Unexpected Developments

Part Two

Mihashi was so happy he could hardly breathe. Abe wasn't mad at him! Instead, he was thankful. He was happy. His hand was warm and he didn't take it away even after Mihashi selfishly continued to hold it. It was a dream come true. They had been working towards being more honest and open with each other. They had been working towards what Mihashi wanted most from Abe, a best friendship. A long, lasting friendship. One that didn't depend entirely on baseball. One that would stretch beyond their high school years.

Abe was an advantageous friend to have, but at times, Mihashi didn't feel as valuable to Abe as Abe was to him. He felt that Abe thought of him mostly as a tool to achieve a greater goal. He didn't mind being used. It was a fact that they were all using each other. He just would rather feel more dependable and more depended on. He knew that working together, there was no mountain that he and Abe couldn't climb. He couldn't wait for Abe to be back in action on the field, but even his absence at school and afterward at study lessons was more than Mihashi could bear.

And so, Mihashi decided to make it his business to visit Abe when he had time. Someone from the team usually tagged along with him. Hanai entrusted him with bringing Abe his school lessons, which gave him a reason to stop by each day. However, before he could start doing so, he heard about the vacation from Shun and he felt scared. It sounded as though he wouldn't be able to come over, but Shun assured him that Abe was staying home and would be happy if he did.

Tajima told him to be sure to bring food. Abe wouldn't turn him away if it meant a full belly. His mother suggested something hearty. Since she wasn't home, Mihashi phoned his father's mother. She was happy to hear from him and they sat and talked for longer than Mihashi thought he was capable. She gave him the recipe and he wrote it down. As he started gathering the vegetables, his father spotted him and gave him a hand. He was excited all up until the point when Mihashi told him it was for Abe.

"Why are you cooking for him?" his father had asked, a wary look in his eye.

"He's injured, remember? He can't cook for himself," Mihashi explained as he rinsed the vegetables through a strainer.

"But, his parents…"

"They're gone for a week or so. So I'm going to help take care of him." His dad nodded at him very slowly.

"For how long?" he asked.

"Well…I want to see how he's doing… He's probably bored and hungry. I keep getting worried that with no one there, if he hurts himself no one will know for days…"

"Is the injury that serious?"

"It's slow healing. The coach is worried and it makes me worried, too…" His dad hovered around as he started to chop the vegetables without rhyme or reason.

"Can I show you something?" he asked. Mihashi looked up at him. His dad came around the counter and grabbed another knife from the utensil drawer. He took one of the potatoes and chopped it through the middle lengthwise. He turned it 180 degrees and repeated the motion. Holding it together with his fingers, he chopped it three times widthwise. The potato fell into cubes.

"Whoa," Mihashi said. "How did you do that?"

"When you're cooking something like a stew, you want everything to cook evenly, so you have to cut everything in the same size pieces."

"Oh…"

"But some vegetables cook more quickly than others, so you either want to make those bigger, or add them in later."

"Oh…?" This was more complicated than Mihashi had expected. However, everything turned out to be fine. He learned how to measure seasonings, how to control the boiling liquid by changing the flame's size and that he should taste the food as it cooked. He left it to simmer and retreated to his room. He grabbed his school bag and stuffed it with clothes for the next day. He grabbed his toothbrush and toothpaste, a brush, and some DVDs and jammed them in as well. He reached for his phone and discovered that he had missed a call from Tajima.

"You sure you're not coming?" Tajima had asked him.

"Yeah…" Mihashi murmured. "Something came up…"

"Something like what?" Tajima whined. "It's not going to be the same without you."

"I'm sorry Tajima… Maybe next time."

"You're not going to see Abe, are you?" Mihashi hiccupped, feeling caught.

"Oh, um…well.."

"Ah-ha!" Tajima said. "Well, okay. I was worried you were ditching me for something totally uncool. I don't feel bad now. Remember, bring food. Something meaty."

"Meaty…?" There wasn't any meat in the house, and the stew was already bubbling away.

"Yeah. You know how Abe is." Mihashi's mouth tilted downward. "If you don't have any, don't pout," Tajima said. "Anything should work, really…" Mihashi breathed out a sigh.

"Oh… Good," he said. Tajima laughed at him.

"You sound so relieved," he said.

"Don't laugh at me," Mihashi said, and Tajima laughed harder.

"Anyway, mail me to let me know how it goes, okay?"

"Okay," Mihashi said. "Later."

"Bye." Mihashi checked on the food. It still had a ways to go. He decided to practice pitching. Afterwards, he showered and returned to check on the food. It was finally ready. He took it off the heat and tasted it. It was pretty good for his first cooked meal. He smiled to himself and started to put it into the storage container, but he realized that it was too hot. He sat and waited for it to cool off enough so that he could pack it. He wrapped it in a bundle to make sure it wouldn't spill and brought it out to his bike. He sat his bag and the bundle inside his basket. As he mounted the bike, he became nervous. What if Abe turned him away? What if he didn't like the stew? What if he got so mad at him, he never spoke to him again?

Mihashi didn't want to chicken out. He wanted to spend the week with Abe. He didn't want to take no for an answer, but it was hard to refuse Abe no matter what it was that he wanted. A nagging voice told him to call ahead of time. However, if he did that, Abe would tell him not to come. It would be rude to kick him out if he was already there. Mihashi chose to just go, and leave Abe no recourse.

He was thrilled that Abe wanted him to stay. The fact that he liked the stew gave Mihashi a boost of confidence. He moved closer to Abe and planned to stay there on the floor next to him until Abe took his hand away. It happened at about 8 pm.

