesn't run a lot, that's all.
The first ball is a strike: a low slider. There is no way he could hit that. The next one is a strike too – would be a ball, but Sawamura tried to hit it. Adjusting his grip on the bat, the pitcher tries to calm down, remembering all the advice he got from Yuuki-senpai (Sawamura asked him once for help, feeling stupid for interrupting his senpai's studying session but Yuuki helped him without any complaints).
He tries to think what kind of ball Kawakami will pitch next, with which he will want to finish this small fight and –
His bat connects with the ball, sending it flying close to the third base. His teammates, waiting for their turn to bat, get quiet for a moment. After that Sawamura hears 'you finally did it' mixed with 'he was just lucky'.
Smiling happily, Sawamura shows a victory sign into Haruichi and Furuya's direction. He did it!
"Good job, Sawamura!"
"Thank you, Nori-senpai!"
"Yeah, you hit a ball, congratulations, Sawamura." The boy turns around, looking at Miyuki who is smiling almost fondly at him as if he is proud of him. "Now stop dancing with the bat, you'll hurt yourself."
"What?!"
"You're an idiot after all. Knowing you, you'll fall down and choke on it. A bat may be too much even for your big mouth."
"I don't have a big mouth, asshole." Sawamura bristles, not realizing in time that he went straight into Miyuki's trap. Crap.
"Oh?" A sly grin spreads on Miyuki's lips, his voice almost like a purr. "I'm on the receiving end of it quite often, I think I know better."
This time Sawamura is sure Miyuki's words were chosen deliberately to sound as if a bat was… something else and he can already feel the heat seeping into his cheeks. He's blushing again in a span of few minutes. Disaster. Utter and complete disaster.
The pitcher thought he knew better but no, he's not ready to fight with Miyuki. Not when Miyuki talks back to him, damnit!
"Asshole," he mumbles, not looking at the catcher. "You're just jealous 'cause I hit the ball without runners on bases." Sawamura huffs yet Miyuki doesn't look bothered by it probably because he's started to hit pitches without bases covered. Stupid catcher.
Sawamura gives the bat to Kanemaru, catching a big grin on Miyuki's face. We'll see who is going to be laughing the last!
Since that, it is the full war where everything is allowed. Sawamura doesn't know what Miyuki thinks about all of this, but he doesn't care; he only wants to see Miyuki flushing in embarrassment!
The innuendos are flying faster than Furuya's pitches: "Got some oil? I need to polish my bat", "You surely are skilled at handling balls", "Can you clean the balls?", "I could show you a better technique of polishing a bat", "You have a strong grip, I feel my balls are safe with you".Sawamura's "Well, I've been told that I'm pretty vocal when I perform"after another person complained about how loud he is (gods only know how he managed to not blush then) earns him only a wide grin on Miyuki's face along with "Oh, it's only one of perks of that big mouth of yours… The other one is your ability to cheer for your teammates of course". And that in turn makes students, who are standing close to them groan in annoyance. Not like Sawamura notices it, he is too busy cursing Miyuki under his breath. It seems to be impossible to make that bastard blush… Yet.
To be honest Miyuki's words don't help Sawamura at all. He would never in his life admit that he finds his captain somewhat… attractive. Or that Miyuki is not so bad when they play together or when they talk about everything and nothing at the same time. And it's really weird just how often Miyuki is close to Sawamura, always in the line of the pitcher's sight and Sawamura kind of misses that ass when he's not around –
No, this is something Sawamura is not ready to think about yet, though ignoring that warm feeling in his stomach when Miyuki grins happily at him is getting more and more difficult.
There is a practice match a few days later and neither Sawamura, nor Miyuki get a chance to carry on their little innuendo-war. Sawamura may be an idiot but he's not stupid enough to say anything remotely similar to an innuendo with the coach around them. He remembers Miyuki's punishment after all.
