Author Notes: I had a lot of fun writing this fic xD
This is set during Act II. It takes place a week after my previous fic, but you don't need to read that part to read this part.
This is part of my That Sky series, but you don't need to read the other parts to read this part.
I hope y'all enjoy it!
That Jealous Spring Sky
Mei hummed to himself as he stretched, missing the strange looks his teammates gave him.
Today was a good day so far.
It was a little disappointing that they didn't have a day off today, as it was a Sunday.
(After what happened during Tokyo Senbatsu weekend, Mei had planned on going out on a date with Eijun to make it up to him. Eijun, of course, had been looking forward to it. Until they double checked their schedules and realized they didn't have the day off.)
But he understood that the summer tournament was fast approaching.
At least they had two practice games.
(And not practice.)
Not only that, but Kantoku had promised he would get to pitch in the second game.
The best news so far, though, was that he would get to see Eijun again.
According to Eijun, Seidou had two practice games today, too. Eijun had bragged about getting to pitch in the first game, his smug face dropping when Mei brought up how Kantoku wanted him to pitch in the second game.
He snickered at the memory, missing the way Itsuki, Carlos, and Katsuyuki furrowed their eyebrows.
He and Eijun planned on meeting up for an evening date after the games ended.
Eijun probably thought their evening date would be the same as always.
(Which honestly didn't bother him or Eijun. Both knew the importance of rest (Mei more so than Eijun), and every time they went out on an evening date, they never stayed out that late. Well, other than last week.)
But Mei had something special planned.
He wanted to make Eijun happy, and he hoped Eijun liked what he had planned.
He had planned everything.
He even double checked everything.
Nothing could go wrong.
ZZZ
"Mei?"
Mei hummed, keeping his eyes on the street in front of him, trying to remember which way to go.
(He had the directions on his phone, of course. But he didn't want to use them unless he had to.)
"You haven't told me where we're going."
Hearing the pout in his voice, Mei looked over, his lips twitching, almost grinning at Eijun's pout. "It's a secret."
"This again?" Eijun groaned.
Mei laughed softly, tugging him to the left. "Relax. We're almost there, I promise." He pouted at Eijun's suspicious look. "You don't believe me?"
Eijun looked away briefly, causing him to smirk. "You know I…" He flushed, looking away.
"What?" When Eijun didn't answer, Mei squeezed his hand gently, tempted to reach out and force Eijun to look at him. "Come on. Tell me."
Eijun took a deep breath before looking back at him. "You know I like our normal evening dates." His eyes softened. "You didn't have to do anything special."
Mei's eyes softened. "But I wanted to. Especially since we planned on going out today anyway."
"Mei, I…" Eijun squeezed his hand back before smiling his smile. "I know I already said this, but I'm happy to see you."
Mei pulled him close, kissing his cheek. "I'm happy to see you, too." He looked away from him, eyes lighting up at noticing the street in front of them. "We're here."
"Eh? We are?"
Mei gestured to the street with his free hand, turning his head to look at Eijun. "Go on. Look." He kept his eyes on Eijun, watching as he turned his head to look at the street in front of them, smirking as Eijun's eyes widened.
"Mei, this is…?"
Mei's smirk widened. "A night bazaar."
"A night bazaar?"
Mei gestured to the street again. "All the shops on this street are participating. I heard they even have festival food."
Eijun looked over at him, his eyes lighting up. "Do you think they have takoyaki?"
"They probably do." Mei hummed, looking away from him to look at the bustling street. "I figured we could look around and enjoy the food."
He thought Eijun might enjoy it because of the festival atmosphere.
All kinds of shops lined the street, and in front of each of them was either a wooden table or wooden stall. Some of the shops sold fresh fruits and vegetables while others sold clothing or jewelry. Mei even saw a shop selling herbal tea. Some of the shops not selling anything had set up a game. He could hear the chatter of other people and some music.
One of the shops had set up a lottery where people pulled on the strings to get a prize, causing Mei to smirk.
Because of their practice games, they had arrived a little bit later than Mei wanted.
(As the night bazaar was only open for a few hours.)
But they should have more than enough time to look at everything Eijun wanted to see.
(And taste for that matter.)
Mei tightened his grip on Eijun's hand briefly as they made their way through the crowd. "Be careful," he warned. "You'll get lost if we get separated."
Eijun huffed, but he tightened his grip on Mei's hand, stepping closer to him. "I'm not stupid."
Mei grinned cheekily. "Are you sure about that?"
Eijun glared at him. "You know what? You—"
"Hey hey hey! What a surprise!"
Mei furrowed his eyebrows as Eijun groaned. He looked away from him to look in the direction the voice came from.
To his surprise, Sankou's Amahisa Kousei ran over to them, grinning.
"I didn't think I'd see Sawamura here!" Amahisa stopped a couple of meters away from them.
Eijun huffed, causing Mei to raise his eyebrows. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm here with my teammates!" Amahisa didn't look offended at Eijun's rudeness, although Mei couldn't tell whether that was because Amahisa didn't realize Eijun was being rude or because Amahisa was an idiot. "I didn't know you like this kind of thing! You should've told me!"
Mei tensed, tightening his grip on Eijun's hand briefly before looking at him. "Told him?" He glared at Eijun. "What does he mean by that?"
Amahisa blinked a few times before looking at Mei, his eyes widening, as if he had forgotten about him. Or noticed him for the first time. "Narumiya, you're here, too!" He rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm sorry I didn't pitch during our spring tournament game. I woke up with a crick in my neck."
… Was this guy serious right now?
Mei furrowed his eyebrows, exchanging a confused look with Eijun before looking at Amahisa. "Like I told you back then, we would've won even if you had pitched."
"You don't know that for sure!" Amahisa pointed at himself with his thumb. "I'm a great pitcher! Probably one of the best!" He looked at Eijun, grinning. "Right, Sawamura?"
Mei's eye twitched.
Amahisa was a great pitcher, but he wouldn't say he was one of the best.
(Did Amahisa forget about him?)
Eijun huffed, tightening his grip on his hand. "It doesn't matter how many times you ask me. My answer will always be the same."
"Don't say that, Sawamura." Amahisa frowned, stepping closer, causing Mei's eyes to narrow. "I don't know why you always say that."
Mei's eye twitched again. "Oi, what you are you guys talking about?"
Why did he get the feeling he was missing something?
Amahisa grinned. "I'm sure you'll change your mind once you see me pitch in the summer tournament."
"I won't change my mind." Eijun glared at him for a few moments before blinking and looking over at Mei, paling at the look on his face. "Mei, this is… Uh…"
Mei looked over at Eijun, raising an eyebrow. "Well? I'm waiting."
Eijun gulped, looking away briefly. "… This guy forced me to give him my LINE contact information."
"What!" Mei roared, glowering at Amahisa who placed his hands on his hips, looking proud of himself. He glowered at Eijun. "And why didn't you tell me this earlier?"
Eijun flinched at his icy glare. "I… I wasn't trying to… It wasn't…" He huffed. "It wasn't that important."
"Well, I disagree." Mei huffed. "You tell me everything."
Eijun winced. "I know, I'm sorry. I just…" He sighed, looking away briefly. "I guess I forgot about it. We don't even talk that much."
"Yeah, we do." Amahisa, who was either oblivious to the tension or an idiot, grinned as they glared at him. "Sure, we don't talk every day. But sometimes, when I ask about your day or send you a sticker, you respond back."
Eijun glowered at him. "That's because you're persistent as hell!"
Amahisa looked over at Mei, furrowing his eyebrows. "I don't understand why you're so angry about it. Unless…" He gasped, his eyes widening, causing them to blink. "That's it!"
Mei huffed. "What?"
"It's alright, Narumiya! I understand now!" Amahisa took out his phone, grinning at him. "Do you want me to add you to our group in LINE? I don't mind if it's you."
Eijun narrowed his eyes. "Don't add anyone without asking! And what group are we even talking about?"
Mei felt his eye twitch, tempted to ignore Amahisa.
(Seriously, what was with this guy?)
He still felt angry with both him and Eijun.
(What the hell? Amahisa had no right to force Eijun to tell him his LINE contact information. And Eijun should've told him earlier.)
But Amahisa wanted him to join their group.
Refusing the invitation would be rude.
He smirked, pointing at himself. "I'm not surprised you want me to join. I'm the king after all." Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Eijun rolling his eyes good-naturedly. "I'll do you guys a favor and join your little group."
Besides, joining the group meant he could keep an eye on Amahisa.
He really didn't like Amahisa's… overfriendliness with Eijun.
(Did Amahisa like Eijun?)
"Great! I'll send you an invitation right away!" Amahisa's grin widened.