"My ass hurts," Abe said. He patted Mihashi on the shoulder. "I've got to move around."

"Oh…?" Mihashi said, sitting up. "How?" Abe lifted himself by his arms and pulled himself away from the chair. Mihashi knelt next to him. Abe's crutches were on the floor behind the chair. Abe scooted backwards and grabbed them. He propped one against his chair and used it to lift up from the ground. He then grabbed the second one and positioned himself properly upright. "Oh…" Mihashi said. He watched as Abe started walking across the room with the crutches. "How do you feel?"

"Good," Abe said. "I'd feel better with some fresh air."

"Do you want to go outside?" Mihashi asked. Abe looked over to him.

"I wish we were at your place," he said. "That way I could watch you pitch." Mihashi didn't know what to make of that. Was he in for a scolding, or was it a positive thing?

"W—why?" he ventured to ask.

"So I can see your form," Abe said, coming over to him. "And make sure you aren't overworking yourself. That you aren't getting too fast." Mihashi shook his head rapidly.

"No, I'm not!" he said. "I promise!" Then, he thought better of lying. "Well…maybe a little faster…"

"Stand up," Abe said. Mihashi stood up. "Show me your form." Mihashi fiddled his fingers for a moment, and then reached down for his school bag. He took out his glove and ball and walked to the closer wall. Abe watched him as he did his windup and pitched without letting go of the ball. Abe perked.

"You practiced today, didn't you?" he asked. His tone was stern. Mihashi's first instinct was to lie.

"N—" Abe stiffened and his mouth became taut. Mihashi shut his mouth. He didn't want Abe to be mad at him, but Abe would be mad at a lie, too. Friends weren't supposed to lie to each other. Abe's expression was fact of that. "N—N—not too much…" he said. "I wanted to exercise…" Abe went over to his side.

"Again," he said, motioning ahead of them. Mihashi fake pitched again. "Full strength." Mihashi did as he was told. "Damn, I wanna catch…" Abe said. He let out a frustrated sigh. "There's got to be a way for us to practice together." Mihashi played with the ball within the glove.

"We can be patient," he said. "Because…pushing it will only make things worse." Mihashi swept his eyes around the room. It seemed like a good opportunity to insist on staying the night. "Um…I have to go to practice pretty early, but it would be nice to watch a few games…before then…" Abe watched him for a short while.

"Mihashi…" he said quietly. Mihashi nodded without being able to stop himself. He'd heard from his father that people were more likely to accept an offer when given positive reinforcement, and nodding seemed like a safe bet. However, once he started, he couldn't find the appropriate timing to stop. Abe raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing?"

"Nodding."

"Why?"

"I…don't know…" Mihashi said, knowing he couldn't very well admit his strategy. Abe chortled.

"Stop," he said. "You look like chicken." Mihashi smiled at him very faintly. Abe had a nice laugh. Laughing was a positive reinforcement, too, wasn't it?

"Bawk!" Mihashi said. Abe looked bewildered, and then he laughed again.

"You're losing it," he said. "What is wrong with you?" He shuffled around to reposition himself on the crutches. Mihashi finally stopped.

"Um…sorry," he said.

"No, don't apologize. It's all right." Abe looked around. "I'm going to need your help."

"Okay. Anything," Mihashi said, eagerly moving closer to Abe.

"The futons are in the linen closet in the hall. Could you grab them?" Mihashi nodded obediently and hurried to do as he was told. He went into the dark hallway and retrieved one of the futons. He went back into the family room, moved Abe's chair with his foot and laid the futon out. He moved the food trays into the kitchen, and then remembered that they would need sheets. When he approached Abe with them, Abe had a strange look on his face. Mihashi paused at the entrance.

"What's wrong?" he asked. Abe shook his head.

"Nothing," he said. "Um…go ahead and get settled in. I'm going to go to the bathroom." Settled in? Mihashi thought. And not ready to go? He did it! Abe was allowing him to stay! Mihashi nodded and grabbed his things from the floor. He stuffed his ball and glove in the bag. Since Abe was using the bathroom, he decided to change where he was. He stripped down to his t-shirt. He took out his boxers and slipped them on quickly. As he crossed the room to set his bag down and out of the way, he accidentally stepped on the remote control. The TV channel changed, catching Mihashi's attention. He looked at it and froze.

What was that on the screen? What that someone's…? And someone else's…? What had Abe been watching?! Mihashi let out a high pitched shriek as he threw his bag aside and slumped in front of the remote. As he grabbed it, he accidentally pressed play. Distantly he heard the bathroom door open. Panicked, he quickly switched back to regular TV but not before he saw the most startling bit of information his clumsiness had revealed.

The people on the TV… They were men. They were men naked together on the bed, one topping the other the way that dogs did. Mihashi dropped his arms, his eyes staring at the TV unseeingly. Why had Abe been watching that, of all things? Did that mean that he…? That he was…?

Was that why he touched him earlier? On his face? Was that why he was being so nice to him overall? Was there something about Mihashi that Abe was after? There couldn't be. Mihashi had nothing to give him. There was nothing special about him. When it came to the other members of the team, why not go after one that wasn't always sniffling, whining and putting himself down? What was the value that Abe possibly saw in him?

Mihashi heard noise from somewhere down the hall. Abe was coming. What was he supposed to do? Should he say something? Should he pretend as though he hadn't seen anything? But then how would he know what Abe felt? How could he be sure it wasn't a fluke? Mihashi decided that if he were to stay the night, it couldn't remain a secret. They had to get it out in the open or else it was going to be a long, awkward evening.