A/N: Well, i guess i ended up writing this anyway, even thoguh no one has said anything about it. I guess it's because this is a usually yaoi-exclusiv fandom, and this isn't so...

I'm rambling.

Also, I noticed a discrepancy in the writing of this chapter. Hanai and Tajima were sitting down in the field, not on their way to Tajima's house. Sorry, for the mix up even if none if you noticed.

Confession: Reverse Rebirth

Hanai was concerned for Tajima.

No he wasn't concerned, but worried. Concerned implied that you wanted to know about someone you were accountable for like a student or random stranger while worried implied that you hoped something wasn't wrong with someone you cared about be it lover, mother, or friend. The boy had been walking around in a daze like he had been in a daze

Hanai assumed that it had something to do with the weird confession of love that he had gotten during lunch earlier that day. He had been eating and chewing the fat with his team when a very petite girl from the class way down the hall had asked if she could talk to him in private.

He had said that she could, but then right when he got up she changed her mind and blurted out how much she liked him and wanted to be his girlfriend.

"I'm not sure I like you that way," he said quietly, and sad that he had to put it that way.

The truth was the he had a crush on an upperclassman, a third year to be exact, that probably would never notice him because of his age. Even though he this Hanai just wanted to have his secret crush while he could then he would move on to actual, and pursuable girls.

"R-really Hanai-san?" the girl whimpered, seeming to be on the verge of tears.

"Well… I mean…" Hanai sputtered, trying to figure out what to say to make the girl feel better.

"I think he wishes it weren't like this," Tajima interfered. "in fact he probably just isn't ready for a lady as lovely as yourself, right?"

Hanai immediately nodded with a speed that would have rivaled Mihashi's spastic movements. The girl smiled, thanked Hanai, and left. Apparently Tajima's explanation was satisfactory for her.

"Wow Hanai, that went well," Izumi sniggered.

"Yeah man, why'd you reject her like that?" Mizutani frowned.

"Just like Tajima said," Hanai muttered without looking anyone in the eye. He so didn't feel like explaining his situation with the upperclassman. "I'm just not ready for a girlfriend."

Izumi's eyes flickered to Tajima for a second them back to the captain.

"Right…" he murmured as if he knew something that Hanai and Tajima didn't. The captain would have pursued it, but he was too grateful to the cleanup anyway.

Later during practice Hanai couldn't help but notice that Tajima was staring at him. It wasn't intense or even angry satring, but rather of longing. Whenever Hanai caught the cleanup in the one he would immediately break eye contact and amble off.

Other than the staring Tajima's hitting was off. During the pitching drills the balls that normally would have sailed past the pitching machine just ended up pelting the cleanup. It got to the point that eventually Momoe had to go In and shut off the machine to keep Tajima from getting seriously hurt.

The coach led Tajima out and seemed to have, from Hanai's perspective, a talk about why he was so out of it. The captain saw that Tajima had repeatedly gestured to his privates, and assumed that it had to do with something of a sexual nature.

Knowing Tajima, he thought, he's probably saying how he forgot to jack off this morning.

Suddenly the coach and cleanup turned their attention to Hanai, who scrambled to look like he hadn't been trying to figure out what they had been saying. He didn't have to keep paying attention to know that Momoe had told Tajima to handle it or he would have to face some kind of penalty

Finally practice was over. Hanai was happy to finally be going home since the events of his day. They definitely couldn't get any weirder, right? The captain sauntered out of the locker room with Tajima trailing behind.

"Hey Hanai, can I talk to you for a second?" Tajima murmured. Hanai had barely heard it, but since he did and had no reason to be in a hurry, he obliged.

"Uh yeah sure," The captain nodded. "Come on, let's sit down."

The two sat down on the cool grass. For some reason Hanai had a feeling that whatever Tajima was about to say had to do with why he was so dazed. Please let this not be about sex, Hanai begged every god he could think of.

"So what did you want to talk about?" Hanai asked slowly.

"Yeah… um I…" he stammered.

"Wow man, are you okay?" Hanai asked. "You're bright red."

Hanai found it odd that Tajima of all people seemed to be embarrassed. That was like an evangelical Christian in the Bible belt accepting a practicing Satanist as a minister. Tajima started to fiddle with his fingers and took a deep breath.