The game is short. They were asked for a game by a small school at the outskirts of Tokyo and Sawamura got to pitch whole two innings – the first one was pitched by Furuya, then next two by Kawakami. It is not surprising they won just after five innings; the Nino High School is not strong enough to advance further than the first two rounds of any baseball tournament. Kataoka agreed to that match after Nino's coach said that he and his players know they are going to lose but there will be a charity at the school and the match is a part of it. If they could play against someone famous, then more people would come, thus more money would be received.
They are waiting for the bus, Sawamura too busy being happy about his pitching when suddenly Rei-san tells them that the driver just called them, saying the bus broke down when he was driving to the gas station and they need to wait over an hour more for a different bus.
"But I'm so hungry!" groans Kanemaru, rubbing his belly. "And what are we going to do for the next hour?"
"Oh, I know! We can play something!" Haruno clasps her hands before reaching into her bag and pulling out the uniform-tie. "Blind man's buff is something we can all play!"
It's probably because Haruno is so shy around others and rarely speaks that people start saying it's not a bad idea. Even Furuya looks interested, for a moment forgetting about the high temperature, and Sawamura laughs, taking the tie from the girl's hands.
"That's a cool idea, Haruno-chan! I will –" Sawamura swings the tie back and forth before abruptly stopping. "Um.. how do you play that game?"
Kuramochi slaps the back of Sawamura's head before shortly explaining the rules. Well, there isn't much to explain: a blindfolded person has to catch other people and guess who they caught. If they guess correctly, then their 'victim' gets blindfolded. If not, then they have to look for another person.
They quickly settle who should be blindfolded first: their captain, of course. Sawamura wants to laugh evilly when he hears Asou's words that their captain should show him how the game works. Surprisingly, Miyuki doesn't protest. He makes a joke about how Haruno could be the captain of the team because he had no idea what to do to kill the time till the bus arrived and it… It kind of hurts Sawamura to see how easily Miyuki can make other people – Haruno-chan – look at him with adoration in their eyes. And that smile? Sawamura can count on his fingers how many times he was on the receiving end of that little, genuine smile of Miyuki's.
There are two things that he knows for sure: one, that he received that smile way too rarely and two, that his infuriation with Miyuki might get out of control if things keep going this way.
He should not be getting angry that Miyuki is smiling at someone else…
"Ha ha, and how many times can I try to find out a person's name?" Miyuki asks, while Haruno ties the tie around his eyes.
… Even if that someone else is a pretty girl. Or would it be "especially", not "even"? Why would he even think "especially"? It'd sound as if Sawamura was jealous or something.
But he isn't, is he?
Ugh, stupid Miyuki Kazuya! From the day one everything he's doing is making Sawamura over think things!
"Three should be enough!" yells Kuramochi before grabbing Miyuki by his shoulders and turning him around a few times. Then he pushes Miyuki a little in Sawamura's direction and the boy steps aside, not wanting to be caught first.
Miyuki wobbles a little, raising his arms in front of him and cocking his head.
"I hear someone… there!" He starts going to where Haruichi and Sawamura are standing.
Haruichi, boldly, runs away right next to Miyuki (Kuramochi said that such dangerous moves are what makes this game so interesting) and everyone laughs when Miyuki tries to grab him but fails, his fingertips only gently brushing Haruichi's shirt. Sawamura even sees how the coach is smiling slightly and Rei-chan is laughing into her hand.
Sawamura giggles to himself, moving back when he suddenly slips and falls backward on his ass in the midst of another wave of laughter. He barely manages to stand up when Miyuki is right next to him, catching his sleeve.
"That was fast." He grins and puts his palms on Sawamura's shoulders. "Just who may you be, hm…?"
Sawamura sweats; he is sure that Miyuki is going to recognize him soon. Everyone is yelling loudly at Miyuki to hurry up and say something and surely, if Miyuki didn't catch Sawamura, he'd be hearing Eijun's voice too, right?
Being so close to Miyuki isn't too good for Sawamura either. Just a few minutes ago he was fuming with anger and now, standing so close to Miyuki and being touched by him… somehow it soothes Sawamura. Despite the fact that they didn't get to take a shower, Miyuki smells so good it makes Sawamura want to step closer and sniff that smell right from Miyuki's skin.