Eijun glared at Mei before glaring at Amahisa. "Don't I get any say in this? I'm part of this group, too!"
Mei squeezed his hand gently, causing Eijun to look at him. "Are you saying you don't want me to join?" He pouted.
"I… That's not…" Eijun flushed (much to his amusement), looking away briefly. "If…" He took a deep breath. "If we had to add someone, I would rather it be you than someone else."
Mei grinned cheekily. "That's what I thought."
"There!" Amahisa grinned as they looked at him, surprised. "I sent you an invitation, Narumiya!"
Mei nodded. "I'll accept it later tonight." He gestured to Eijun and himself. "Now if you don't mind, we've got somewhere to be."
Unfortunately, Amahisa easily caught up to them, even walking next to Eijun (much to Mei's annoyance). "Wait up! Where are you guys going?"
"I don't know if you can tell, but we're on a date." Mei glared at him. "So leave."
Amahisa's eyes widened, looking between them before looking at Eijun. "You didn't tell me you were dating Narumiya!"
Eijun flushed, shooting a smug Mei a dirty look before looking at Amahisa. "Of course I'm not going to tell you that!"
"Why not? We're in the same LINE group."
Eijun narrowed his eyes. "That doesn't mean anything! We barely know each other! And we're enemies!"
Amahisa blinked before gesturing toward Mei. "Isn't he your enemy, too?"
"He's…" Eijun's flush darkened (much to his amusement). "He's different."
Mei gently nudged his left shoulder with his right one. "Yeah, he's different." He smirked. "I still plan on winning the summer tournament, though."
Eijun gave him a determined glare. "You're going to lose!"
"Yeah!" Amahisa's loud voice caused them to look at him. "You're going to lose to Sankou!"
Eijun glared at Amahisa. "No, he's going to lose to Seidou!"
Mei's smirk widened. "I'd like to see you guys try. Inashiro doesn't lose." He blinked, remembering something Amahisa said earlier. "Speaking of Sankou… Didn't you say you were here with your teammates?"
"Ah!" Amahisa gasped, his eyes widening, as if he had forgotten. "That's right!" He walked in front of them, causing them to stop. "To tell the truth, I got separated from them."
Mei looked over at Eijun, giving him a pointed look.
Eijun looked at him, huffing and elbowing him, grinning when Mei glared at him.
"Have you guys seen them anywhere?"
Mei shook his head. "Unfortunately, I haven't. But I'm sure you'll find them soon enough."
With that taken care of, Mei tugged Eijun forward, stepping around Amahisa.
To his annoyance, Amahisa easily caught up, gasping. "Oh, I know! I can join you guys!"
Mei and Eijun froze, exchanging a wide-eyed look with each other.
Join them?
As in join them on their date?
"No! Absolutely not!" Mei glowered at him.
Amahisa grinned. "Come on. It makes the most sense. Three pairs of eyes are better than one."
"You're not joining us on our date!"
Eijun cleared his throat, causing them to look at him. "We promise… I promise to let you know if we see them." He looked at Mei before looking back at Amahisa. "But you can't join us on our date."
Mei smirked. "You heard him. Good luck finding your teammates."
"Don't say that, Sawamura!" Amahisa looked at Eijun, causing Mei to glare at him before looking at Eijun. "I would help you if you needed help!"
Eijun bit his lower lip.
Recognizing the action, Mei glared at Eijun. "Absolutely not." When Eijun looked at him, still biting his lower lip, he huffed. "Are you serious right now?"
"He needs help."
Mei really liked Eijun's kind nature, and whenever Eijun was kind to him, it made his chest feel warm.
But in situations like this…
It was a pain in the ass.
Mei tugged him closer, causing Eijun to gasp. "What about our date?"
"We can continue it after we help him."
… What the hell?
Did Eijun even realize what he was saying?
Mei glowered at him. "What if it takes longer than we thought?"
Eijun, the impertinent and stubborn brat that he was, glowered back at him. "I'm not going to ignore him when he needs help."
"You mean you'll help me?"
They looked at Amahisa, furrowing their eyebrows.
"That's great! Thank you, you guys!" Amahisa grinned at them, turning around and walking ahead of them.
Mei clicked his tongue, causing Eijun to look at him. "I can't believe this."
Eijun had the decency to look sheepish. "I'm sorry, Mei. I'm sure it won't take long."
"You and your optimism."
Eijun raised an eyebrow. "You know, you can always go back by yourself if you don't want to help."
Mei's eyes widened.
Go back?
By himself?
(And leave Eijun alone with Amahisa?)
"Absolutely not!" Mei glowered at him. "I hate that we're helping him, but I would hate it even more if you were walking around alone!"
Eijun rolled his eyes good-naturedly. "I'm not alone, you idiot. He's with me."
"You know what I mean!"
Eijun's eyes softened. "Yeah, I know. Thank you."
Mei huffed. "Are you sure we can't just ignore him?" Ignoring Eijun's look of disapproval, he gestured to the crowd around them. "We can easily lose him in the crowd and get back to our date."
"Mei, he's lost and looking for his teammates." Eijun furrowed his eyebrows. "And you want me to ignore him?"
Mei immediately nodded. "Leave that job to someone else so that we can go back to our date."
Eijun rolled his eyes. "You're so horrible." He gently nudged his right shoulder with his left one. "Keep an eye out for his teammates, okay?"
"Don't tell me what to do."
Eijun's eyes softened. "Thank you, Mei. I'm sorry."
Mei huffed as Eijun looked away from him.
He couldn't believe this.
His perfect date… was ruined.
(The worst part was that he couldn't tell if Amahisa had done it on purpose or not.)
… Then again, he probably should've seen this coming.
Eijun was too nice.
(He would probably even help a stray cat or some homeless person.)
As much as this annoyed him, though, Mei wasn't that angry with Eijun.
Sure, Eijun had agreed to help Amahisa, especially when they were on a date.
But Eijun was being Eijun.
It would be weird (and very wrong) if Eijun had ignored him.
And it was partly why he liked him so much.
(Even if it could be annoying at times. Why couldn't Eijun be mean to someone for once? That would probably stop all those people from crushing on him.)
Mei groaned, missing the way Eijun gave him a confused look.
… He might as well help.
But only so that they could get back to their date as soon as possible.
Maybe Eijun was right.
Maybe they wouldn't have any trouble finding Amahisa's teammates.
ZZZ
Mei almost growled, glowering at Amahisa.
They had been walking around for almost twenty minutes, and they couldn't find any of Amahisa's stupid teammates.
Not only that, but Amahisa himself… wasn't even trying to look for them.
Amahisa kept getting distracted by all the stalls around them, telling them to come over and look at something or try some type of food.
… Was Amahisa that stupid?
(Even Eijun wasn't this stupid.)
"Here, Sawamura. I got some takoyaki." Amahisa grinned at him, holding out a piece to him.
Eijun's eyes lit up, causing Mei to shoot Amahisa a dirty look. "I love takoyaki!"
"Eh? Really? Me too." Amahisa's grin widened. "Here, say ahh."
Eijun's stomach had growled a few minutes ago, Amahisa announcing that it was time for a break.
And even though Mei didn't think Amahisa deserved a break, especially after wasting all that time, he had agreed.
Not for Amahisa's sake, though.
For Eijun's sake.
Eijun furrowed his eyebrows, scooting closer to Mei. "I can eat it by myself."
"Come on. Just one bite."
Eijun held out a hand. "I'm only eating it if you hand it to me first."
"Just one—"
Mei tightened his grip around Eijun's waist, growling at Amahisa, causing Eijun to stare at him. "Are you stupid? He said no. Only one person can feed him, and that's me."
Eijun frowned. "Mei, you know I wouldn't…"
Mei almost growled again, looking at Eijun. "I know that, idiot!"
Eijun glowered at him. "You don't have to be so rude, you ass!"
"Yeah, Narumiya." Amahisa's voice caused them to look at him. Amahisa frowned. "I don't know why you're so grumpy." His eyes lit up a couple of moments later. "I know!" He held up the food he bought. "You must be hungry! I've got takoyaki and yakisoba! What do you want?"
Mei felt his eye twitch, watching out of the corner of his eye as Eijun hid a poorly disguised laugh into his shoulder. "What I want is for you to leave my boyfriend alone!" He felt Eijun shiver next to him, and although he knew it had nothing to do with the weather, he pulled him closer.
"I know how that feels. I get grumpy when I'm hungry, too." Amahisa nodded sagely. "So what do you want, Narumiya? I've got takoyaki and yakisoba."
Mei felt his eye twitch again, feeling Eijun shake next to him. "Give me the takoyaki." Once Amahisa handed it over, he looked over at Eijun, squeezing his waist gently to get his attention.
