Learn How to Dodge
Ayase Eri x Toujou Nozomi
Where baseball player Ayase Eri meets skateboard pro Toujou Nozomi. Set in the same AU as MariDia.
A/N: Just stare at the title long and hard, try to speculate what would come *winks Also, special thanks to g_luceroth for proofreading this work as well~ May the Maso be with you~ -/slapped
"Make sure you're comfortable and don't fall, okay?" Toujou Nozomi, a regular in the park waved at the teens as they started kicking off their skateboards. A group of female teenagers approached her and she smiled at them. "Oh, you were here yesterday?"
The teens asked her to teach them how to ride a skateboard as well, just like the ones earlier and the same ones from yesterday.
A hand held onto the cap blonde as hair flew with the wind. Blue eyes, watchful and curious, followed the actions of the purple haired female who had been teaching teenagers how to ride skateboards for almost a month now.
With the summer vacation in place, the school was strict in its policy to stay closed, thus the team decided to take their team practices in the nearby park. Due to the limited availability of land, they're only allowed to practice pitching, ball passes and a few baseball bat drills.
She watched her every move. Purple hair tied in a half ponytail, the sliver of skin that shows her stomach every time she raises her hand because of her crop top. Her smile… "She's really beautiful…"
"…ri!" The baseball player blinked. "…Eri! Eri! The ball!"
She looked forward. "Shi—" She attempted to dodge the incoming ball but ended up catching it with her bare hand instead of the mitts. "…Ow…"
"I'm sorry, Eri!" A baseball teammate approached her as she smiled at them. "I accidentally threw it higher." She immediately took the ball from Eri's injured hand and looked at it.
Eri pulled off the baseball glove on her other hand and picked up her fallen cap. "It's alright, I wasn't paying attention. I'll go wash it near the fountain." She looked at the other members of the team. "I'll be fine! Continue your practice!"
She put her cap back on her head and winced as the cold water hit her bruised skin. There were a few long lines that looked like knife cuts. She's sure she wouldn't be able to hold a bat and throw a ball for a few days.
"Need some help?" A voice spoke from behind her. Eri immediately stood up and turned around while turning off the faucet. "I saw. You accidentally caught the baseball with your bare hand?"
Eri swallowed. It was the purple haired female she had been admiring earlier. Instead of being concerned for her hand, she was hoping that the female didn't know she was checking her out. "Um, yeah. Wasn't paying attention…"
"I have a first-aid kit here. I thought I'd treat your wound?" The female had beautiful green eyes that looked like it was staring right into her soul. "Oh, that's rude of me. My name's Toujou Nozomi."
"A- Ayase… Eri." Eri smiled at her and offered her uninjured hand for a shake. "Why do you carry a first-aid kit?"
Nozomi guided Eri to a nearby bench and they sat side by side. "Teaching the youngsters around the park how to ride a skateboard had started to become a hobby. Sometimes, some of them fall and get bruises, you know? Part of the training and all. So I decided to bring some first-aid, just in case." Eri smiled at her. "I hope you're tough." Playful green eyes looked into amused blue as Nozomi held up a bottle of alcohol.
Eri pursed her lips together to stop herself from laughing. "I've had worse, I hope." Nozomi took her injured hands put them on her lap. She dampened her hand with a cotton ball that had alcohol in it to clean her wound. "No matter what happens, they'll always sting… Ow…"
"Uh-huh. Goes with the sport." Nozomi smiled. She put some wound care around the mildly deep cuts and started wrapping Eri's hand with a bandage. "Make sure to change the wrapping twice a day until all of the cuts close, okay?"
Eri stared at her before nodding. "Thank you." Nozomi cleaned up her first aid kit and the two of them stood up from the bench.
"…Oh." The purple haired female turned around to approach Eri, but realized that she hadn't moved away from where she was. She ended up pressing her nose right onto her jaw as they stood in close proximity. Nozomi immediately took a few steps backward as the two of them blushed. "…Since you're, you know, injured. I doubt could go back to practice… so do you want to try longboarding?"
The blonde swallowed as she followed the skateboarder towards the cemented parts of the park. "Longboarding?" It was going to be near lunch time soon, she wasn't surprised to find less people in the park than there was this morning.
Nozomi picked up her board that was leaning onto a wall. "It's like a skateboard, but it's longer. Two people can ride it at once." She settled the board onto the ground and put one foot on it. "Stand here." She pointed at the space near her foot.
Blinking, Eri followed and stood on the board with both of her feet. Nozomi smiled at her and stuck one foot in between Eri's feet. "Um…?"
"It's easier to balance this way, so I'm just showing what it'll be like once we're riding it together." Nozomi removed her foot and kicked the board as it moved slowly. "You should hold onto me." She placed Eri's hand on her shoulder as she continued to kick on the board.
Soon, the two of them were going at a nice pace before Nozomi's phone started to ring in her pocket. She immediately put a foot down and stopped the board. "Yes, hello? Okay. I'll be there." She looked at Eri who was staring at her face. "Sorry to cut our time, but I'm needed elsewhere."
"Oh, it's alright. Thank you." Eri alighted from the longboard. She raised her injured hand. "This too."
"You're welcome, and oh, oh dear. Look at that, behind you!" Nozomi pointed at Eri. The blonde immediately turned around, adrenaline kicking in as she prepared herself to dodge or catch anything coming here way, but there was none.
Suddenly, there was a blur of purple hair and all Eri could feel was the warm lips that was on her own. "Wha—"
Nozomi took a few steps back and winked at her. "You gotta learn how to dodge, Ayase-san." She dropped her board forward, kicked it to the streets and grabbed her bag on her way out.
Eri's face flushed red as she held a hand over her mouth.
"?"
(Learn How To Dodge/END)
A/N: No words was enough to explain Eri's reaction. I'm sure she liked it anyway.