That thought makes Sawamura blush lightly but also gives him an idea. If Miyuki realizes who has done that then surely he will flush and then Sawamura will say something that will embarrass Miyuki more and he will win this thing between them.
"Is this Kawakami?" Miyuki cocks his head, frowning. Sawamura thinks he's only being held by his shoulders and gently petted at his hair because Miyuki may be thinking that he's caught a girl and it'd look bad if he tried to touch too much.
"Guess again!" yells Kawakami, surprising a few people. Apparently everyone's joy affected the usually quiet pitcher.
"I think you are…" Miyuki's hands move back from Sawamura's hair to the pitcher's shoulders, fingers brush against the skin of Sawamura's throat. He inhales sharply, the touch making him shiver, and Miyuki's lips form a small 'o', "Sawa –"
Knowing it's his only chance Eijun moves quickly: he gets out of Miyuki's light grip, dancing left, but not before pecking the catcher's cheek.
"W-what?" The catcher turns around quickly but Sawamura is already out of his reach . "What was that?"
Sawamura grins, faking innocence.
"Kuramochi-senpai told us to do everything we can so that we don't get caught!" He strikes a victory pose noticing how Kuramochi is rubbing his face, muttering something that is probably 'stupid Bakamura'. Oh well. At least Miyuki is blushing…
Or not? All of them have still red cheeks from the game and Miyuki doesn't look much different from before Sawamura kissed him… Did Sawamura miscalculate his genius plan? Is Miyuki so used to people randomly kissing him that he didn't react at all?
Sawamura's lips burn a little and he licks them unconsciously, tasting the salty flavor.
Gods, he's blushing again!
Fortunately Sawamura is saved by Zono's rumbling laughter.
"Only you could think about something like that!" Zono stomps his leg a twice, making Miyuki turn towards him. "C'mon, captain, try to catch me."
The game lasts for over half an hour. No-one teases Sawamura about what he has done – everyone is so used to his and Miyuki's innuendos that they decided to simply not ask because this way their sanity isn't in danger – and Sawamura is surprised that even Miyuki didn't say anything after catching Shirasu and giving him the tie. If anything he looked a bit… hurt? Sawamura discarded that thought quickly; why would Miyuki feel hurt?
The trip back to school is too fast with everyone talking about the match and laughing at people who were caught in the blind man's buff game. Sawamura himself has much fun, not minding the light teasing he's getting for how he almost lost a point in the fifth inning because he slipped on the mound.
"But I did well, right?!" Sawamura looks at everyone with so much pride in his voice and happiness that Toujou actually gives him one of the mochi he made for himself for the second breakfast. "And Haruichi got two home runs!"
"I was just lucky," laughs Haruichi, scratching his neck, embarrassed by everyone's words about how great he played.
Way too soon it's the time for everyone to leave the bus and go to the dormitory. Sawamura is the last to get off; he left his cell phone on his seat. There is an unread message he hasn't noticed earlier. After saying 'goodbye' to the driver, Sawamura reads the message, feeling how his cheeks are burning with bright red.
I knew that mouth of yours had some perks.
Stupid catcher!
About two weeks after declaring that he's going to embarrass Miyuki, Sawamura is slowly starting to think it may be harder than he first thought. Miyuki has an answer for everything that Sawamura says and he always makes sure to have the last words. It frustrates Sawamura to no end. Just for once he would like to have the upper hand…!
"It's not even funny anymore."
Kuramochi's voice sounds way too close to Sawamura, and the pitcher jumps a bit, almost falling off the bed, right onto his hurt wrist.
"Kuramochi-senpai, I didn't hear you!" Sawamura sits up quickly, closing the notebook where he wrote one-liners that could help him.
Kuramochi glances at him, then at the notebook and then back at Sawamura, before sighing heavily.
"You're really stupid, you know that? Wait, no, you're both stupid and it's pissing me off."
