The Hug (TM)

Authers note: Heyyyyyyy. Sooo I meant to post a while ago but then I got busy with finals and I got locked out of my account and it was just a whole shitshow, but we all good! Now that my school is over I'm gonna try to get back to a weekly upload schedule but don't hold me to it lol. This fic is actually inspired by a panel from the manga (yes I read the manga instead of watching the anime lol) and honestly it really was just the best thing ever. For any other manga readers who know what I'm talking about, I didn't follow the context around the panel, just used it as inspo lol. Anyways let me know about any grammar/spelling mistakes and feel free to leave a review. Have fun reading!

Paring: Kuramochi X Miyuki

"I like you, Kazuya."

"Of course you do, idiot, I'm your captain!"

Kuramochi had to resist the urge to grab Miyuki and strangle him right then and there. Here he was trying to have a serious conversation, and Miyuki was too dense to realize what he actually meant.

"No, I mean I like you," Kuramochi turned from where he was sitting on the baseball field to face Miyuki. He could practically see the gears turning in Miyuki's brain as he tried to understand what Kuramochi meant. All of the sudden, it clicked.

"You're serious?" Miyuki breathed.

"Yeah," Kuramochi said softly.

"...Fuck," Miyuki muttered as he laid down on the field and watched the clouds move across the night sky. They sat in silence for a moment before Kuramochi laid down beside Miyuki.

"You don't have to say anything...I just—well, I just wanted to tell you." Honestly, this was not nearly as awkward as Kuramochi thought it would be. He and Miyuki were really just such good friends that if Kuramochi's feelings weren't reciprocated, they could just pretend this conversation never happened and everything would be completely fine.

"No, No, just, uhhh," Miyuki stuttered before taking a deep breath, "just give me a minute to figure out how to say this." They sat in a, surprisingly, comfortable silence until Miyuki cleared his throat.

"Youichi, you know, you probably know me best out of, like, everyone?"

"Yeah," Kuramochi murmured.

"So you also know how I'm—well, let's just say not exactly in touch with my emotions?" Kuramochi could hear the smile in Miyuki's voice and felt a smile of his own play across his lips.

"Yes, I am aware of that," Kuramochi chuckled.

"Well, I...I uhhh," Miyuki burst out laughing and threw an arm over his face, "God, I really am terrible at this, aren't I?" Kuramochi laughed along with Miyuki.

"You're fine. I feel like this is pretty on-brand for the two of us,"

"God, it so fucking is," Miyuki continued to laugh before sitting up, dragging Kuramochi along with him. They both sat facing each other, still chuckling at the whole situation before Miyuki picked up Kuramochi's hands and held them in his own.

"Kuramochi Youichi, you get the honor of being both my gay awakening and my first real crush."

Kuramochi looked from Miyuki's face to their intertwined hands and back to Miyuki's face again.

"So, does this mean you like me too?" Kuramochi blushed slightly. Miyuki squeezed his hands and smiled.

"Yes, it does."

"Fuck yeah!" Kuramochi quietly cheered before throwing his arms around Miyuki and tackling him to the ground in a hug.

"Oof, you're heavy," Miyuki muttered as Kuramochi flopped down on top of him.

"Rude," Kuramochi flicked Miyuki in the forehead before reversing their positions so that Miyuki was resting on Kuramochi's chest. "Better?" Kuramochi smirked.

"I guess it is," Miyuki let out a chuckle. "Just a heads up, I don't know how comfortable I am with completely being public about this," Miyuki said seriously, "I'm fine with being, like, semi-public, but just not a hundred percent."

"That's totally cool. Whatever you feel most comfortable doing, just let me know," Kuramochi said lightly.

"Great," Miyuki murmured as he buried his face into the crook of Kuramochi's shoulder, "just wanted to make sure I let you know." Kuramochi laughed softly.

"It's all good."

"Fuck," Kuramochi muttered under his breath after, once again, striking out. He made his way back to the dugout and angrily flopped down on the bench beside Zono.

"This game is not going well," Zono whispered matter-of-factly.

"No shit, Sherlock. We can't get a fucking hit off this pitcher!" Kuramochi huffed. Nodding in agreement, Zono turned his attention to the outfield.

"And their fielding's incredible," he muttered.

"Dude, you're not helping," Kuramochi glared at Zono, who put his hands up in defense.

"Hey, I'm just calling it as I see it."

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean you say it out loud," Kuramochi put his head in his hands, "It just sounds kinda hopeless when you put it like that." Kuramochi felt Zono give him a few hard pats on the back before murmuring, "Kominato's up to bat."

Kuramochi lifted his head from his hands and silently prayed that Harucchi and his wooden bat would be the ones to finally get a hit off that insane pitcher. Sadly, Harucchi struck out with two balls on the count and sat down on the bench right beside Kuramochi and Zono.

"This game is a trainwreck," he moaned. Honestly, Kuramochi didn't have the emotional energy to even deny it anymore.

"Yeah, it is," Zono agreed solemnly.

"Fucking hell," Kuramochi choked out in reply and furiously scrubbed at his eyes. He didn't have an issue with his teammates seeing him cry, he just didn't want to bring the mood down more than it already was.

Kuramochi cast a hopeless look out to the field, just in time to see Shirasu strike out and to hear their third out be called. He couldn't help the tear that silently traced a path down his cheek as he watched Shirasu slowly make his way to the dugout.

They had gotten 3 hits and zero runs in the whole 6 innings they had played so far, while the other team had 5 runs.

Another tear made its way down Kuramochi's cheek and he threw his head in his hands once again in an attempt to hide it.

"Hey." He felt someone squeeze his shoulder. Kuramochi looked up slowly and came face-to-face with Miyuki.