Eijun looked up from his shoulder, his eyes lighting up when Mei held up the plastic container.
Mei grabbed a takoyaki with the stick, blowing on it gently before holding it out to Eijun.
To his amusement, Eijun flushed before leaning in and eating it in one bite, letting out a happy sound at the taste.
Cute.
At his expectant look, Eijun rolled his eyes good-naturedly, picking up a piece and blowing on it before holding it out to him.
Mei reached out with his free hand, grabbing his wrist and pulling his arm closer. He ate the piece in one bite, keeping his eyes on Amahisa as he did so, smug when Amahisa frowned deeply.
Serves you right.
Unfortunately, it didn't last long as Amahisa grinned, eating some takoyaki from another container.
Mei and Eijun fed each other takoyaki, Eijun laughing when Mei got some sauce on his nose.
Before Mei could wipe it off, Eijun leaned in, licking the sauce off, grinning devilishly at his pink cheeks.
Mei got revenge by pulling him into a kiss, not even caring that Amahisa was still with them.
He pulled away several moments later, smirking at Amahisa.
Much to his annoyance, Amahisa had been looking down at his yakisoba, wondering how they made the sauce for it.
After finishing the food, they walked around the night bazaar some more, keeping an eye out for Amahisa's teammates.
Eijun squeezed his hand gently, causing him to look at him. "Quit it, Mei."
"Quit what?"
Eijun rolled his eyes. "You know what."
Mei huffed, glaring at Amahisa who was walking in front of them before looking at Eijun again. "He's getting too close to you. I don't like it."
"Will you relax? I won't let him do anything." Eijun smiled reassuringly. "I promise."
Mei raised an eyebrow. "You're not going to tell me that I'm imagining things?"
"While I think you're overprotective and possessive for no reason…" Eijun grinned devilishly at his dirty look. "I won't tell you that you're imagining things."
Mei scoffed. "That guy's too obvious if even a guy like you can tell what's going on."
Eijun glared at him, causing his lips to twitch. "What's that supposed to mean!"
"Why am I not surprised that guy likes you?"
Eijun huffed. "Don't change the subject, you ass! I…" He blinked a few times, as if belatedly realizing what he said. "Eh?"
"That's why he was trying to feed you earlier." Mei scowled. "Well, he's got another thing coming if he thinks I'm just going to let him steal you away from me."
Eijun furrowed his eyebrows. "I won't deny that was weird, but I don't know if he likes me."
"I'm not letting go of you the entire night."
Eijun rolled his eyes good-naturedly, gently nudging his right shoulder with his left one. "Like I want to leave your side, idiot."
Mei's eyes softened. "I—"
"Oi, Sawamura! Narumiya! Over here!"
Mei clicked his tongue, looking away from Eijun. "Is it too late to ignore him?" he muttered.
Eijun huffed. "I know he has some bad timing, but we talked about this, Mei."
"Alright, alright."
They walked over to Amahisa, Amahisa grinning widely.
Mei blinked, noticing the sign next to him. "A stamp rally?"
Amahisa nodded enthusiastically. "My teammates and I were in the middle of this stamp rally when we got separated."
"Then why don't you wait here for them?" Mei suggested.
Unfortunately, Amahisa frowned at him. "Eh! But that would be boring!" His eyes lit up. "I've got an idea! Let's do the stamp rally together!"
Eijun let out a confused sound. "The three of us?"
"Yeah! It will be a lot of fun!"
Mei resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "That doesn't make sense. Aren't you looking for your teammates?"
"We might bump into them while we're doing it!"
While Eijun's optimism could be annoying at times, it was also cute.
But Amahisa's optimism was only annoying.
(Probably because Amahisa was an idiot.)
Eijun hummed, causing Mei to look over at him. "You're right. That could happen."
Noticing the way Eijun's eyes lit up whenever he looked at the stamp rally sign, Mei rolled his eyes. "Alright, let's do it."
(Eijun was so transparent.)
Eijun and Amahisa cheered, Amahisa getting in line to sign them up.
"Mei."
Mei looked over at Eijun, raising an eyebrow.
"Thank you."
Mei flushed, looking away from those soft eyes. "Yeah, yeah."
They had to walk along the street and find the shops helping with the stamp rally, and once they found one, they had to participate in a game or activity before they could receive the stamp and directions to the next one.
Amahisa wanted to find them in order, so they started with the closest one first.
Their first one was a ring toss booth.
"Welcome!" The older man grinned at them. "Are you guys participating in the stamp rally?" When Amahisa nodded enthusiastically, showing him their empty card, he laughed, gesturing to the game behind him. "To get the stamp, all you need to do is play the game. And if you score enough points, you'll get a prize. Good luck."
Amahisa rolled up the sleeves of his jacket. "Alright, leave this to me, guys!" He walked up, dropping some change onto the table before letting out a surprised sound. "I know!" He turned around, looking at Mei and narrowing his eyes. "Let's have a competition, Narumiya!"
Mei scoffed. "You won't stand a chance against me." Noticing Eijun's expectant look out of the corner of his eye, his lips twitched.
"Good luck, Mei." Eijun squeezed his hand gently before letting go.
Mei's chest felt warm. He scoffed, walking up to the table. "I don't need luck." He dropped some change onto the table, amused as Eijun let out a huff behind him.
He and Amahisa both got five rings each.
Mei barely missed one of the wooden pegs, irritated when Eijun snickered behind him. But he managed to land the rest of his rings on the wooden pegs, smirking when Eijun let out an impressed sound.
Amahisa… wasn't as lucky (or as good as him). He only landed one of his rings on the wooden pegs, causing him to huff. "I demand a rematch!"
"You'll just lose again." Mei smirked. "I always win."
Eijun rolled his eyes, elbowing Mei, causing him to give him a betrayed look. "Behave, Mei." He looked at Amahisa. "I know losing to this guy is frustrating, but we should probably work on collecting the rest of the stamps first."
Eijun (of all people) was being sensible?
(He thought Eijun would forget about the stamp rally, especially after watching him play.)
Amahisa gasped, his eyes widening, as if he had forgotten about the stamp rally. "That's right!" He turned to face the other man, holding out the card. "Stamp, please!"
"Here you go." The older man stamped the first blank space on their card.
After receiving the directions to the next stamp, they walked away from the game, the older man thanking them for coming and wishing them luck with the rest of the stamp rally.
Mei frowned deeply, noticing the crowd of people ahead of them.
Much to his annoyance, Amahisa grabbed Eijun's right wrist before he could grab Eijun's hand. "Look, Sawamura! It says the next stamp is at a ball throwing booth! Do you think that means baseball?"
Eijun frowned, looking behind him at Mei before trying to pull away from Amahisa. "It might be. More importantly, could you let go?"
"Eh? But I don't want you to get lost!"
Mei rolled his eyes, walking closer to them. "I don't want to hear that from you. Now let go." He narrowed his eyes, forcing Amahisa to let go of Eijun's wrist, his eye twitching when Amahisa whined. He looked at Eijun, his eyes softening. "Are you alright?"
Eijun smiled his smile, holding his hand. "I'm alright. He didn't hurt me."
"Like I would hurt Sawamura." Amahisa scoffed.
Mei shot Amahisa a warning look before looking at Eijun and smiling softly, missing Amahisa's wide-eyed look. "I'm glad you're alright."
They didn't have to walk far to reach the next booth, Eijun huffing once he caught sight of the game, causing Amahisa to give him a confused look and Mei to smirk.
The game was like the baseball game they had played at the summer festival last year.
The one where Eijun only knocked one bottle down.
Mei snickered, causing Eijun to shoot him a dirty look.
"I won't lose this time!" Eijun glared at him.
Mei's smirk widened. "We'll see about that."
Amahisa hummed. "In that case, do you guys want to go against each other?"
… Huh.
That was strangely nice of him.
Mei thought Amahisa would insist on playing again.
(So Amahisa could read the room. Did that mean everything that happened earlier was on purpose?)
"Eh? Is that alright with you?" Eijun looked at Amahisa, furrowing his eyebrows.
Amahisa waved his hand, stepping out of the way and grinning at him. "I'll just watch this time. I don't mind."
Eijun looked back at Mei, determined.
Mei smirked, a challenging glint in his eyes.
They stepped up to the booth, Eijun letting go of his hand to drop some change onto the table.
Mei graciously allowed Eijun to go first, his lips twitching when Eijun gave him a suspicious look.
Eijun adjusted the ball in his left hand before looking at the bottles. After looking around him a few times, he took a deep breath before doing a windup motion.
The ball didn't knock down all the bottles, one bottle on the left side still standing, causing Eijun to huff.
Knocking down nine out of ten bottles…
That was pretty good.