"Huh? But I – " starts Sawamura but Kuramochi interrupts him, with a scary expression on his face. "Not. A. Word. I know you're trying to get revenge on Miyuki but this is getting ridiculous. You almost gave Nori a heart attack today!" Kuramochi goes to the desk and lays his backpack on it, before sitting on the chair and turning towards Sawamura. "Even the coach suspects things".
Sawamura frowns but grudgingly admits Kuramochi has a point. He went a bit overboard with telling Miyuki that Miyuki seems to have an experience with catching balls from two people at the same time when the catcher agreed to catch Sawamura and Kawakami's pitches if they would pitch in turns. Kawakami almost choked on his own spit and even Miyuki looked mildly surprised, arching one of his eyebrows, before answering that sure, he has, and maybe one day Sawamura will get some kind of experience other than pitching too. If the coach heard them, they would be running around school till Christmas.
… To be honest the whole situation was fun till Sawamura injured his wrist - it's not something serious, fortunately. Ice packs and pills were enough to make Sawamura feel better.
"I'm sorry Kuramochi-senpai… But he's such a jerk!" Sawamura pouts, remembering how everything started with Miyuki using Sawamura's naivety against him. "For once I just want to embarrass him, Kuramochi-senpai," he whines, falling back on the bed.
For a long moment, neither said a word.
"You know…" starts Kuramochi and Sawamura sits back, looking at his senpai. The gleam in Kuramochi's eyes in definitely dangerous and Sawamura's is reminded again that he doesn't want to be a foe of Kuramochi. "I wanted to stay out of this but since the teacher yelled at me for talking during class when it was Miyuki's fault…" Kuramochi's smile is definitely predatory now. "I'll tell you what to do."
Few hours later Sawamura is outside, buying a can of coke from the wending machine and humming quietly. Normally he would be pitching with Kariba at this time but the coach ordered Sawamura to take a break this evening after Sawamura almost broke his wrist during the afternoon's practice. That's okay; Sawamura ran more than usual and now can relax a little before going – for once – to sleep earlier. Lots of sleep is necessary for teenagers like him, right?
He sits on the bench next to the machine, thinking. Today's practice was good (minus that little accident when he slipped). Sawamura pitched low and high insides just like Miyuki asked him to and it was fun. He loves pitching inside, seeing batters' surprised face when the ball flew past their nose and then landed with loud dull noise in Miyuki's mitt.
… There he is, thinking about Miyuki again. Damnit.
Sawamura takes a sip of the coke when he hears voice coming from the other side of the wending machine.
"You should go to your dorm and ice your wrist properly."
"WAH, MIYUKI KAZUYA!" Sawamura yells, spitting out his drink. When the hell did Miyuki come here? The pitcher didn't see him! "Are you trying to kill me?!"
Miyuki steps in front of the machine, putting money into it and wincing at Sawamura's volume. He's looking more tired than usual which is… surprising to say the least. As far as Sawamura remembers, Miyuki has always looked fresh as if he just left the shower.
"If I tried, I would make sure you would be unable to scream," Miyuki says teasingly, bending to take his can of soda. Sawamura inhales sharply, ready to yell at Miyuki some more when Miyuki turns to him, takes Sawamura's left wrist into his hand and raises it. "Does it still hurts?"
The seriousness in his voice makes Sawamura gulp, all thoughts about screaming at Miyuki are vanishing from his mind. It's rare to see Miyuki being this serious and concerned about Sawamura or anyone else; it is not something he does often. A warm feeling curls up in Sawamura's belly like a content cat and for a moment he loses the ability to form words, mesmerized by the soft colour of Miyuki's eyes and his skin illuminated by the moon.
– And then Sawamura remembers how Miyuki made fun of him weeks ago, how he smiled at Haruno-chan (which was, as Sawamura will be thinking about it later, a very silly thing to think about) and how quickly he went to pitching with Furuya when Sawamura got hurt and so pulling back his wrist from Miyuki's hold is the easiest thing in the world.
Sawamura is not pouting. He's not pouting at all.
"It's fine. It stopped hurting a while ago," he finally murmurs. Despite being angry, he feels he cannot just turn his back on Miyuki yet.
