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mai sat in the stands, staring out at the brightly lit field. she heard keiji, shin, kai, and mishima’s voices next to her, but she was barely listening to what they were saying. as she focused her eyes on the pitcher’s mound, her boyfriend’s words echoed through her mind.
ya might wanna dress up tonight.
at first, she had been concerned that she wasn’t looking put together enough lately. after he quickly dismissed this notion, however, the reality of what he might mean had started to set in.
would he really…?
q-taro palmed the front of his bag again, checking to see if it was still there. this was the fifth time he had checked, and it was only the bottom of the third. of course it was still there, but he wasn’t going to risk anything. his teammate tapped him on the shoulder, and he whipped his head around.
“oh, hey there. ya scared me!”
“kid, what’s in your bag that’s so important? i keep seeing you check it. if you brought gum, i promise no one’s stealing it.”
q-taro giggled, and his voice was higher and more strained than usual. “i can’t tell you what it is. it’s a surprise.” he looked into the stands, scanning the crowd for a specific face. “i just hope she likes it.”
his teammate’s jaw went slack. “you’re not gonna do what i think you’re gonna do, are you?”
q-taro’s lips crept into a wry smile. “depends on what ya think i’m gonna do.”
keiji turned to shin and averted his eyes from the game. “part of me wonders why he told us all to come. what’s so special about this game? yeah, they’re winning, but it’s not like they normally suck. so what gives?”
shin laughed devilishly. “i think i know what gives. what i do wanna know is how this doofus managed to orchestrate a plan this complicated without anyone finding out.”
mishima glared at him, unimpressed. “don’t be rude, shin. q-taro isn’t an imbecile. stop giving me that are you sure? look. i think it’s well within his ability to put together something like this.”
kai put a finger over his lips and spoke in a harsh stage-whisper. “are you people aware that mai is right next to us?”
keiji rolled his eyes. “yeah, she’s totally listening to us right now. are you dumb? she looks like she’s trying not to puke on the people in front of us.” the people in front of them promptly turned around. “my god, i was kidding!”
mishima softly tapped mai on the shoulder, shaking her from her thoughts. “no need to be nervous, mai. you’ll be just fine.”
she nodded and gulped but didn’t open her mouth.
kai turned to keiji and whispered. “he said the surprise would happen after the game. it’s the bottom of the eighth right now, right?” keiji nodded. “yep. one more inning until we see what he’s got planned.”
shin sighed and leaned back in his seat. “i would’ve gauged my eyes out to avoid sitting through this,so it better be good.”
as the team headed back into the dugout to grab their equipment, q-taro felt a different teammate’s hand on his back. “hey. heinz. you listening to me?” he rolled his eyes. his surname and his red hair had earned him a frustrating nickname. “it’s over. we won. you can lose the jitters now.”
q-taro fished the small velvet box out of his bag. “it’s not over yet.” he opened the lid a bit, and the stadium lights caused what was inside to glimmer. he slid it into the front pocket of his pants, smiled at his teammates, and hurried back onto the field.
mai couldn’t breathe. the game had ended, and her eyes were glued to q-taro as he went back to the dugout. her stomach dropped with doubt. was there even a surprise at all?
“wait, is he going back out onto the field-” mai’s words were interrupted by someone ushering her out of her seat. she walked down through the aisle, feeling hundreds of pairs of eyes heat up her skin. she kept her own forward, and the lights grew brighter as she got closer to the field. q-taro was standing there like a knight in shining armor, watching his princess descend the steps of the palace.
the crowd’s murmurs buzzed around them. she laid her eyes on q-taro, who was just as pale-faced as she was. she saw him gulp and take a deep breath to calm himself.
then, he got down on one knee.
the collective gasp of everyone in the crowd was nothing compared to the wave of shock that hit mai. she sucked in a breath, but couldn’t exhale. q-taro reached into his front pocket with a shaky hand and pulled out a small box.
the crowd went silent. if they were making noise, neither of them heard it. in that moment, it was just the two of them. q-taro cleared his throat.
“mai, knowin’ you’s made my life so much better. i’ve always got somethin’ to look forward to after a hard day. i’ve never had more fun in my life than i have when i’m with you. i realize now that the day i met ya was the day i really started livin’. so, mai tsurugi, will ya make me the happiest man in the world and marry me?”
mai’s heart stopped. it took a second to process what had just happened, but as soon as she did, she bent down and slid the ring onto her finger. “yes! of course i will!”
the crowd erupted into cheers and applause, and q-taro scooped her up into his arms. he spun her around with a shining, exuberant grin. it was like he was trying to show everyone from every angle that she was his.
mai finally exhaled. she pushed the brim of q-taro’s hat up and tucked his hair behind his ear, away from his sweaty face. “i love you so much, taro. i can’t wait to spend the rest my life with you.”
that was all it took. q-taro’s eyes overflowed with tears, and it didn’t take long before he was bawling. even as his lip quivered and tears gushed down his cheeks, his smile never left his face.
mai would’ve laughed on any other occasion, but she herself was wiping tears off her cheeks. q-taro carried her off the field triumphantly as the crowd cheered once again.
as soon as they reunited, keiji, shin, kai, and mishima all dogpiled onto q-taro. mai doubled over with laughter, and q-taro knew better than to ask her for salvation.
keiji took off his hat and ruffled his hair. “damn, you had me stumped! when it happened, i almost pissed myself, i was so shocked. i was out of my seat screaming my ass off like a crazy person.”
shin elbowed him in the ribs. “who knew you’d be able to pull that off without everyone figuring you out? you’re usually like an open book. i guess you pulled it together just this once.”
mishima dabbed at the corners of his eyes with a handkerchief. “that was quite touching indeed. i don’t know what i expected, but it certainly wasn’t that. congratulations to you both.”
kai wrapped his arms around q-taro’s neck. “i can teach you some recipes if you want to impress her. i’ve seen you cook, and i think you’d benefit from some lessons.”
q-taro rolled his eyes and laughed, his face still streaked with tears. “y’all mean so much to me, i can’t even express it. i’m so thankful to have you here tonight.”
mai smiled at him, makeup smeared from crying. their eyes met, and it was like q-taro could see the future unfold in front of him. he saw mai dressed in white at the altar, hiking with him on their honeymoon, having a flour fight with him in the kitchen, asleep with her head on his chest, shopping for baby clothes, kissing their children goodbye as they left for school in the morning, sending them off to college, and sitting with him by the fire as they grew old together.
as he stared into the amber eyes of the woman he was going to spend his life with, he knew she was thinking the exact same thing.