(Unlike what happened last year.)
Mei refused to lose, though.
Amahisa whistled, patting Eijun's right shoulder (much to Mei's irritation). "Hey, that was pretty good!"
Eijun flushed, grinning at him before looking at Mei. "What do you think? I've gotten better, huh?"
"What?" Mei scoffed. "You mean compared to last year?"
He knew Eijun only flushed because of the praise, but it still annoyed him.
Eijun's flush darkened, causing him to smirk. "Why did you have to mention that!"
Amahisa blinked a few times, looking between them. "What happened last year?"
"Well, you see—"
Eijun yelled, waving his hands in the air, glaring at Mei. "He doesn't need to know, you ass!" He huffed, gesturing toward the game. "Hurry up and take your turn. We're holding up the line."
Mei snickered, deciding to forgive him and listen.
Just this once.
He dropped some change onto the table before adjusting the ball in his left hand and looking at the bottles. After looking around a few times, he mimicked Eijun and did a windup motion.
(Surprisingly, Eijun had been telling the truth when he said they were holding up the line. A huge crowd of people waited behind them, some people even waiting beside them.)
He made a face as the ball knocked down nine bottles, one bottle on the right side still standing.
That was the same as last year.
More importantly…
Eijun let out a frustrated sound. "What are we going to do? We tied!"
"Hey, that was pretty good, Narumiya!" Amahisa grinned at him, causing Mei to smirk at Eijun, Eijun glowering at him.
Mei hummed. "Normally, I would demand a rematch. But I think we'll have to be satisfied with a tie today."
Eijun groaned. "Fine, I'll take the tie." He pouted. "I'm sure I would've won if we played again."
"Maybe in your dreams." Mei snorted.
Eijun glared at him, causing Mei to smirk.
After receiving the stamp and the directions, they walked away from the booth, Mei frowning as his ears picked up a few whispers.
"Hey, do you think that's…?"
"No way. Why would he be here?"
"But it looks just like him! Remember the windup motion?"
Did he… almost get recognized?
They had gotten lucky.
Mei kept his head down, not looking at anyone else until he caught up with Eijun, holding his hand once more.
Noticing the poorly concealed worried look out of the corner of his eye, he looked at Eijun, furrowing his eyebrows. "What's wrong?"
"Those whispers back there…" Eijun gestured behind them. "They were talking about you, weren't they?"
Mei wanted to tease him and ask if he was jealous.
But instead, he shrugged. "I don't know. Probably."
"What do you mean 'probably'?"
Mei raised an eyebrow. "Why do you look so worried?"
Eijun looked away briefly before tightening his grip on his hand. "I've never thought about it before tonight, but what if someone recognizes us? Recognizes you?"
"I'll tell them thanks for the support and walk away." Mei grinned cheekily.
Eijun let out a frustrated sound. "This isn't funny, Mei! You're not concerned at all?"
Mei rolled his eyes. "Well, I'm used to being in the spotlight." His eyes softened at Eijun's glare. "But I—"
"Oi, Sawamura! Narumiya!" Amahisa waved at them. "Hurry up!"
Mei glowered at Amahisa. "If we don't hurry up and find his teammates, I'm going to kill him."
Eijun squeezed his hand gently. "You can't kill Sankou's ace, Mei." He huffed. "Even if he has some of the worst timing I've ever seen."
(Mei felt relieved Eijun was just as annoyed as him at Amahisa's interruptions.)
"Watch me. I could probably get away with it."
Eijun huffed again. "Why? Because you're the king?"
Mei smirked, looking over at him and squeezing his hand gently. "Exactly. See? I knew you'd remember who I am eventually."
Eijun rolled his eyes good-naturedly.
They walked along the street, visiting stalls and collecting stamps.
It took them almost an hour, but they finally managed to collect all the stamps.
"Alright! Now all we have to do is go back to the start!" Amahisa grinned at them.
Eijun furrowed his eyebrows. "We still haven't seen any of your teammates. Do you think they would wait for you back at the start?"
Amahisa hummed before laughing. "I don't know. Let's go check."
"I suppose that's all we can do right now," Mei agreed. He blinked a few times, belatedly remembering something. "Hang on… You have your phone, right?"
Eijun gasped, his eyes widening. "That's it! That's our answer!"
Amahisa's eyes widened. "Oh, right! My phone!" He took out his phone, furrowing his eyebrows as he looked down at it, as if he didn't know how to use it.
They turned into a nearby alley so that Amahisa could talk on his phone and not walk into someone, Eijun and Mei waiting nearby.
Mei groaned, leaning his head on Eijun's shoulder. "I feel like such an idiot. I can't believe I forgot about his phone this whole time," he muttered.
"I know, right?" Eijun pulled him closer, kissing the top of his head, causing Mei to let out an approving sound. "I had a feeling I was forgetting something."
Mei let go of Eijun's hand, wrapping his arms around his waist and almost smiling when Eijun immediately hugged him back. "Let's go back to our date after we meet up with his teammates."
"Sounds good to me." Eijun kissed his cheek. "Thank you for being so patient, Mei."
Mei groaned again. "Don't remind me. I can't believe we wasted that much time."
"I'll make it up to you."
Mei hummed, watching Amahisa who was talking on his phone over Eijun's shoulder. "You better." He closed his eyes, tightening his grip briefly.
… On second thought, Amahisa could take as long as he wanted.
Mei felt comfortable with Eijun's arms around him.
He wanted to lose himself in Eijun's warmth for as long as possible.
They had, of course, met up for an evening date a few days ago, and they had been texting and calling each other as much as possible.
But it hadn't been enough.
(It was never enough.)
Not for the first time did he wish that they could have more time together.
(Or that Eijun was at Inashiro instead.)
He would have to settle for their rare dates and moments like these, though.
"Mei?"
He hummed, burying his face in his shoulder, breathing in that familiar traditional tatami floor smell.
(Eijun smelled like sunshine. No surprise there.)
"I've been thinking. About us."
Mei opened his eyes, pulling away to look at him, his eyebrows furrowing. "What are you…?"
Normally, he would tease Eijun, but he knew now wasn't the time.
(Why did Eijun look so serious?)
Eijun avoided his eyes. "I just… I guess after what happened earlier, I've…"
"What?"
Eijun looked back at him, tightening his grip. "I've been thinking about my teammates. I think I should—"
"Good news, guys!" Amahisa walked over to them, grinning. "My teammates will meet us at the stamp rally table!"
Mei tightened his grip, trying to keep his hands occupied so that he didn't punch Amahisa. "Great. Let's go."
(He was really starting to get tired of Amahisa interrupting their conversations. Seriously, what was with Amahisa's timing?)
Eijun reluctantly let go of him, perking up when Mei held his hand. "I'm glad. Now you won't get lost anymore."
"I know, right?" Amahisa laughed, as if getting lost was funny to him.
(Maybe it was. Mei didn't know how Amahisa's mind worked, and he didn't want to find out.)
They walked out of the alley, joining the crowd of people once more. Thankfully, the crowd had died down a little while Amahisa talked on the phone, the three of them no longer having to step around as many people.
Mei frowned, looking over at Amahisa. "Speaking of your teammates… What took you guys so long?"
Not that he was complaining.
He had enjoyed his little moment with Eijun and felt disappointed it didn't last longer.
Amahisa let out a surprised sound. "Oh, right. It turns out my teammates had gotten lost, too." He grinned at their surprised looks. "They got hungry while looking for me and were eating their food when I called."
"Of course your teammates managed to get lost, too." Mei rolled his eyes.
(As expected of Sankou.)
Eijun frowned. "Well, it was pretty crowded when we arrived. If it was anything like that when they arrived, I'm not surprised they got separated." He gestured to their joined hands. "It's not like they held hands."
"That's it!" Amahisa's loud voice caused them to look at him, confused. "I don't want to get separated from you guys and not meet up with them!" He walked closer to them, seemingly missing Mei's warning look. "That's why…" He held Eijun's free hand, looking proud of himself when Eijun's jaw dropped.
Mei glowered at him, tugging Eijun closer, causing Eijun to gasp. "Let go of that hand!"
"Why? You're not using it."
Mei growled, causing Eijun to stare at him. "That's not the point! You're not his boyfriend!"
Amahisa looked at Eijun, raising an eyebrow. "You don't mind, do you, Sawamura?"
"Don't ignore me, you bastard!"
Eijun's mouth opened and closed a few times, causing him to resemble a goldfish. "I… I don't think…" He looked at Mei before looking at Amahisa. "Please let go."
"See? He doesn't want you to hold his hand either!"
Amahisa pouted. "But what if we get separated?"
Mei snorted. "You weren't worried about that earlier." He narrowed his eyes, tempted to reach over and force him to let go. "Let go of his hand."