It's weird how Sawamura forgets about his plan to make Miyuki uncomfortable. He wants to turn and walk away from Miyuki but also wants to stay and talk and – and –
Why is being a teenager so confusing?
Miyuki snorts, opening his can and sitting on the bench previously occupied by Sawamura. "Are you going to sit or…?" he makes a move with his hand and Sawamura bristles.
"Don't order me around," he huffs, but sits next to Miyuki, their knees brushing.
They are quiet for few long minutes and Sawamura slowly starts relaxing; he leans against the wall, looking up at the stars above them. Miyuki is sipping his drink slowly next to him, his body giving out enough warmth to make Sawamura not to feel the chill of the night.
Any other person would probably wonder why they are sitting right next to each other in complete silence when they normally can't be together for more than two minutes before they start arguing or teasing each other. Sawamura isn't a genius but he knows a thing or two about people and he knows how serious Miyuki is about injuries of players on his team. It doesn't take him long to put two and two together.
"… It wouldn't be your fault. I tried to pitch more than it was advised, remember?" Sawamura mumbles into his can, pretending he doesn't notice Miyuki's surprised expression. "And I'm fine now, so no worries! Your reliable, dependable and trustworthy Sawamura Eijun is ready to pitch any time you want!" he adds with a big grin and Miyuki laughs quietly, stretching his legs in front of him. That stupid warm feeling in Sawamura's stomach is back again.
"You're something else, you know? And I wasn't worried, you idiot." Miyuki drinks the rest of his soda and throws the can to the rubbish bin. "Let's call it a night. If you rest well, maybe the coach will let you pitch tomorrow morning." Miyuki stands up and Sawamura does the same, nodding. They have been sitting there for some time now and it got really late. Maybe Sawamura will ice his wrist a little before going to sleep.
"Right, I almost forgot."
"Huh?"
Sawamura's eyes widen when Miyuki suddenly gets into his personal space, his nose almost touching Sawamura's. Miyuki's face has the same serious look as it had a few minutes ago but there is something feral in the way he smiles, sending shivers down Sawamura's spine.
"What are you doing, Sawamura?" murmurs Miyuki, his breath hot on the pitcher's lips.
"M-me? D-doing anything? N-not at-t all!" Sawamura stutters, wanting to step back but his legs stopped listening to him while Miyuki's face is getting closer and closer. "You imagine things!"
"Is that so?" Miyuki muses, a mischievous glint in his eyes, but he doesn't move any closer. "It's pretty funny but whatever you're trying to do: you won't succeed, Sawamoron." Then, to Sawamura's complete and utter shock, Miyuki – again – gently grabs the pitcher's wrist, raises it to his lips and kisses slightly. "You're blushing again."
With that Miyuki turns and walks away, leaving Sawamura in shock and – surprise surprise – breathing heavily. His heart is beating faster than it does after a match when he had to pitch whole nine innings, his cheeks are burning red and his mind hazy, but not completely, because there is one question that is loud enough:
What the hell was that?!
The next morning, after a sleepless night (Sawamura would never admit that he spent way too much time recalling how Miyuki's eyes were gleaming with silver when they talked or if Miyuki came a little more closer –), Sawamura decides to proceed with what he calls as "SawaKura plan". For some reason, Kuramochi is sure that the plan will work out. Sawamura on the other hand is sure that he's going to die from embarrassment, but he's running out of options and he doesn't have any better ideas.
The morning practice is the best starting point. The majority of morning practices is spent with running but there are a few stretching exercises which Sawamura can take advantage of.
"Huh? Eijun-kun, you're in a really good mood today," notices Haruichi after they finished running and are preparing for stretching. "Did your wrist stop hurting?"
