Chapter Text
Eijun thought back to when he first met Kazuya. He had just turned seven years old, and was finally able to join the older baseball team that had player pitching. On his first day of practice he met Miyuki Kazuya.
Eijun had rushed to practice, not wanting to be late and miss the new player introductions. He had barely made it in time and as he stood in line, panting and out of breath, his eyes caught on a shorter boy who was standing with the older boys and snickering at him as he toyed with a baseball in his hand. The boy was wearing his baseball cap sideways and despite his smaller stature he stood with an air of confidence. He had a wide smile and his black framed glasses magnified his amber eyes and long dark lashes. Eijun stifled a scowl and turned away from the boy, focusing back on the coach and waiting for his turn to introduce himself.
As luck would have it, when Eijun introduced himself and stated that he wanted to be a pitcher he was immediately partnered with the smiling boy.
“This is Miyuki Kazuya, he’s our team’s catcher. Why don’t you partner with him and warm up,” the coach said, ushering Eijun over to the boy with a gentle hand.
He’s technically your senpai Eijun. This is the first day. No fights!
Shaking his head to clear his thoughts Eijun nodded firmly and marched quickly over to Kazuya.
“My name is Sawamura Eijun. Pleased to meet you,” he said, bowing politely.
“Nice to meet you Ei-chan~,” Kazuya replied, a cheeky grin on his face. He then took a few steps away from Eijun and put on his glove.
“Alright, let’s warm up,” he said, throwing the ball once he saw that Eijun had his glove on.
As Eijun moved through the rest of practice, partnering with Kazuya and watching the older boy play, it quickly became clear to him just how good Kazuya was at baseball. But what sealed his attachment to the other boy was the first time Kazuya caught his pitch. It wasn’t an amazing pitch by any means. But the sound of his pitch meeting Kazuya’s mitt took his breath away. It was different, and Eijun had a feeling that there was no other person in the world who could make his pitch sound quite like that.
~~~
The first two years after meeting Kazuya were everything Eijun wanted. Kazuya lived right down the street and after he figured that out Eijun stopped by his house to get him to catch whenever he could and soon he was just stopping by to hang out with Kazuya.
But all that changed in a matter of months.
It was the summer before Kazuya entered high school and Eijun had just turned thirteen. His summer was going how it always did, spending time with Kazuya and throwing himself into baseball. Eijun was convinced that by this time next year he would be following Kazuya to whatever high school he went to, and the two of them would form a battery and go to Koshien together. Unfortunately for Eijun, his plans came to a halt one night at dinner.
“We’re moving,” Eijun’s mother said, her eyes tight with worry as she stared across the table at Eijun.
“...Wha—,” Eijun started, his mouth open and full of food as he stared in shock at his mom.
“—Your grandfather is getting older and we think it’d be best if we go back to Nagano to live with him” Eijun’s father cut in, reaching out and placing a comfortable hand on Eijun’s shoulder.
“Right, um, ok,” Eijun stuttered out, he quickly drank a gulp of water to clear his throat and then pushed back from the table.
“Can I be excused? I have to do something,” he asked, staring down at the floor with a determined look in his eyes.
“But you didn’t finish your fo—,”
“It’s alright, go ahead,” Eijun’s mother said, cutting her husband off and nodding her permission at Eijun.
Eijun offered a weak smile in response and then quickly left the room, making a beeline to the front door and dashing out of it and down the street.
Eijun stood outside Kazuyaʻs door, breathing heavily from the frantic run from his house, and took a few breaths to calm his breathing. He gathered himself and then approached the door, knocking the door and waiting for Kazuya to open. But the person who opened the door wasn't Kazuya, it was Kazuya's father.
“Hi Miyuki-san! Can I see Kazuya?” Eijun asked, rocking side to side on his feet with nervous energy.
“Ah, he actually just left to go to the store with his mom. Can I give him a message?” Kazuyaʻs father asked, a kind smile on his face.
Eijunʻs shoulders slumped slightly but he still forced out a smile in response to Kazuyaʻs father.
“Itʻs alright! Iʻll see him another day. Good night Miyuki-san,” Eijun said, bowing politely at the older male before he turned around and ran back to his own house.
As soon as Eijun turned around his forced smile fell and his eyes began to water. I missed my chance.