Fortunately, Amahisa wasn't that stupid and let go a few moments later, huffing. "Now what am I supposed to do?" he whined.
"Not my problem," Mei grumbled, reaching out for Eijun's other hand and gently looking it over. "Is your hand alright?"
Eijun rolled his eyes good-naturedly. "It's alright, Mei. He only held it. He didn't hurt it."
Amahisa huffed. "Like I would hurt Sawamura's hand. I know how important his hands are to him."
"I'm glad." Mei looked over his hand one more time before letting go, ignoring Amahisa (and the guilt that came from his words). "Make sure to wash your hands later. We don't know what kind of germs he might have."
Amahisa glared at him. "What's that supposed to mean!"
Eijun's lips twitched. "Mei, stop being rude."
"It's the truth." Mei grinned.
Amahisa hummed, causing them to look at him. "I don't want to get separated from you guys." His eyes lit up. "How about this?" He placed a hand on Eijun's right shoulder, Eijun tensing at his touch.
"Stop touching him! You're making him uncomfortable!" Mei glowered at him.
Eijun relaxed, giving Mei a reassuring smile. "I don't mind, Mei."
"I do!"
Amahisa gasped, his eyes widening. "You mean this is alright?"
Eijun rolled his eyes at Mei before looking at Amahisa. "Don't grip too hard, okay?"
"I promise I'll be careful!" Amahisa grinned at him.
Mei huffed, tempted to protest again. Anything he could've said died in his throat when Eijun gave him a warning look, though.
Damn it.
Stupid Amahisa.
Stupid Eijun.
(Why did Eijun have to be so nice? He knew Eijun still felt uncomfortable at the touch.)
They made their way through the crowd, Mei hoping to bump into someone hard enough to knock Amahisa's hand off Eijun's shoulder.
But no such luck.
(Eijun had given him some strange (and even suspicious) looks when he kept bumping into people. He had, of course, apologized and reassured both the person and Eijun that it had been an accident, but after doing it several times, Eijun didn't look like he believed him.)
Much to Mei's annoyance, Amahisa kept chattering like a bird to Eijun.
Eijun had tried to keep up with the conversation (if it could be called that), but Mei could safely assume from his confused look that Amahisa had lost him a while ago.
Mei huffed, looking away.
He wasn't jealous.
Eijun was dating him.
He was the one holding Eijun's hand right now.
Not Amahisa.
And yet…
He growled at the thought of Amahisa having Eijun's undivided attention.
(That was supposed to belong to him, damn it!)
He didn't know how, but he somehow managed to keep his anger under control.
Thankfully, they arrived at the stamp rally table a few moments later, Amahisa letting go at the sight of his teammates, causing Eijun to breathe a sigh of relief.
Mei ignored Amahisa's teammates who looked at them curiously, looking at Eijun instead. "Is your shoulder alright? He didn't grip too hard?"
Eijun shook his head, giving him a reassuring smile. "I'm alright, Mei."
"I wouldn't hurt his shoulder! Who do you think I am!" Amahisa sounded offended.
Mei rolled his eyes, turning his head to look at Amahisa and his teammates.
(He would have to look at his shoulder later.)
One of Amahisa's teammates stepped forward, grinning sheepishly. "Sorry about our ace. We're grateful for all your help."
"Don't worry about it." Eijun smiled at them. "I'm sure he would've done the same for us."
Amahisa hummed. "I would've helped out Sawamura." He shrugged. "I don't know if I would've helped out Narumiya, though."
One of Amahisa's teammates paled, looking horrified. "Kousei!"
"The only reason I helped you is because he wanted to." Mei gestured to Eijun. "I would've ignored you if I was by myself."
Amahisa glared at him. "What's your problem, Narumiya?"
"My problem is that you keep touching my boyfriend." Mei glowered at him, feeling Eijun shiver next to him and pulling him closer.
Much to his amusement, Amahisa's teammates' jaws dropped. "Wait… Boyfriend?" They stared at their joined hands, as if noticing it for the first time.
Oops.
Mei felt Eijun tense beside him, looking over at him.
Eijun avoided everyone's eyes, tightening his grip on Mei's hand, still tense.
"I'm sorry."
Eijun jerked his head up, looking at Mei with a wide-eyed look before furrowing his eyebrows. "Why are you apologizing?"
Mei looked away briefly. "I told them about us without your permission."
"Oh, that?" Eijun laughed softly for some reason. "They probably would've found out anyway." His eyes softened. "I'm not angry."
Mei furrowed his eyebrows. "But then why…?"
"I knew about them before you guys!" Amahisa beamed, looking proud of himself.
Mei really wanted to kill him.
(Or at least punch him.)
One of Amahisa's teammates looked at Amahisa, furrowing his eyebrows. "Why didn't you tell us, Kousei?"
Mei rolled his eyes, looking at Amahisa's teammates. "Don't feel too bad. He found out about us while he was looking for you guys."
"Oh, that makes sense." They nodded, causing Amahisa to pout.
Mei looked back at Eijun, noticing his tense posture.
Before he could do or say anything else, though, Eijun cleared his throat, causing Amahisa and his teammates to look at him. "I… I know we're asking a lot, but could you please keep this a secret?"
Ah.
Now Mei understood.
To his credit, Amahisa gave him a thumbs up. "No problem, Sawamura! We won't tell anyone!"
"You're… You're keeping your relationship a secret?" one of Amahisa's teammates asked hesitantly.
Eijun looked at Mei, relaxing his grip before looking at them again. "For now. We plan on telling everyone about it eventually."
Mei nudged his shoulder, grinning when Eijun looked at him. "That's going to be a lot of fun. I keep imagining how we'll do it."
Eijun grinned devilishly. "I've got a few ideas you might like."
"What kind of ideas?"
Eijun's grin widened. "Ones that include us kissing in front of everyone."
Mei smirked, kissing his cheek. "I'm already liking these ideas of yours."
"I knew you would."
One of Amahisa's teammates cleared his throat, causing them to look at him. "How many people know about you guys' relationship?"
Mei hummed. "Both our families know, and all my teammates know." He looked over at Eijun, Eijun nodding. He looked back at Amahisa's teammates. "He hasn't told all his teammates about us yet."
"I will soon, though!"
Mei's eyes widened. He looked at Eijun again, furrowing his eyebrows. "When did you decide that? And why didn't you tell me?"
Eijun smiled sheepishly. "I tried to tell you earlier, but Amahisa-san interrupted me."
Mei remembered back in the alley how Eijun had looked serious and wanted to tell him something.
(Stupid Amahisa.)
"Oh, back then, huh."
Eijun squeezed his hand gently before looking at Amahisa's teammates. "We're not asking you to keep it a secret forever. After I tell my teammates, we'll tell everyone next." He rubbed the back of his head, looking at Mei. "Well, I'll have to talk about it with Mei first."
Mei looked at Amahisa's teammates, smirking. "I would be alright with the attention, as I'm used to it." Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Eijun roll his eyes. "But Eijun's not used to it." His smirk widened at feeling Eijun shiver next to him.
"So…" One of Amahisa's teammates furrowed his eyebrows. "You guys want everyone to know about your relationship?" He exchanged a confused look with the teammate beside him. "Aren't you guys enemies?"
Amahisa frowned. "That doesn't mean anything! Sawamura and I talk to each other, and we're enemies!"
Eijun huffed. "I don't even talk to you that much!"
"What about whenever I try to convince you that I'm the best pitcher?"
Mei clicked his tongue. "You're not the best pitcher. I am."
Eijun flushed for some reason, looking at Mei before looking at Amahisa. "I-I keep telling you my answer won't change!"
Mei nudged Eijun, raising an eyebrow when Eijun looked at him. "What do you tell him?"
Eijun looked away briefly for some reason. "I… Well, you see—"
"He keeps telling me that his boyfriend is the best pitcher." Amahisa pouted.
Mei flushed, smirking and looking at Eijun. "You think I'm the best pitcher?" His smirk widened as Eijun's flush darkened. "Why thank you. I'm flattered you think so."
Eijun groaned. "This is why I didn't want to tell you!" he whined.
"Wait! His boyfriend is Narumiya!" Amahisa gasped, causing them to look at him. He pointed at Mei. "If I defeat Narumiya during the summer tournament, that means I'm the best pitcher!"
… What was with that logic?
Mei scoffed. "Like I'll lose to you."
One of Amahisa's teammates coughed, causing them to look at him, surprised. "If you guys don't mind, can we go back to what we were talking about before?"
… Oh, right.
"How did we get off topic in the first place?" Amahisa furrowed his eyebrows.
One of his teammates gave him an unimpressed look. "It was because of you, Kousei."
