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1.
Kazuya shows up to dinner one evening with no glasses and no goggles.
Needless to say, everyone present either chokes half to death or is awestruck in a state of momentary catatonia. All, except of course Sawamura, the star child, who promptly notes this as “the first documented sighting of Miyuki sans glasses in recorded history.”
He watches Kazuya from across the table, chopsticks between his teeth and eyes burning low.
Then he speaks, finally: “I honestly don’t get what everyone is freaking out about, you look exactly the same,” and leans back in his seat, like a mental surrender.
"Look at you, try’na be a heartthrob ‘n shit. Go die, Miyuki," sneers Kuramochi, ever the pleasant soul.
Haruichi, being the apparent smart one of the bunch, makes a wise choice and stays out of it.
Furuya, who had been sleeping until two seconds ago (approximately the very moment Sawamura opened his loud ass mouth again), asks drowsily, “Who?”
Then everyone starts yelling their unappreciated two cents, and Kazuya decides that the headache caused by this idiotic rabble is far worse than the previous one he had from slight eye strain, pulls out his glasses, and shoves them back on as gracefully as could be managed.
Some things are just not worth it.
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2.
"I lied," Eijun admits later, when they are alone. "You do look different."
He reaches up and slides the frames off with uncharacteristic deliberation, suddenly serious. Kazuya doesn’t dare breathe.
"Yup," he smiles, lips slanted. "Less like a dork this way."
Kazuya half-considers kicking him in the throat, bites his hand instead.
Some things are really not worth it.
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3.
Sawamura is not listed under any specific name in Kazuya’s cell phone, no. In fact, he isn’t listed at all.
Admittedly, there is a special place for those particular ten digits in the front of Kazuya’s brain, floating somewhere between Important Things to Remember and Things I Am Not Proud of Remembering But Sort Of Do Anyway.
He’s starting to think that special place should just be called Sawamura Eijun.
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4.
The first time they exchange text messages, it’s from Sawamura about puppies and takoyaki.
Kazuya replies with a not-as-angry-as-he-really-should-be GO TO SLEEP because it is 2 in the fucking AM, Sawamura, what the fuck.
He answers back with a picture of a baby pug trying to eat a shoe.
They stay up until 5:30 in the morning texting about puppies and takoyaki.
(A couple hours later, Head Coach Kataoka makes them run laps all morning for showing up forty minutes late.
Sawamura, at least, has the decency to not put the blame on Kazuya this time.)
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5.
Kazuya sets the photo of the pug as his phone’s wallpaper.
It may or may not match Sawamura’s.
"Gross," Kuramochi says, wrinkles his nose as he confirms the rumors for himself. Jealousy is not a look worn well on him.
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6.
Contrary to popular belief, Kazuya and Sawamura are not dating.
Yet.
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7.
Contrary to Kuramochi’s belief, they are not basically dating already.
(They are.)
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8.
“Please, just do us all a long overdue favor, and COME THE FUCK OUT OF THE CLOSET ALREADY,” yells Kuramochi, plus groans of agreement from others. Namely Kanemaru. Because Kanemaru would, that prick.
Kazuya would certainly love to come out really, but, “We can’t, you assholes,” because he and Sawamura are locked in.
They are literally locked in a storage closet. Courtesy of said asshole currently screaming at them.
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9.
It’s dark and dusty and smells like history in there, but he isn’t alone, for one. Company in less-than-favorable situations are never a bad thing, especially when it’s Sawamura.
Who is brooding, whispering dark words about ways to hurt Kuramochi and Kanemaru. Kuramochi for obvious reasons, and Kanemaru because.
"Let’s put shards of glass in his rice, or cyanide in his water. You know what, I’ll just smother him with a pillow,"
he says, voice low, all wet lips and molten eyes.
The urge to push Sawamura against the wall and shove his tongue down his throat to kiss the actual living hell out of him and maybe even shut him up in the process, is sudden and overwhelming.
But Kazuya has always been a good model of self-control, he’d like to think.
"Miyuki," comes Eijun’s loud whisper.
"What. Why are you whispering."
He can feel Sawamura reach around blindly to hold on to something, settles for Kazuya’s wrist.
"I have to pee super bad, like it’s not even funny.”
"Really."
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10.
Also contrary to popular belief, Kuramochi is their most avid supporter. Even if he doesn’t know it, himself.
He proves this by gifting Kazuya a pair of matching shirts on his birthday:
If Lost Please Return To Miyuki and I Am Miyuki.