As the weeks passed by Eijun couldnʻt find it in himself to bring up his upcoming move to Kazuya. Each time an opportunity arose he felt himself choke up, and so he passed the remaining weeks the way he always did, chasing after Kazuya and asking him to catch. Every time he said goodbye he promised himself that he would tell Kazuya the next time he saw him.
After a full month had passed Eijun realized that he had only two weeks before his moving date. It was late and for once it was just Eijun and Kazuya, Eijun’s parents having left the two of them alone. They were sitting in Eijun’s backyard, the only real light coming from the moon above them. As Eijun tilted his head back and relaxed in the quiet night he knew that it was finally time to tell Kazuya.
“Hey...I have to tell you something,” Eijun said, voice quiet as he stared down at his fiddling hands.
“What’s up?” Kazuya asked, turning his body to face Eijun fully as he took in the other boy’s nervousness.
“I-I’m moving,”
“...Moving? Like...away?,”
“Yeah, my parents want to move back to Nagano and stay with my grandfather and I—,”
“—You’re leaving?” Kazuya questioned, cutting off Eijun’s babbling with his quiet tone.
“...Yeah,” Eijun breathed out, shoulders slumping as he looked at the floor.
His eyes widened though when he felt callused fingers on his chin, lifting his face to look up and meet warm familiar honey-amber eyes.
For a second the two boys just stared at each other, and then Kazuya leaned in. Eijun’s body responded automatically, relaxing forward and melting into Kazuya. He closed his eyes and felt warm chapped lips brush softly against his own. The kiss was chaste and probably lasted for only a few seconds, but to Eijun it felt like everything. It warmed his entire body and his heart pounded frantically.
He wasn’t alone in this.
After the kiss Eijun pulled back slightly to look at the other boy whose eyes were still closed.
“Kazuya?” Eijun asked, voice wobbly and hopeful as he reached out a hand to touch the other boy.
At the sound of Eijun’s voice Kazuya’s eyes snapped open and he blanched. He then turned and quickly ran away, ignoring the way Eijun called after him.
At the sight of Kazuyaʻs rapidly departing back Eijun felt his chest tighten with pain. He looked down at his still outstretched hand and slowly lowered it to his lap. After a few more minutes sitting in the silence of his backyard alone Eijun stood up and made his way quietly back to his room. He tucked himself into bed and as he laid there he felt the tears start to slide out of his eyes and down his face. Eijun rolled over and buried his face in his pillows, letting all the tears pour out. When he was finished he felt completely drained. After pining for over a year he had gotten a taste of what he had so desperately and secretly longed for, only to have it taken away just as fast.
On the day of Eijun’s move Kazuya showed up to say goodbye. He acted as if nothing happened and when Eijun finally worked up the courage to question him, his mother called him and told him it was time to go.
As the years continued to pass Eijun and Kazuya kept in communication through emails and phone calls. They talked about how school was going and baseball, but never did they bring up what had happened that one summer night.
Eijun had tried his best to bury it, he quickly acclimated to life in Nagano and was almost always surrounded by friends. But as always, sometimes the things you try hardest to forget are the things that hurt and linger the most.
It was a Friday night and Eijun had just returned home after practice. He took off his shoes by the front door and was about to head to his room to put away his things when his mom called him. Curious, Eijun followed her voice to the side room where his mother was grinning at a computer screen. Eijun looked at the computer screen and the picture pulled up and felt his stomach drop. There on the screen was Kazuya. Kazuya in a button down long sleeve, slacks, and dress shoes. Kazuya with his hair slicked back and contacts in place, his sharp honey-amber eyes staring straight at the camera. Kazuya, who was standing in front of his front door with a girl. A girl, who was clinging to his arm and smiling widely at the camera.
“Aren’t they cute? Apparently the girl asked him to the school dance. His mom just emailed me the photo,” Eijun’s mom gushed, a wide genuine grin on her face as she turned around to look at Eijun.
“R-right, haha. They look nice,” Eijun forced out, a wooden smile on his face.
“I..I have to go shower now. Tell Miyuki’s mom I said hi,” he continued, quickly retreating from the room and turning his back quickly so that his quivering mouth and teary eyes were hidden.
Returning to his room Eijun noticed an unread message from Kazuya. Biting down a whimper Eijun quickly deleted the message and logged out from his account, vowing to never log in again.