"Hey," Kuramochi cringed at the way his voice cracked when he spoke. Miyuki squatted down be at eye level with Kuramochi.

"Look, I know everything about this game feels hopeless," Miyuki moved the hand that was resting on Kuramochi's shoulder and took his hand instead, "and I know you're probably beating yourself up about not being able to fix it." Kuramochi's eyes widened in shock. Miyuki was...definitely not wrong about that.

"But you gotta know that this isn't all your fault," he continued, "hell, it's no one's fault, really. We're facing a tough team with some amazing players who sure as fuck aren't gonna make a win easy for us, but we gotta keep pushing through. Don't let the stress get to your head, and even though it seems impossible, try to keep a positive attitude." Miyuki smiled at him, the same genuine smile that he gave him two months ago when they agreed to go out together.

Upon seeing it, Kuramochi couldn't help but give Miyuki a smile of his own. He silently nodded at Miyuki, brushed a lingering tear from his cheek, and the two of them stood up together to make their way to the rest of the team.

As they were walking back, however, Kuramochi couldn't help but note the fact that Miyuki was still holding his hand. He felt his face heat up but made no move to take his hand from Miyuki's. He knew Miyuki didn't feel comfortable with a lot of PDA so the fact that he clearly felt comfortable enough with Kuramochi to hold his hand was definitely a win.

The combo of Miyuki's pep talk and the ghost Miyuki's hand in his had helped to improve Kuramochi's spirits and he ran to his position between second and third base, hopeful about what was to come.

Their time in the field hadn't been great, but it hadn't been terrible either. They were able to stave off a few runs and even catch a pop-up from one batter, but would that be enough to make up for the five-run lead the other team still had on them?

"Shit, I'm nervous, " Harucchi muttered to Kuramochi as they both took their seats on the bench to watch the next at-bat.

"Same," Kuramochi glanced at the opposing pitcher make his way up to the mound.

"Well, at least they have to get through our cleanups'." Kuramochi and Harucchi looked up to see Zono make his way towards the bench and join them.

"That's true," Harucchi nodded, "if anyone can get a hit off this guy, it's Miyuki."

"I hope you're right," Kuramochi whispered more to himself than to Harucchi.

The world around them fell silent as the pitcher and catcher agreed on what pitch to throw. He could practically feel the concentration and determination radiating off Miyuki as he held his bat above his shoulder. He looked cool, confident, and ready as he stood up there, just like a captain should. The pitcher wound up to throw and...

"Come on Kaz," Kuramochi meant to say that in his head, but it just kind of slipped out. Oh well, he didn't have the time to worry about the strange looks the use of the nickname earned from Zono and Harucchi. All he could do was watch Miyuki's bat as it swung towards the ball and...

Clank!

Kuramochi watched Miyuki's bat make contact with the ball and soared up and up and...

Home. Fucking. Run.

Everyone around him erupted in insane cheering and yelling as Miyuki flung his bat to the side and took a gratuitous run around the bases.

Of course, Miyuki would hit that ball. Of course, he would. Kuramochi didn't know why he ever doubted it for a second. Miyuki was their captain and he would always come through for them. He wanted to sprint up to Miyuki right then and there and tell him how amazing he was, and how that was literally the perfect home run, and how proud of him he was. He just wanted to be with Miyuki.

Before he could register exactly what was happening, Kuramochi's feet had carried him out of the dugout and onto the field towards home plate where Miyuki was standing and Kuramochi launched himself into Miyuki's arms and wrapped his legs around his waist. Miyuki let out a yelp of shock that was quickly replaced with laughter as he just barely managed to catch Kuramochi and pull him into a bone-crushing hug.

There were so many things Kuramochi wanted to say to Miyuki at that moment, but the first thing he was able to get out was "you're incredible." Miyuki laughed at that, a sound that was so full of joy and pride that Kuramochi wanted to cry.

"I told you we could push through," Miyuki murmured, pulling away slightly to look him in the eyes.

"WOOOOHOOOOOO!" Kuramochi and Miyuki tore their eyes off of each other to see Zono followed by the rest of the team sprinting onto the field.

"THAT WAS AMAZING!" Zono yelled as he slapped Miyuki on the back.

"It really was!" Harucchi agreed.

Before they knew it, Miyuki and Kuramochi were completely surrounded by their teammates and the sounds of their cheers and congratulations. Kuramochi let his eyes drift back to Miyuki only to see that Miyuki was staring at him, grinning.

They locked eyes again, and Kuramochi glimpsed something unreadable flash across Miyuki's face. He then realized that jumping into Miyuki's arms like he had probably made Miyuki uncomfortable. Miyuki had wanted to keep their relationship on the down-low and the position they were in and the way he was looking at Miyuki right now...probably weren't the most subtle things in the world. Just as Kuramochi was about to fumble out an apology and jump out of Miyuki's arms, Miyuki leaned in and...

They were kissing. Full on the lips and in front of all their teammates.

Miyuki had initiated this public kiss and the silent message behind it was clear to Kuramochi.

After two months of keeping their relationship on the subtle side, Miyuki was finally ready to be more open about it. Whether Miyuki had made that decision on the fly right then and there or had been thinking about it for some time, Kuramochi didn't know. All he knew was that he was kissing Miyuki and he couldn't be any happier.

The cheering from their teammates, if possible, only got louder as a show of support for Miyuki and Kuramochi. They eventually pulled apart and both couldn't help but laugh.

"You ok with that?" Kuramochi asked quietly. Miyuki just grinned at him.

"Yeah, I am." Kuramochi mirrored Miyuki's grin and slipped his hand into Miyuki's.

"Let's fucking win this thing, am I right?" Miyuki cheered loudly. Kuramochi snickered.

"Hell. Yes."