Work Text:
It was a beautifully sunny Sunday, snow slowly receding with the thought of spring melting it. The air was cold but the light warm, glowing on Nao's face as he was pushed along the grounds of the school, a sigh coming from his nose but a smile on his lips as he glanced up at the one pushing him.
"I can wheel myself you know..."
The grin he got in response was brighter than the sun could ever be, accompanied by eyes that flashed fire even at their calmest, a nose that had suffered half a dozen breaks but had always stayed smooth. And of course the scar, a sliver of moon on the edge of his cheekbone, curved with the line of his eye and aged with soft touches. Sunshine didn't do him justice.
"Yeah, but I like pushing! And you go too slow in the snow, y'know!"
The snickering laugh from the not so clever rhyme made Nao roll his eyes, sighing about how he didn't realize they were in a hurry. He didn't mind being pushed on occasion, but the matter was that his hands grew restless, curling and twisting at his scarf and knees as they made their way to the edge of campus, finding a hill mostly cleared of snow to pause on. Umemiya crouched at his side, low enough to look up at him and smile as he often did, with cheeks and nose pink from the cold as he wrapped his arms around himself to warm up.
"You're the one who invited me out but you're freezing...." Nao smiled exasperatedly, pulling his scarf off and wrapping it once, twice around Umemiya's neck before ruffling his loosely gelled hair. "There, better?"
The delinquent grinned, cheeks going redder from his touch than from the cold as he stared out over the baseball fields. "I wanted to come out before it started gettin' hot again...and practice on the outdoor fields is gonna start up soon."
"After we graduate, you mean. You do plan on being a third year like the rest of us, don't you Ume-chan?" He smiled teasingly, hand lingering at his neck to curl in the soft hairs.
"Of course I do...but we gotta start even earlier than last year. We were so close to making it this year, we just gotta practice more." The sigh he let out was surprisingly contemplative, lip jutting out in a pout. "I'll get you to Koushien next year, I swear to god..."
"I know you will. We will. As a team." He swatted him lightly, though the smile stayed on his lips. "We did our best this year, and we'll do our best next year. And we'll go to Koushien. Same plan as always."
He could almost feel the energy course through the one beside him as he saw him leap up, grinning again in agreement. "Yeah!! Same plan as always!" His laugh was obnoxiously loud, and Nao felt his ears ring when he roared the names of his opponent. "SAWAMURA!!! I'M COMING FOR YOU THIS TIME!!!!"
It honestly made Nao laugh, and he tugged his sleeve gently to calm him down. "Careful, he might hear you if you yell any louder."
The touch was more effective than the words, but all the same he huffed and nodded. "We'll start practice a week after graduation!"
Nao hummed a bit more mysteriously, shaking his head. "Ume-chan, we can do better than that." When the other raised his eyebrows, his smile widened. "The day after graduation. 5 am, on the dot. I'll be telling the others when we get back."
Whenever Umemiya looked at him in surprise like that, it really was a treat. But it always melted quickly enough, grin dimpling his face just like today. "You got it boss."
Before Nao could chastise him, his bright eyes caught something above both their heads, a spark of mischief and inspiration showing as he grinned. "Hold on a second, I see one..."
He was quick as ever, jumping and pulling himself into the tree over their heads before Nao could ask "one what?", and before he could call him down from the tree he'd hopped back down, snow and leaves in his hair as held out the cherry blossom, just barely bloomed and a soft pink to match the pale fingertips that took it from him. Nao blushed and smiled, pressing the flower to his lips as he inhaled the sweet scent.
"First bloom of spring...or this tree anyway." He leaned over and put a hand on either side of the wheelchair, pressing their foreheads together as he grinned. "Just for you."
Nao cupped his cheeks, brushing his thumb over the scar on his cheek and humming lightly. "So romantic..." The kiss was softer than the flower, sweeter and warmer even as they separated, his hands tugging either end of the scarf to pull him back for another. He felt smiles and laughter against his lips and felt himself respond with the same, cold fingers warming from the proximity.
When he was finally satisfied he let go, but hardly an inch of distance formed between them, Umemiya's teeth bared in his usual bright grin. "Do you wanna go somewhere? We could go to that restaurant you like...I saved up some more." He pouted when Nao laughed, eyes wide like a dog begging for treats. But Nao was resolute.
"Don't think I don't know you haven't finished your classwork from yesterday, Ume-chan."
Umemiya whined, nose curling at the thought of homework. "I hate that English work though...it can wait till later!!!"
But there was no disagreeing, Nao tapping his nose and fixing his scarf. "We'll do it now, and maybe go eat later, if there's time. I promise."
His smile was soft and honest, as it often was, and Umemiya sighed in defeat, moving to turn the wheelchair around but going far slower back to the dorms than he'd left them.
"You promise you'll help too?"
"Of course, but you're better at it than you think you are."
That brought back the smile and laughter, brighter and warmer than sunshine as they made their way across campus once again.
Nao's smile was just as warm, flower clasped in his hands calmly as he closed his eyes for a moment, feeling the sun on his face.