"Eh! That's not true! I was trying to defend Sawamura and Narumiya!" Amahisa gasped again, pointing at his teammates. "You guys better keep their relationship a secret!"
His teammate rolled his eyes. "We should be saying that to you, Kousei."
Mei looked at Eijun, leaning closer to whisper in his ear. "Now I'm starting to regret telling him about us."
Eijun hummed. "So you're saying we should've kept it from him?" He snorted. "That's impossible."
"What? Why?"
Eijun looked amused. "Don't you realize what keeping our relationship from him means?"
Mei was about to protest, feeling offended.
Until he belatedly realized what Eijun meant.
If they had kept their relationship a secret from Amahisa, Mei… wouldn't have been able to touch Eijun.
At all.
No holding hands.
No kissing.
No hugging.
"Oh."
Eijun rolled his eyes good-naturedly. "Yeah. 'Oh'."
Mei pouted, not liking how Eijun automatically assumed it was impossible for him. "I can keep my hands to myself."
"I don't believe you." Eijun gave him a pointed look. "You're always touching me."
Mei huffed. "You say that like it's a bad thing."
"I…" Eijun's eyes softened, giving him that soft look that always took Mei's breath away. "You know I enjoy all your touches." He kissed his forehead. "But when it comes to hiding our relationship…"
Mei groaned. "I know, I know. It makes things difficult."
Someone cleared their throat, causing them to blink and look away from each other.
A couple of Amahisa's teammates had flushed cheeks for some reason.
Amahisa stepped forward, patting Eijun's right shoulder, causing Mei to glare at him. "Don't worry. We won't tell anyone."
"Yeah." One of Amahisa's teammates cleared his throat. "We don't want everyone to breathe down your necks."
Amahisa smirked, causing Eijun and Mei to blink. "I hope you guys have been practicing enough. I don't want you guys to blame your relationship when you lose to us."
Mei glowered at him, feeling Eijun tense beside him. "That will never happen."
Eijun squeezed his hand gently, causing him to look at him. But Eijun didn't look at him, glowering at Amahisa. "That's right! Don't talk like you've already won! We're going to get our revenge!"
"We beat you during the spring tournament," Amahisa pointed out.
One of Amahisa's teammates paled, giving him a horrified look. "Kousei, don't say that!"
Mei smirked. "And we beat you during the spring tournament. You still think you're going to win against us?"
"I wasn't even pitching."
Mei scoffed. "We would win even if you were pitching."
Eijun let out a frustrated sound, causing them to look at him. "You guys aren't going to win! Seidou will!"
They argued for a little bit before Amahisa's teammates stepped in, dragging their ace away and apologizing once again for all the trouble.
After they walked away, Mei huffed. "I really don't like that guy."
"Who? Amahisa-san?"
Mei frowned, looking at Eijun. "Can you believe the nerve of that guy? Not only did he keep touching you, but he had the nerve to say that we would blame our relationship if we lost."
"Yeah." Eijun frowned, looking away from him. "I didn't like that either."
Mei frowned deeply, pulling Eijun into a nearby alley, Eijun gasping when he forced him to look at him. "I wouldn't do that. You know that, right?"
Eijun bit his lower lip, causing his heart to clench.
"You seriously think I would?"
Eijun's eyes softened at the hurt in his voice. "I'm sorry, Mei. I want to hope that you wouldn't. But…"
"But what?"
Eijun took a deep breath, giving him a determined look. "What if Seidou beats Inashiro?"
Mei froze, his eyes widening and his mouth opening and closing a couple of times.
Inashiro losing?
To Seidou?
As much as he liked Eijun, he had never thought about that possibility before.
(He always won. Eijun should already know this.)
Eijun sighed. "See? That's what I'm worried about."
Mei hated the thought of losing to Seidou.
To Eijun.
Didn't even want to voice the possibility out loud.
But…
"If…" Mei cleared his throat, forcing himself to say the words. "If Inashiro somehow… loses to Seidou, I won't blame our relationship." He furrowed his eyebrows. "Why would you even—"
Eijun glared at him. "Can you blame me?" He groaned a few moments later, causing Mei to blink. "I don't want to think this way! Especially after your teammates warned me about you!" He gasped, his eyes widening, as if belatedly realizing what he said. "I-I mean—"
"So…" Mei tightened his grip. "This is because of my teammates?"
Eijun quickly shook his head. "It's not just because of them!" At his suspicious look, he huffed. "I've been thinking about it, too! I'm worried!"
Mei relaxed his grip, furrowing his eyebrows. "Worried about what?"
"About…" Eijun bit his lower lip, looking away briefly. "About your pride." When his eyes widened, he sighed. "I'm worried your pride will get in the way."
… Get in the way of what?
Eijun enjoying Seidou's victory?
… No.
Eijun was afraid it would affect their relationship.
Mei wanted to get angry.
(He was angry, but he was angry with his teammates. Not Eijun.)
Wanted to vehemently protest that his pride wouldn't get in the way.
Wanted to reassure Eijun that he had nothing to be worried about.
… He would be lying, though.
Mei squeezed his hand gently. "Look, I can't promise that I won't react badly if Inashiro loses." When Eijun flinched, he kissed his forehead. "But I can promise that I won't blame our relationship."
"How?" Eijun gave him a suspicious look. "You don't know that for sure."
Mei's eyes softened. "You mean so much to me. And it's like I said before. I don't want baseball to affect our relationship."
Eijun's eyes widened. "Mei…"
"Whether I win or lose…" Mei lifted their joined hands to show Eijun. "This won't change. I'm not giving up this hand to anyone else."
Eijun flushed, his eyes softening. "I'm glad, Mei. Thank you."
Mei grinned cheekily, his eyes gleaming mischievously. "You know… Normally, you'd reciprocate and tell me you don't want to give up my hand to anyone else."
"Why would I do that?" Eijun grinned devilishly, causing him to furrow his eyebrows. "I already know I'm one of the only people who can put up with you."
Mei scowled, pinching his side, causing Eijun to yelp. "What do you mean 'put up with'?"
Eijun laughed softly. "I'm kidding." His eyes softened. "You know I really like you."
"Yeah, I know." Mei flushed, smirking a few moments later. "So… You think I'm the best pitcher?"
Eijun's flush darkened. "Uh… Maybe? I don't know?" He looked away from him.
"Don't lie to me, Eijun." Mei's smirk widened as Eijun shivered. "I know what I heard."
Eijun whined, looking back at him. "Why did Amahisa-san have to say that!"
Mei laughed. "I would've found out about it eventually." He raised an eyebrow as Eijun tilted his head. "Or did you forget about how he invited me to you guys' group?"
"I still can't believe he did that." Eijun huffed (much to his amusement). "He didn't even ask me."
Mei rolled his eyes. "Yeah, that guy certainly has some personality problems."
Eijun snickered. "Coming from you?"
"Think that's funny, huh?" Mei pinned him against the wall behind him, causing Eijun to gasp. "You're the one who's dating me."
Eijun grinned devilishly, Mei wanting to hate how he glanced down at it. "Maybe you're my type."
"What do you mean 'maybe'?"
Eijun laughed, pulling him closer and glancing down at his lips. "Relax. I wouldn't want to date anyone else." He grinned devilishly. "Even if you've got a horrible personality."
"So mean." Mei pouted, his lips twitching when Eijun looked away briefly. "My Eijun is so mean to me."
Eijun shivered again, although he couldn't tell whether that was because of him saying his given name or calling him his. Or both. "Am I really being mean if you already know you've got a horrible personality?"
Mei continued pouting. "I can be nice." He leaned in, kissing the corner of Eijun's mouth, his lips twitching when Eijun whined. "See?"
"You call that being nice?" Eijun snorted.
Mei grinned innocently. "What? Didn't I give you what you wanted?"
"Now you're the mean one."
Mei smirked, leaning in close, amused when Eijun's breathing hitched. "According to you, I'm always the mean one."
Eijun narrowed his eyes. "Quit teasing me, you ass."
"Or what?" Mei taunted, a challenging glint in his eyes.
Eijun let out a frustrated sound. "Will you just…!" He huffed before closing the small gap that separated their lips, kissing him.
Mei almost grinned into the kiss, amused at Eijun's reaction. He responded to the kiss, wrapping his arms around his waist.
Eijun let out an approving sound, wrapping his arms around his back.
Mei didn't even care that he could hear the chatter of people behind them or the faint music of the night bazaar.
Nothing was going to stop him from kissing Eijun.
They had, of course, greeted each other with a kiss (like always).
This kiss was much better than that one, though.
(He wasn't talking about skill, although when it came to skill, Eijun was a good kisser. All thanks to him, of course.)
