Mihashi POV
"Here, eat this." Abe handed me another rice-ball, "And don't forget to drink enough water too." He set a cup of water beside me.
"Th-thank you A-Abe-kun." I managed to stutter out, in awe that he was still taking care of me so nicely, even though I irritated him.
"Good work, mother hen." Tajima teased Abe with a grin. Abe simply shrugged him off, uneffected by the shorter boy's words, as he sat down on the bench to eat his own rice-ball. I watched him for a moment, letting myself take in all my catcher's details. From his brown hair, down to his dirty shoes. To think someone so cool was still letting me be his pitcher; it wasn't even just having the mound, or having the number one, I believe that he genuinely wanted to make me a true ace, which I was so thankful to him for, so much I hadn't even expressed half of how grateful I was to him. Tajima always said Abe was too bossy and that its not like I needed my catcher to act like my mother, but the truth was...I liked that about Abe. The way he guided me, even if it seemed bossy, it meant he wanted something from me, that I wasn't just another shadow.
"Mihashi?" Abe's deep grey eyes pierced into me. His eyebrow raised in the unasked question of 'why haven't you eaten your rice-ball yet?'. I felt my heart instantly speed up, looking away, and eating the rice-ball quickly. I could see Abe set his jaw, as he always did when I started squirming under his gaze; I couldn't help it- there was such power in that gaze of his. He let out a sigh, filled with irritation, turning his eyes away. I didn't mean to make him upset like that; it meant I was one-step closer to him hating me. I wanted to offer an apology, but found I couldn't; it'd just make my catcher more upset. Wait. My catcher. He was my catcher and he'd already made it clear that he'd be my catcher all four years of high school...that thought comforted me. Abe wouldn't ever hate me...maybe...I guess...right?