"For you and the bae," he says obnoxiously, wiggling his eyebrows at Sawamura.
"I hate you."
It only gets worse when Sawamura pulls out his present, all messily wrapped and held together with duct tape.
It turns out to be a dog collar.
"What, I told you I've always wanted a puppy," is Sawamura's defense against the looks everyone gives him.
"I take it back," Kazuya announces. "I hate everyone."
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11.
They wear the shirts. A lot.
To prove Kuramochi wrong.
To be the rebels they were born to be.
The quality is actually pretty good, Haruichi mentions.
Really, though, they’re just idiots.
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12.
It rains one day after school. Kazuya stands in the shade of the overhang and watches the downpour, lets the mist hit his face.
"Since you, my dear senpai, seem to be in need of cover from this rain, I would be happy to lend you my services and escort you to the dorms," says Sawamura from beside him, cheshire smile. "Only for you."
Kazuya doesn’t agree, doesn’t say anything. Just follows him out into the rain like a lost cat.
They are soaked to the marrow in a matter of seconds.
See, this is the part where wonder boy Sawamura is supposed to whip out his umbrella in a chivalrous manner. Only, he doesn’t.
Instead he laughs and walks valiantly on.
"Where’s your umbrella, shithead."
"What umbrella?"
Kazuya should have known better.
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13.
"Hey," comes Sawamura’s voice, soft, half-hidden behind Kazuya’s towel.
He pauses, tilts his head, gold flakes in his eyes.
"Why didn’t you kiss me? That one time in the closet."
Why didn’t—
Oh.
Oh.
Well then.
Kazuya grabs the towel on his head, leans in.
Sawamura meets him halfway.
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14.
Surprisingly (or not), Kazuya sucks at kissing.
Good thing Sawamura does, too.
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15.
Valentine's Day is a pain in the ass.
Kazuya gets armfuls of chocolates from all the girls in the class, girls from other classes, girls from other grades, and he doesn't even know why.
The only reason he is happy about this fact is because Kuramochi is not.
Kazuya catches Sawamura in the hallway after class, holds out a hand, expectant.
He gives him a bored look, raises an eyebrow, and places a candy wrapper in his open palm.
"Happy Valentine's Day, I found that in my pocket."
It's not even a chocolate candy wrapper.
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16.
For their first date, official or not, they stay in Kazuya's dorm all day watching anime, eating potato chips, and playing dating sim games that Sawamura borrowed from Haruno.
"I hate this guy, he's such a loser. Look at him, he thinks he's so cool," spits Sawamura, in reference to the character on screen whom he had dubbed 'Stupid Megane.'
Kazuya briefly wonders if he has a hidden glasses fetish or if he's just doing it on purpose.
Sawamura ends up courting Stupid Megane and sits quietly through the love event.
He also adamantly denies this being a date.
(It is.)
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17.
They take a train to visit Sawamura's family on a weekend off. Kazuya comes along because home is starting to sound more like Sawamura Eijun than his old address in Tokyo.
He tells him this, and Sawamura says, "Stop being an asshole, and go see your dad sometime."
But he does not say go away or leave, just touches his hand softly with cold fingertips, and Kazuya thinks he'll settle for that.
They end up falling asleep and missing the stop for Nagano four times.
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18.
There will never be another battery in Seidou quite like Kazuya and Sawamura.
It echoes through his catcher's mitt, the winning pitch. Hurts his hand in a way only he can, aching, bone-deep.
When the game ends, and everyone rushes to the mound in a flurry of shouts and fist pumps, he only thinks this:
It's the last time. It's the last time.
It doesn't feel like something to celebrate.
In the crowd of faces, he catches Sawamura's eyes. He is the same.
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19.
Graduation comes faster than he can react.
Kazuya thinks it's better this way, less time to feel it. Less time to hurt.
Sawamura does not.
"You," he swallows, squeezes Kazuya's second button in his left hand, and tilts his head to the sky. "You better not forget about me."
"Okay," Kazuya says. Not like it's possible anyway.
"Don't stop playing baseball, either. You better not suck next time I play you."
"Yeah."
"Don't kiss anyone else." He adds, quieter.
Kazuya rolls his eyes, doesn't even bother affirming that one.
"Don't forget to call me sometimes."
"You'll probably call me first."
"I just--Wait, wait for me."
It's a promise.
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20.
Sometimes Kazuya thinks he fell in love all wrong.
It's Monday morning when his cell phone rings, lights up with ten loud digits. He smiles, puts it to his ear.
"Eijun."
Then again, some things are worth it.