"It was already fine yesterday!" Sawamura grins, waving his hand in front of an interested Haruichi and a sleepy Furuya, who could barely keep his eyes open. "Let's stretch and then let's have breakfast, I'm hungry!" Now is the time for the Plan! Saying a short prayer and hoping it will work, Sawamura stands with his legs wide apart and he bends down, touching the ground first with his palms and then with elbows without any difficulties. Next, he raises his head and searches for Miyuki. Just like he thought, Miyuki is talking to Maezono-senpai. Pretending he doesn't notice how Kuramochi-senpai is showing him a thumb up, Sawamura stands up, still with his legs wide apart and yells at Miyuki. "Hey, Miyuki Kazuya! I think I can pitch again today!"
Miyuki turns his head right to look at Sawamura and that's when Sawamura, with the most innocent expression he can muster, slowly sinks to the ground, performing a perfect split. He catches the wince of Maezono-senpai but Miyuki looks unfazed, slowly walking towards Sawamura.
"You should go to the nurse first." Miyuki stops in front of Sawamura, who leans forward, practically lying on his leg and grabbing his foot. Sawamura would end this farce if only he didn't know Miyuki a little better. He knows that expression on Miyuki's face pretty well from moments when the batter corners them: Miyuki is feeling uncomfortable. Success. "And then talk to the coach."
Sawamura, still lying on his stretched leg, looks up at Miyuki, lowering his voice – just like Kuramochi-senpai suggested – and, thinking about their meeting at the vending machine the night before, he says. "It's not what you said yesterday."
It's the first time Sawamura sees Miyuki speechless. It's also interesting how the rest of the team can pretend that they do not to give a damn about their chitchat while it is clear that they are all ears.
Miyuki coughs into his hand, quickly changing his expression to something more closed. "I said that maybe the coach will let you… But he's not a nurse. Go to the infirmary after practice." The cold tone of Miyuki's voice almost makes Sawamura shiver.
He nods, once. "Sure, captain!" he grins again, but Miyuki doesn't respond, already going back to Maezono.
It looks like Sawamura wins this round. Miyuki didn't respond to the innuendo and he also retreated, not even looking back. He didn't even smirk at Sawamura, showing just how much of a cheeky bastard he can be. It looks like Kuramochi-senpai's plan worked even if Miyuki didn't blush. Sawamura is one step closer to the sweet victory.
But why does he feel so empty then?
The rest of the practice goes quietly. A few times Haruichi and Toujou try to start a conversation with Sawamura, but he doesn't feel like talking. Miyuki doesn't even look at him when they go to the cafeteria and it hurts. Normally they would be sitting together at the table but now Miyuki is with other second years which makes something in Sawamura to ache.
Maybe listening to Kuramochi-senpai wasn't the best idea.
Still, Sawamura doesn't want to stop. The problem is, he can't get too close to Miyuki; the captain is busy the whole day, always making excuses. Sawamura almost snaps when Miyuki tries to convince the coach to not let him and Sawamura play catch together during the evening's practice. Oh no, no, no. They are going to practice together!
It seems like the lady luck is on Sawamura's side this day because the coach refuses Miyuki's request.
"The nurse let Sawamura play today and you're an experienced catcher who will notice if he tries to exceed his limits," says Kataoka. One stern gaze from him makes Miyuki shut his mouth immediately. "Yesterday, your practice was interrupted - practice in the bullpen tonight and make sure Sawamura doesn't hurt himself."
Miyuki nods. "Yes, sir."
The atmosphere is completely different from the morning. Miyuki is professional and all, giving Sawamura advice about what the pitcher needs to do but other than that? Nothing. No teasing smirks, no banters. It may be their first practice when they do not argue and that's really, very weird.
The practice ends too quickly and then there is time to go to showers and then to eat dinner. Before Miyuki can run away, Sawamura is at his side, loudly demanding that the catcher stretch with him.
Miyuki sighs, rubbing his temple. "Will you be quiet if I agree?"
"Maybe?" Sawamura grins widely and Miyuki's lips curve into small smile. Maybe things will get better soon?
The gym gets empty quickly, everyone loudly wishing they could finally start eating. Sawamura wants to say something but he doesn't know what. He had never had this problem with Miyuki – or with anyone else - before. Sawamura always knows what to say and if the other person doesn't talk much then it's fine, Sawamura can talk for the both of them!