After not getting to enjoy their date to the fullest and having to waste time looking for Amahisa's stupid teammates, he had wanted some time alone with Eijun.
Some part of him knew they could always go back to Inashiro and kiss in the privacy of his dorm room.
But he loved kissing Eijun in public.
(Sure, they currently stood in an alley where people couldn't see them unless they looked for them. It still counted as a public place, though.)
Kissing Eijun anywhere always made him happy (and smug).
Kissing Eijun in public, though…
Something about it always gave him goosebumps.
Eijun pulled away a few moments later, letting out a surprised sound when he pulled him back in.
Mei's tongue darted out and licked his lower lip.
Eijun kept his mouth closed, Mei almost huffing at feeling him grin into the kiss.
Mei waited for a few moments, tempted to bite his lower lip when Eijun didn't open his mouth.
He didn't get a chance to bite him, though, as Eijun parted his lips, allowing his tongue inside his mouth.
Eijun moaned when Mei's tongue touched his own, trying to match his passionate and brisk pace.
Mei tasted the takoyaki from earlier, almost moaning himself at the taste.
Maybe it was the thought of someone catching them?
More specifically, someone from Seidou.
He respected Eijun's feelings and wanted him to take his time.
(Even if he felt himself growing more impatient as the days rolled by with no news from Eijun.)
But if Eijun's teammates stumbled across them kissing…
Then Eijun would have to tell them.
Unless it was someone who already knew.
Like Kominato.
Or Kazuya.
(He really wanted to kiss Eijun in front of Kazuya. He could probably persuade Eijun somehow.)
Sure, Eijun's teammates would probably accuse him of tainting their human sun.
But he didn't care.
(Those dark spots only made Eijun even more attractive to him.)
Besides, Eijun shined brighter in his presence, his happiness obvious to anyone who had eyes.
Didn't they want Eijun to be happy?
(If they got in his way or tried to interfere with their relationship, he wouldn't forgive them.)
Mei pulled away a couple of moments later, grinning cheekily. "I've been wanting to do that all night."
Eijun's face was red, causing him to feel smug. "I'm surprised you waited this long."
"Good things come to those who wait."
Eijun snorted. "I can't believe you're saying that." He grinned devilishly. "I'm surprised you didn't kiss me earlier."
Mei hummed, glancing at Eijun's lips. "I thought about it." He huffed. "Especially after he kept touching you."
"Were you jealous?" Eijun smirked.
Mei felt his eye twitch, wanting to hate that attractive smirk. "Of course I was jealous, you idiot!"
(Did Eijun learn how to smirk like that from watching him? He had to have, as he didn't know where else Eijun could've learned it.)
Eijun's eyes widened, as if he hadn't expected that answer. "… Oh."
"You're my boyfriend!" Mei felt Eijun shiver. "But he never understood that!" He closed his eyes briefly, taking a deep breath to calm down. "You have no idea how much I wanted to rip that hand off your shoulder."
Eijun smiled his smile, letting go with one hand to cup his cheek, his eyes soft as Mei kissed it. "I'm glad you didn't. I was a little uncomfortable, but it would've been bad if we got separated."
"So he did make you uncomfortable!" Mei huffed, turning his head to glare at the night bazaar, hoping Amahisa could feel it from wherever he was. "I knew it!"
Eijun gently turned his head, his eyes still soft when Mei met his eyes. "I'm alright, Mei."
"I bet he enjoyed it," Mei grumbled. "Not only did he get to touch you, but he also had your undivided attention."
Eijun's eyes widened. "Is that what this is about?"
Mei clicked his tongue, looking away from him.
He didn't like it whenever Eijun didn't pay attention to him.
He had been the one holding Eijun's hand, but it felt like Eijun had… ignored him.
As if he had forgotten Mei was still there.
(Did Amahisa's touch bother Eijun that much? Maybe he should've ripped that hand off his shoulder.)
"Look at me, Mei."
When Mei refused to look at him, Eijun forced him to look at him, Mei letting out a surprised sound despite himself.
"I was looking at you the entire time." Eijun made a face. "Okay, almost the entire time."
Mei's heart skipped a beat. "You were?" He frowned. "But why didn't you…?"
"I squeezed your hand a few times." Eijun furrowed his eyebrows. "You didn't feel it?"
Come to think of it…
Mei thought he had felt something squeezing his hand, but he kept ignoring it, thinking it was his imagination.
He let out a frustrated sound. "I can't believe I thought that was just my imagination!"
… Did the anger and jealousy cloud his mind that much?
Eijun smiled his smile. "It's alright. We couldn't talk even if we wanted to."
Mei let out another frustrated sound, pulling away from him and turning around. "It's not alright! I'm such an idiot!"
Arms wrapped around him from behind, causing him to turn his head.
Eijun laid his chin on his shoulder, looking at him, concerned.
Mei felt like hitting himself.
Here they were on a date, and he was letting his anger and jealousy get the best of him.
He sighed, touching Eijun's hands. "Sorry."
"Why are you apologizing?"
Mei huffed. "I almost let my anger and jealousy ruin our date." He closed his eyes briefly, a regretful look on his face. "I even snapped at you a few times."
Getting angry and jealous was a waste of time and energy, especially when he knew Eijun belonged to him.
But not wanting other people to touch his boyfriend…
Was that really that bad?
"Yeah, you were being an ass." Eijun hummed. "But I called you out on it, didn't I?"
… That was true.
Every time Mei had snapped at Eijun, Eijun had snapped back at him, scolding him for being rude to him and calling him an ass.
Mei looked away. "I'm sorry I snapped at you. You didn't deserve it."
"You're right."
Mei tensed despite himself.
"I didn't deserve it." Eijun's voice was soft. "I keep telling you that you need to work on your anger and your jealousy."
Mei cleared his throat, looking at him. "I'm working on it. I know I'm not doing a very good job at it yet, but…"
"I know you are." Eijun tightened his grip briefly, smiling his smile. "And I know these things take time."
Mei turned around in his embrace, nuzzling his neck. "Thank you, Eijun."
Eijun shivered, pulling him closer. "Come on. Let's continue our date."
"Yeah." Mei pulled away, his eyes soft. "But first…" He kissed Eijun, almost smiling when Eijun immediately responded.
After kissing a few more times, they left the alley and joined the crowd of people once more, smiling softly at each other.
As they explored the night bazaar, looking at the stalls and pointing out something interesting, conversation easily flowed between them, both wanting to catch the other up on what they had been up to lately.
They even watched a performance.
The short play was about a demon, the music they had heard earlier accompanying the performance. The demon had long white hair and a red face, and he wore a long bamboo green cloak.
Honestly?
Mei didn't pay attention to the story, too busy watching Eijun's reactions.
Eijun always gasped at the right moments, furrowing his eyebrows whenever something confused him. His eyes lit up whenever something good happened.
Mei didn't even care that Eijun was ignoring him right now.
… Not that Eijun ignored him the whole time.
At some point during the play, Eijun looked over at him, his eyes sparkling with happiness, taking Mei's breath away.
It was a short moment, Eijun squeezing his hand gently and looking away to watch the rest of the play a couple of moments later.
But when Mei looked back on tonight's date, that moment would stand out to him.
(He would, of course, remember what happened with Amahisa, and like he promised Eijun, he would work on his anger and jealousy.)
That moment, though…
Eijun had looked so happy, his bright smile as bright as the sun.
… No, maybe even brighter.
That wasn't because of the play.
It was because of him.
No one else made Eijun as happy as he did.
(Not even Kazuya.)
Mei didn't say it enough, but he always felt grateful (and so happy) Eijun chose him.
Applause brought him out of his thoughts, causing him to belatedly realize that the play ended.
Eijun had let go of his hand to clap enthusiastically, even crying for some reason.
(Thankfully, those were his happy tears.)
When Eijun looked at him again, Mei shook his head fondly, gently wiping his tears before holding out his hand.
Eijun beamed, holding his hand again and laughing softly for some reason.
I want to kiss him.
Mei looked away from him, flushing.
(Eijun probably wouldn't like it if he kissed him in the middle of the street with people all around them.)
They walked away from the play, Eijun gushing about it.
Mei rolled his eyes good-naturedly, watching him with fond eyes.
(At one point during the date, Eijun had pulled him down a nearby alley and kissed him. Mei had gotten a little too enthusiastic, especially when Eijun kept letting out happy sounds. Eijun had scolded him, but Mei only smirked, his smirk widening at noticing Eijun's lips twitching.)
Eijun was adorable.
After buying some more food, they left the night bazaar, Mei steering them back to Inashiro.
He thought Eijun might protest, but to his delight, Eijun didn't say a word.
