After everyone had had a laugh, Abe attempted to calm Mihashi down, assuring him that they weren't laughing at or making fun of him. They then shifted their attention to number 3, and Suyama picked a plain rectangular present, with snowflake patterned paper on a blue backdrop. To his embarrassment it turned out to be a love diary, and he quickly put it away, causing a few snickers. Then number 4 was Izumi, then Mizutani, and so on.

On his turn, Hanai reached out for one that looked least like it would be from Tajima. An oddly-shaped, cylindrical present with green wrapping paper and a red bow at the top. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Izumi hide a smile, and knew then who it was from. He ripped off the wrapping to see what looked like a container of oatmeal. Inside, though, was a rolled-up pair of pink, frilly pajamas, curiously just his size. Did Izumi somehow know which one he would open? He wouldn't be caught dead wearing these, anyways.

"Used to be my mom's." he heard Izumi whisper to Nishihiro, who smiled. Hanai just rolled his eyes and placed his new pjs behind him. Nishihiro went next, and then it was Abe's turn.

There weren't many presents left, so Abe took his time deciding. He settled on the smallest gift- after all, those were the ones that were the best, right? And, maybe, just maybe it would be the one Mihashi brought! He reached out and as soon as his hand touched it Tajima's eyes widened slightly. He couldn't tell if that was a good or a bad sign, but he reckoned he'd soon find out. He shook it, but couldn't tell what was inside.

He unwrapped the box and started to lift the lid. Quick as a flash, Tajima dove towards his present, snatching what was inside before Abe had a chance to look. He stood up and dangled it over the Catcher's head.

"Ha!" Tajima exclaimed, triumphant. Abe looked up and did a double take. There, hanging above him was a branch of mistletoe. Everyone had instantly become silent.

"So, who's it gonna be?" Tajima was smirking now, barely containing his laughter. Mizutani, who was sitting on the other side of Abe, quickly scooted away from him as inconspicuously as he could manage. Abe, however, couldn't move a muscle- he was still dumbstruck. He looked over to Mihashi, who at this point was just blankly staring up at Tajima, also lost for words.

'What are you doing?' his mind was screaming at him- that little part that he'd tried to squelch for more than a year. 'This is your chance, dude! Mihashi's RIGHT THERE! Go for it!' Still conflicted, he hadn't moved. Tajima was getting bored of the lack of action, so he made Abe's decision for him. He kicked Abe's back, sending the catcher flying towards Mihashi, landing on top of him so that they were both on the floor.

Abe picked himself up, supporting himself only with his hands, and stared down at the now flustered Mihashi. Mihashi blushed bright red and his eyes were wide, looking at the other team members, who at this point were just engrossed in the spectacle before them. It was just so CUTE when he looked insecure like that! Abe finally snapped, not caring anymore who was in the room.

He leaned down and pressed his lips against Mihashi's. The ace pitcher closed his eyes tightly but stopped shaking, slowly relaxing into the kiss. This was what Abe had always dreamed of, and what he'd always thought would never happen. He slowly massaged Mihashi's lips, and slipped his tongue over his mouth, asking for entrance. To his surprise, it was granted, and soon they were a mass of swirling tongues and hot breath.

This isn't how it was supposed to be. This isn't how the story goes. It's prince meets princess, right? Boy meets girl? A yay for straight relationships, with happily ever afters in far far away land? As far as he knew, making out with your ace pitcher wasn't part of the picture. He didn't mean to, he didn't know what he was doing, it just sort of… happened.