"Sit down and try to grab your ankles. You shouldn't have problem with that," starts Miyuki, putting his mitt on the bench. "Then we will – Is something wrong?" he asks because Sawamura doesn't move.
"… Why are you like this?" Sawamura blurts out, wincing a little at his demanding tone. He didn't want to sound like a child, but he can't help sounding like one.
"Pardon?" Miyuki cocks his head. "If you wanted to talk then –"
" – Then you would run away," Sawamura interrupts him. Feeling more bold than usual – weeks of his research on innuendos seem to do something to his confidence – walks to Miyuki, putting hands on his own hips. "What the hell is wrong with you? You've been weird since this morning!"
Obviously, this is a very bad thing to say. Miyuki snarls, surprising Sawamura. He has never seen Miyuki looking so disgusted before.
"I don't know what you were playing the past few days but I let you because it was fun… but today you…" Miyuki stops, shaking his head.
One thing is suddenly very clear to Sawamura: Kuramochi-senpai was right. Sawamura really got under Miyuki's skin with his stretching and it was weird because it implies that… does that mean…?
Miyuki continues saying something about the team and how they should stop behaving like that around their teammates because it makes them very uncomfortable and Sawamura can't even focus on Miyuki's words. He becomes too aware of the implications of what Miyuki may be feeling and for some reason, Eijun's feeling so good all of sudden and –
"… Kuramochi said you were probably trying to get revenge for that 'catching balls' things but really –"
Is this why Sawamura was so angry when he realized how much of a fool Miyuki made him look like? Why did he feel angry when Miyuki was smiling at Haruno-chan? Why did he wish Miyuki would lean closer yesterday, when they were talking and everything was peaceful and nice?
"I like you." Sawamura's eyes widen when he hears himself saying those words. Miyuki stops talking abruptly, his eyes almost unnaturally big behind his sport glasses. "I… I…" Sawamura steps back, his eyes never leaving Miyuki, who looks like he was turned into a stone. What on earth made him say that?! "I'm sorry!"
With that Sawamura runs towards the entrance of the gym, not looking behind. Shit, shit, shit! Why is his life so complicated?! He wasn't supposed to say that, he wasn't supposed to say anything! And now Miyuki knows and, gods, he'll make sure Sawamura never forgets that stupid confession!
Sawamura bursts into his room, breathing hard. He also notices – much to his dismay – that he is shaking as if he had a fever.
There are footsteps on the other side of the door and Sawamura opens it, relieved that Kuramochi-senpai has already finished the dinner and he has someone to talk to. Except the one he finds himself face to face is not Kuramochi, but Miyuki.
Before he can close the door, Miyuki pushes him back slightly, walking into the room. "We need to talk," he says slowly, moving closer and closer to Sawamura who, in turn, is moving back. When he bumps into the desk he realizes just how stupid that idea was. "Now."
"W-why? We have nothing to talk about. Listen, I need –"
Sawamura tries to move around Miyuki and run away – again – but the catcher puts his hands on the desk, trapping Sawamura between himself and the furniture. They are uncomfortably close and if Miyuki doesn't move back soon, Sawamura is going to do something very, very stupid - like kissing Miyuki. As nice as this thought sounds, doing so probably would not end well for Sawamura.
"You said you like me," Miyuki says, his face at the same level as Sawamura's. "Is this part of your game?" he asks in a dangerous tone, his teeth almost scratching against each other.
Sawamura shakes his head, unable to look at anything else but Miyuki's narrowed eyes.
"N-No…" he admits finally. If Miyuki wants to laugh at him, then so be it. "I've just… I've just thought that I like you... and… I'm not an ass to lie like that to make you blush!"
At that, Miyuki moves back slightly, surprised.
"Make me blush?" he repeats in a tone that clearly states what he thinks about Sawamura's mental health.
"Yeah!" Sawamura jabs Miyuki's chest with his index finger, forgetting for a moment how close they are standing to each other. "You always make me blush and anger me and I thought I could get revenge on you but as usual, you messed with my head and I think I like you a lot, you ass!... WHY ARE YOU LAUGHING?!"