(When they made their way past the larger common room, Eijun had bowed his head to his teammates, giving Itsuki a warm smile before walking away. Mei had laughed at his eagerness, following him without protest and smirking when his teammates glared at him.)
Of course, it wasn't until they made it back to his room that he realized why, though.
As the first thing Eijun did after Mei closed the door behind them was to take off his windbreaker and short sleeve shirt.
Mei furrowed his eyebrows as Eijun turned around to face him. "What are you…?"
Eijun rolled his eyes for some reason, grabbing his hand and tugging him over to his bed.
"What are you doing?"
Eijun raised an eyebrow, sitting down on his bed. "I should be asking you that." He huffed. "Why aren't you touching me?"
Mei's breathing hitched as he realized what Eijun wanted. "You…"
"What are you waiting for?"
Mei kneeled, scrutinizing his right shoulder before looking at it from different angles, hoping he didn't find anything.
Surprisingly, Eijun sat still, watching him with soft eyes.
Those soft eyes made it difficult to concentrate on what he was doing, but Mei somehow managed to do it, even gently touching Eijun's shoulder.
"See?" Eijun's voice was so soft that he was almost whispering. "He didn't hurt me."
Mei breathed a sigh of relief, kissing his shoulder. "I'm glad." He moved to his hand next, turning it over a few times to inspect it. "I still think you should wash this hand."
"Stop being rude, Mei."
Mei looked at him, grinning cheekily before looking back at his hand.
"Why don't you…?"
Mei looked up, tilting his head. "What?"
Eijun flushed, looking away from him. "… Never mind."
That reaction made him even more curious.
"Eijun."
Eijun shivered, meeting his eyes once more. "I… You keep talking about how I should wash my hands."
"So?"
Eijun's flush darkened (much to his amusement). "So why don't you… kiss it?"
Mei made a face. "What about his germs?" At Eijun's dirty look, he snickered. "I'm kidding." His eyes softened. "You really want me to kiss it?"
"You already kissed my shoulder." Eijun smiled his smile. "I know you didn't like it whenever he touched me."
Mei scoffed. "That's an understatement."
"So why don't you kiss his touches away?"
Mei's chest felt warm. He raised an eyebrow, unable to help himself. "Did you just compare my kisses to water?"
(The possessive part of him loved Eijun's idea, itching to get started.)
"You…!" Eijun let out a frustrated sound, causing him to laugh. "Was that the only thing you got out of that?"
Mei laughed softly, leaning up to give him a gentle kiss. "I'm kidding." He looked over at Eijun's left hand, eyes softening at the sight of the leather bracelet. He looked back at Eijun, smirking. "Besides, you know me. I'd be happy to kiss his touches away."
Eijun rolled his eyes good-naturedly. "Then what are you waiting for?"
"Good things come to those who wait, Eijun."
Eijun shivered again, shooting him a dirty look when his smirk widened. "I'm going to hit you."
Mei laughed loudly, kissing him gently before kissing his hand. "You're so impatient," he teased.
"I don't want to hear that from you."
Mei laughed again, cradling his hand and pressing gentle kisses to the unblemished skin. "You know…" He smirked, not looking up from what he was doing. "I don't think everyone would be happy if they saw this."
"Eh? Why?"
Mei's smirk widened at feeling Eijun shiver. "Well, part of it is because they don't approve of our relationship." He paused, looking up at him, his smirk still on his face at the sight of a flushed Eijun. "But it would mainly be because you're encouraging me."
"How am I…" Eijun cleared his throat, causing him to give him a knowing look. "How am I encouraging you?"
Eijun having trouble speaking because of him?
That was the best.
Mei gave him a pointed look. "You're indulging my jealous and possessive side."
Eijun furrowed his eyebrows. "Is that a bad thing?"
"I don't think it is." Mei shrugged. "But everyone doesn't think like us."
Eijun hummed. "I guess I can understand why. But…" He leaned down, kissing his cheek. "I like it whenever you're possessive."
"I know you do."
Eijun made a face. "The only times I don't like it is when you take it too far." His eyes darkened. "Like today."
Mei felt the guilt from earlier. "I'm really sorry I couldn't stop myself." He closed his eyes briefly, a regretful look on his face. "I had no right to take it out on you."
Eijun reached out, gently cupping his cheek with his left hand. "I forgive you, Mei." When Mei leaned into the touch, kissing his hand, Eijun's eyes softened. "Don't beat yourself up about it too much. Besides…"
"Eh?"
Eijun smiled his smile, taking Mei's breath away. "I had a lot of fun tonight." He grinned devilishly. "Sure, it would've been perfect if we didn't bump into Amahisa-san."
"I knew I should've killed him."
Eijun rolled his eyes good-naturedly. "But we had a lot of fun before he showed up. We even got some time alone after his teammates dragged him away."
Mei smirked, tapping his lips. "Yeah, you really enjoyed our time alone." His smirk widened as Eijun flushed. "I was starting to think you had forgotten about the rest of our date."
"Like you're one to talk." Eijun snorted.
Mei grinned innocently. "What?"
"If I didn't stop kissing you, we probably would've continued kissing the whole night."
Mei pouted. "You say that like it's a bad thing."
Eijun looked away briefly, causing his lips to twitch. "It's not, but… We still had the rest of our date to get to."
"I guess you're right." Mei's eyes softened. "I planned that date just for you. I wanted to make you happy."
Eijun leaned down, kissing his forehead. "You made me very happy, you idiot. You always do."
Mei stood back up, tackling Eijun onto his bed, causing him to yelp. He hugged him, listening to Eijun's racing heartbeat. "I'm glad. You always make me very happy, too."
"Stop copying me." Eijun hugged him back, causing him to smile softly.
Mei kissed his shoulders a few times before kissing the spot where his heart was. "It's the truth."
"Mei…"
Mei looked at him, tilting his head.
"I still…" Eijun sighed, tightening his grip around him briefly. "I still wish we could celebrate our one-year anniversary on the day itself."
Mei's eyes softened. "I know. I do, too. But baseball comes first."
"I can probably sneak away and call you on the day itself." Eijun looked hopeful.
Mei kissed his forehead. "I'll be looking forward to it."
"We're still going to celebrate it the next time we meet up, right?"
Mei hummed. "That's the plan. We can decide on a day during our phone call."
Eijun beamed, almost causing him to look away. "I'm looking forward to it. Really, I am."
Mei smirked. "I'm not surprised you're looking forward to it. Getting to celebrate a one-year anniversary with the king… You're one lucky guy." When Eijun slapped his shoulder, he laughed loudly. "I'm kidding." His eyes softened. "I'm looking forward to it as well."
Eijun's eyes lit up, the happiness and excitement making his breathing hitch. And if that wasn't enough to take his breath away, Eijun's bright smile probably would've.
Eijun met his eyes without hesitation, as if he didn't want to look away.
As if he wanted Mei to know how much he liked him.
Mei knew Eijun really liked him, but if Eijun kept looking at him like that, he might…
He might assume Eijun… loved him.
But that was impossible.
(… Right?)
After a night like tonight, Eijun still thought the best of him and wanted him around.
Even when Mei's anger and jealousy got the best of him.
Tonight hadn't been perfect, but Mei felt relieved (and very happy) he made Eijun happy.
It was a little early, but he needed to think about what he wanted to give Eijun for their one-year anniversary.
Mei hoped this upcoming anniversary was the start of many more to come.
ZZZZZZZZZZZZ
Author Notes: I hope y'all enjoyed this fic.
Reviews/Favorites/Follows are appreciated.
Kketilin asked a while ago for a fic where Mei gets overprotective and jealous because he sees Eijun getting along with someone who likes him. This fic probably wasn't what you had in mind, but I hope you still enjoyed it, Ketlin! Thank youuuu for the plot bunny!
Honestly, this fic would've been out sooner if I didn't play my new game as much. I've been busy playing Pokémon Legends: Arceus. I'm really enjoying it so far.
The night bazaar I mentioned in this fic is a real thing. It's called the Ekoda Night Bazaar, and it takes place on the fourth Saturday of odd-numbered months. Ekoda Station is almost an hour and a half away from Seidou and Inashiro, though, so I decided to make up a night bazaar that takes place not only closer to Seidou, but in June for plot purposes xD
I didn't know how I wanted to write Amahisa at first. All I knew was that I wanted Amahisa to get in the way of Meisawa and interrupt their conversations a lot. I had a lot of fun writing him, though, and I hope he was somewhat recognizable. I don't know if I'll include him in my future fics, but I might.
Speaking of future fics… I already know what my next fic will be about. My next fic will be about Meisawa's one-year anniversary! I haven't figured out all the details for it yet, but I'm looking forward to writing it.
See y'all next time!