"Hanai, I like you," he said softly.

What?

"I've liked you ever since I saw you when the team first met. Strictly, I wanted to get in your pants, but then I got to know you and I saw how cool a person you are…

"You're really determined. Even though you can't do cleanup like you want you work really hard. Sometimes it's like you're the only one who can deal with me here too and…"

Hanai tried to process all of the information through his head. firs his friend was gay? How long had that been the case? How hadn't he known earlier?

Then there was the case of what Tajima said about wanting to get into his pants from the start. Did that mean Tajima had snuck looks at him while they were in the showers? Was that why Tajima had gotten so close t him of all people?

Hanai held up his hand to stop the babbling rant. Now he was beet red and was worried about how this was going to go.

"Will you go out with me?"

First of all he was going to have to be politer than he had been earlier that day. Also he would have to refrain from saying anything judgmental, what if this was Tajima's first time coming out?

"Uh… I'm really surprised by this and really flattered that you like me that way, but I like our friendship the way it is." Hanai said, with his voice shaking. "I can't say yes to you, Tajima, Besides, I'm straight."

Hanai bit his bottom lip since he could see how Tajima completely crumpled into himself. His nervous smile disappeared and was replaced with a tight frown. His posture went from open to closed. Hanai just knew how disappointed he was.

"Are you sure?" Tajima muttered.

"I would think so," Hanai murmured, not having to ask for confirmation.

"So there's no chance at all?" Tajima whispered.

Hanai shook his head, there had to be some kind of manual for this. If not a greeting card at leats.

"I'm kind of confused on where to go from now since I've never had a guy confess to me." Hanai sighed. This most definitely had to be Tajima's first time telling a guy this, right?

"…"

"Wait, you've done this before?" Hanai exclaimed. He had an idea of how to make this less awkward.

"Guys used to confess to me" Tajima beamed, puffing out his chest. "My old school was a different place."

"I guess this counts as you coming out, right?" Hanai asked.

"It would if I was ever 'in' to begin with," Tajima chuckled which made Hanai's jaw drop. On the inside he was beating himself up on the inside. Since he had never been in apparently, how coud he have not figured it out? "I told you. My old school was a different place."

"How long have you known?"

"A while," Tajima said after a moment of thought.

"Does anyone else know?" Hanai asked, "On the team that is."

Another moment of thought, "Shino'oka, Mihashi, Hamada, Sakaeguchi, Momoe, and Abe, I guess"

That explained why Momoe had seemed so invested on why Tajima was off. Hanai had expected for a smaller list, probably including Izumi, but no matter.

Tajima then let out the story of how everyone figured it out. Personally his favorite was how Mihashi had learned. Apparently Mihashi thought Tajima liked Shino'oka. He told him that he didn't go that way in a very thick euphemism, and of course he got that usual look on his face. After trying several other clever sayings he just out and said he was gay and Mihashi said-

"Seriously he asked what 'being happy' had to do with Shino'oka," he laughed. "I just had to tell him that I liked guys the way he liked girls. Or at least I think he's straight, my gaydar doesn't seem to be working all that well as of late."

Tajima smiled wistfully, "Hanai, you've been really cool about this, but aren't you curious about anything else I've said?"

It was do or die time.

"Not really," he lied. "I know how you are anyway so none of this really matters."

Suddenly his phone rang. It was a text.

81, I need 2 talk 2 u,

Izumi

Hanai had a bad feeling about the text from Izumi. With the day he'd had it was likely that Izumi was about to confess to him as well. Izumi deserved to be let down gently and as soon as possible.

"Oh crap, I gotta go!" Hanai exclaimed, quickly making up something about having to get some things for his mom. "See you tomorrow."

Hanai was surprised to see how relieved Tajima looked. Maybe he thought that Hanai would want to end their friendship since there were romantic feelings, but what kind of friend would he be if that were the case?

Okay then, it should be known that the Izumi aspect of this was spur the moment. I have no idea what I'm doing with this fic at all. I don't know if any other pairings will be in this, I'm totally free-falling.

What's going to happen next? Find out next time!

Oh yeah, THE JERKIN' HAMSTER OF DOOM COMMANDS THAT YOU REVIEW OR BE BURIED BY RAIN OF BACON!