Miyuki laughs even harder then, putting his head on Sawamura's shoulder. The pitcher tries to push him back but he does not have his heart in it. Miyuki's laughter is pleasant to hear; like strawberries and hot cocoa in cold day.
… Maybe it's time to stop reading shoujo mangas for a while.
Then, still chuckling, Miyuki straightens, his body almost completely leaning against Sawamura's.
"You like me," he says in a sing-song voice which ruffles all Sawamura's feathers the wrong way, but with such happiness Sawamura is sure he's going to melt. "I thought you were making fun of my crush this morning but you like me."
There's something in what Miyuki says that should make Eijun think hard about, but then who has time for thinking when Miyuki's kissing him?
Miyuki's kiss in tentative, almost shy and Sawamura moans quietly into that kiss, parting his lips under the touch of Miyuki's tongue. It's a bit weird but good at the same time, oh so good, when Miyuki's tongue is rolling against his own and there are Miyuki's hands on Eijun's hips and almost absentmindedly he pushes his hips against Miyuki's. The catcher's breath hitches in his throat and Sawamura catches Miyuki's face into his hands, pulling Miyuki closer and closer to himself and hooking one of his legs around Miyuki's thigh.
Someone opens the door and Miyuki breaks the kiss. He's all flushed, breathing almost as hard as Sawamura, a small smile playing on his swollen lips.
He turns towards the door and Sawamura looks over Miyuki's shoulder to see who interrupted then – when did Sawamura sit on the desk might stay a mystery, though.
"Hi, Kuramochi," Miyuki says sweetly to the other second year, who is looking as if lightning struck him. "We're kind of busy."
A little voice keeps telling Sawamura that he should do something now that his roommate is back, but his head is dizzy after the kiss. They kissed and it was glorious, wonderful and all other adjectives anyone could possibly think of. And Miyuki's arms are still around Sawamura, holding him tight and honestly, it's perfect.
"You – My desk! You violated my desk!" Kuramochi yells, pointing his shaking finger at them.
"Oooooh?" Miyuki voice is positively evil. "Not yet but if you came a bit later… Sawamura here was very happy."
Sawamura pinches Miyuki's side at that, a small scowl on his face.
"And you? Unless that was a bat, you were very happy too!"
"A bat? Does this," Miyuki presses his hips to Sawamura's and Kuramochi groans something in the background "feel that impressive to you?"
It kind of does but Sawamura would rather die than admit it.
"Um, Kuramochi-senpai? Could you leave us for a moment to talk…?" Sawamura asks, suddenly more and more aware of how he and Miyuki are looking; Sawamura's leg is still hooked on Miyuki's thigh and he puts it down quickly. "Just a few minutes?"
Kuramochi closes his eyes, sighing heavily. "You have fifteen minutes and after that I'm coming back here with ultraviolet lamp so don't try anything funny!"
With that, Kuramochi walks out, closing the door loudly.
"Kuramochi always likes to joke… So," Miyuki looks back at Sawamura and the pitcher classifies that face as 'pure pervert'. "'Impres—"
Sawamura doesn't let him end that sentence, kissing Miyuki again. Just doing that once made Sawamura realize that kissing Miyuki is a very good way to spend time: he is close to Miyuki and can make Miyuki shut up. It's perfect.
"I prefer that to talking" Miyuki says, his cheeks flushed when they separate from each other for the second time. Who would have known? The quickest way to make Miyuki blush is to kiss him. Sawamura promises himself to use this knowledge very often in the future.
Sawamura laughs quietly at that, not remembering when was the last time he felt so good and so light. He moves his hands up, sliding them through Miyuki's hair, pulling on it slightly and Miyuki's nose bumps tenderly into his own before Miyuki kisses him again. He kisses Eijun with so much fervor as if Eijun was water that would quench Miyuki's thirst after weeks without drinking anything at all.
Now, wasn't Miyuki saying something about a crush…?