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Tien was squinting, the midday sun was incredibly bright- Endless blue skies rolled out in front of them, barely a cloud in sight. Bird song filtered in from surrounding hills, the light twinkle of the mountain stream that ran past the dojo didn’t help with the glare from the sun, though he supposed it was rather pretty- Almost as pretty as the man in front of him.
Yamcha was donning his full baseball outfit, idly juggling and tossing the ball as if it was second nature to him, and Tien supposed in a lot of ways it was.
The crisp white of his outfit was slowly getting dirtier with every play, the bright red of his cap stood out against the crystal blue skies. Tien couldn’t help but to admire the way the sun seemed to shine off Yamcha’s dark tresses, moving in the quiet breeze.
Though he typically tried to keep a neutral presence in front of his students, Tien was finding it very difficult not to laugh as Yamcha called out their less than adept skills when it came to baseball, his jovial voice seeming to echo off the mountains as he easily got player after player out-
“Come on, I know you don’t have three eyes like your Master but surely your eyesight isn’t that bad?” He joked to one of the younger students who had quite spectacularly missed the ball Yamcha had lobbed at him- “Go on now, I think it’s your old masters turn.” Yamcha turned toward Tien, winking.
Tien hated the fact that such a small gesture from Yamcha could still send his cheeks crimson as though he was no more than a schoolboy with a crush- The way his heart seemed to flutter like the delicate wings of a swallowtail butterfly, all from Yamcha merely looking in his direction-
Attempting to shake his head clear, Tien called out- “I think you’ve met your match, pretty boy, I'll have you-” But before he could finish his taunt, Yamcha’s loud voice was already cutting in-
“You think I’m pretty?” He fluttered his eyelashes, voice coated in faux wonder as Tien approached the makeshift home plate they’d made- “Wow, thanks Tien.”
Yamcha’s smile was as brilliant as the sun in the sky above, any comeback Tien might have said died on his tongue as he simply looked at the face of the man in front of him. He could feel the eyes of his students on them both but he still couldn’t break his gaze away from Yamcha who was now raising a brow at him, clearly awaiting a comeback.
“Master?” The high voice of the student next to him almost made him start, he held the bat out to Tien with a sheepish look on his face- The blush that prickled in his cheeks seemed to spread further, he could feel his ears burning as he took the bat, his voice sounded gruffer than he intended- “Uh, thank you.”
“Ready, old boy?” Yamcha asked, rubbing the ball against the white fabric at his thigh. Tien couldn’t help but to notice just how tight Yamcha’s baseball pants were, clinging to his nicely curved and muscled legs… Realizing what Yamcha had just said, Tien finally found his voice again- “I’m only 3 months older than you?”
“Yes, technically you are only 3 months older than me, but in spirit? I think we both know you make Fortuneteller Baba seem sprightly-” Yamcha’s grin was huge as Tien tried to think up a response-
Giving up on thinking of an insult, Tien went with the next best thing- “How about we actually just play the game, then?”
“Go right ahead-” Yamcha waved a hand out, gesturing for Tien to take position.
Mimicking the stance he’d seen Yamcha take up a hundred times before, Tien couldn’t help but to curse the sun internally. It seemed to bear down on his third eye, making him squint as he waited for Yamcha to throw the ball. But Yamcha made no move to toss the ball, rather he slipped it into the pocket at his hip, the ball barely fitting into the tight material- Jogging toward him, Tien was perplexed as to what Yamcha was doing, this certainly wasn't a typical play in what he knew of baseball-
“Yamcha?” Tien’s voice was questioning as Yamcha came to a stop in front of him, his warm brown eyes looking up into Tien’s face- Without a word, he pulled the cap from his head. The smallest amount of tongue poking between his lips, Yamcha reached up, setting the cap carefully on Tien’s head, adjusting it to make sure Tien’s third eye was unobstructed. With a small nod more to himself than to Tien, Yamcha finally spoke- “There you go- That should be better. Less glare.”
Tien could only duck his head, whispering a quiet thank you to Yamcha for his kind gesture, but Yamcha simply brushed it off with a smile, waving a hand causally as he returned to his pitch, taking up position.
Tien followed suit, readying the bat.
"You ready?" Yamcha called.
"Absolutely." Tien answered immediately.
He could feel the ki Yamcha was concentrating in his palm. Pulling his arm back, Yamcha let the ball fly-
“Swing and a miss.” Chiaotzu's high voice declared from the chair he was umpiring from.