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Since the beginning of the game, you found yourself wishing the crowd was just a tad quieter. You undoubtedly loved seeing all the support they were giving your boyfriend's team, but they were also starting to give you a headache.
What you weren't expecting to shock them into silence, however, was a runner that seemed to make it his life goal to ram into first baseman Yuuki Tetsuya hard enough to knock him back a few feet.
You feel you would've stood and screamed if your legs had any strength in them, and any air was going through your lungs- all you could seem to do was stare in abject horror at your boyfriend curled up next to first base. It had been a fly ball along the right foul line, one easily caught on a normal day. But the last out to end the game put enough pressure on the batter to decide to ram a fielder instead of dodging him like any sane runner would.
A hand wrapping around your arm pulled you out of a string of 'why's and 'what if's, urging you to the exit. You looked up at Takako- your ride to the game- and tried to gain some idea of what would happen from her expression. Anything to ground you long enough to see Tetsuya standing well for yourself.
"There's an infirmary they should take him to if it isn't too serious," Takako told you. "If it is, they'll take him to the hospital."
She seemed to expect your falter in step as she tightened her grip on you.
"He wasn't supposed to do that," you said. "It was the runner's responsibility to go around him, Tetsu had every right to be there so why-"
Your next breath came in too hard as you tried to rationalize why Tetsuya got hurt just trying to catch a damn ball. You thought you only had to hold your breath when he was in the batter's box with a ball being shot at him. Takako didn't reply to you, so you pulled your phone from your pocket and tried to focus on your breathing.
-
Kanemaru had ended up texting you a few brief updates, including how Tetsuya had been carried off on a stretcher. Deciding that it was making you worry more, you stuffed your phone back away and tried to keep up with Takako's fast pace.
The game had nearly been finished without a hitch, yet someone decided to throw that out the window. The sight of Ms. Takashima and Chris standing next to a door had Takako wrapping her arm around yours to pull you for the last stretch.
"Anything yet?" she asked.
You traced the sign next to the door with your eyes to try and center yourself.
"Mr. Oota is in there with him," Chris told her. "I doubt it's life-threatening, but he'll definitely be resting for a while."
The three of them talked quietly for a bit more as you clenched your fists and closed your eyes tightly, trying not to cry in front of your boyfriend's management. There was a heat at your hands as someone uncurled your fingers, a sting being left by your nails. You opened your eyes to see Chris rubbing at the indentions with his thumbs, speaking softly in his natural tone as he stood closer to you.
"He'll make it through this. You know how stubborn he is- you don't need to hurt yourself worrying over him." he soothed.
You furrowed your brows in frustration and glared weakly at his hands as your eyes began to burn. A slim arm wrapped around your shoulders as Takako tugged you into her side, tilting your head towards her.
You managed to stop yourself after a few tears, wanting to wait to see how he was before you shut down and cried. The three of you stood there for a while more as Ms. Takashima was called into the infirmary- Takako dabbing your cheeks gently with the sleeve of her sweater and trying to cheer you up with embarrassing stories of the team. You could feel your phone buzzing in your pocket, but you didn't know what useful update you could give.
A few moments later, Ms. Takashima emerged with a moderately relieved look on her face. "Like we thought- nothing too serious, but they want to transfer him to the hospital for treatment and pain medication."
You let out a deep breath, relaxing against the manager at your side.
"Would you like to ride with me?" she asked you. "Mr. Oota has been trying to get a hold of Yuuki's parents but no one's answered the phone."
You nodded quickly. "They aren't home right now, and his father's cell broke recently. I can call Masashi to let them know,"
You put your hand over Takako's on your shoulder for a moment before Ms. Takashima led you into the infirmary to see Tetsuya.
Your first instinct when you saw him was to jump on his bed and hold him as close to you as possible. A very bad idea at the moment. Instead, you settled for standing as close as you could and waiting for him to reach out first to know it was okay.
Tetsuya mumbled your name as you came near, and you could see the tense expression on his face, along with the sweat and dirt smeared on his skin.
"Hey, Tetsu," you said, tugging at the sheets next to him gently. "It's a good thing you've got such a hard head, huh?"
He hummed, lifting a hand off the bed to grab yours. "My head didn't get hit- I think most of it was my abdomen."
You snorted, bringing his hand up to press a kiss to the back of it. "Yeah, I can tell your head is just fine."
Tetsuya sighed, tugging on your hand to urge you closer to him. You ended up pressing your cheek against his head as he relaxed into the bed.
"You should probably let me talk to your mother," you said. "Knowing you, you'd say something to make her think you were dying."
He made a noise that almost sounded like he was offended, but your moment was interrupted by the sound of a stampede coming down the hall.
"I'll go ahead and cover your ears before Jun gets in here and gives you a concussion with his voice," you offered, definitely not fishing for a reason to hold on to him.
"I don't think that's how concussions work,"