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There are those who say it’s sudden.
The world bursts into sight. Like a firework, it is loud and bright and terrifying. It is a world as lovely as it is new.
However, many disagree, saying it is all that you’ve always known and all that you have always forgotten. Like memories, it drifts slowly, familiar and welcome, not only for your eyes, but your fingertips, your nose, your tastebuds, and most importantly your heart.
Then again it is different for everyone.
For Chris, the change was strange. The vibrant colors of the baseball field came hurdling towards him with a ball from Eijun’s hand. For a moment, a split second, Chris could see the green of the grass, the dull, muddy shade of the mound, even the bright red stitches soaring towards him.
But then it curved.
And the colors vanished.
In the beginning, it was always like this. Chris gave no thought to these moments because, quite frankly, he didn’t think there were colors in this world for him to see. Life was dark. It was always dark, and it would always be dark. He accepted that.
Yet there were times when Eijun’s eyes would meet his and he could swear the gold in them filled his heart with every hue the sun could turn.
He could only ignore it for so long.
Pitch after pitch cleared his vision. It was as if every strike cleaned off another layer of grime from his eyes. The trees had leaves, the sky changed color, and the sunset was never as beautiful as it was in Eijun’s gaze.
Eventually Chris accepted that only when this boy smiled did the world have light.
Though this shift was confusing for him, as it is for many, comparatively Chris was lucky. He could have been one of the unfortunate few who fail to even realize any change has occurred.
No, he was not one of them.
You could argue he was worse off than them.
He was paired with one.
An idiot.
“And here?”
Eijun looked attentitively to where Chris pointed.
“The seams!”
“And they are…”
“Important!”
“Yes, yes, they’re important.” Chris cleared his throat. “Anything else?”
“The ball goes like this, if you hold it like this!”
Eijun demonstrated wildly with his arms.
Maybe recognizing the color red was too much to ask of him.
“Good job, then…” he sighed. “I guess that’s all for today.”
Compliantly, Eijun rested on the ground for his cool down stretch, and Chris sat with him. The stale air of the dugout felt nice, and when Eijun met his eyes, Chris could see the yellow dust dancing in the light.
Of course, he could just tell him. Confront him.
‘Hey, I think I’m your soulmate, what color is the sky?’
But there was always the fear of being wrong.
There could always be a reason for Eijun’s silence.
“Chris-senpai?”
The voice pulled him softly from his thoughts. “Hm?”
He took Eijun’s hand gently into his, pulling him carefully into his stretch.
“What do you think of Furuya..?”
The question caught Chris by surprise. There was a shadow of tension in it.
“I... think he has a vital source of power,” he answered. “One that many pitchers envy. But, like you, he still has a lot of growing to do before he can use it.”
“How much growing?” Eijun shifted onto his other leg slowly, and from this angle, the wrinkle in his brow was visible.
“That depends on him. But a lot.”
“If you… had to say which one of us had more growing to do…”
Chris had to hide his smirk. “... You.”
Eijun’s face dropped.
“... But I also think you will be more interesting to watch after you’ve grown.”
And rose.
He was so easy to please, it made Chris grin. His eyes crinkled in laughter as he lifted his hands and brought them to his face. How simple this boy was. He wiped his brow and closed his eyes, letting out a light sigh.
When he opened them, he expected the familiar, disgruntled face he knew well.
Eijun only stared at him like a wide-eyed, red-faced newborn.
“... What?” Chris asked, suddenly bewildered by such a dumbfounded expression.
Hastily, Eijun shook his head. He turned his face away. “No, sorry, I just…” he paused. There was a dull coat of pink on his cheeks that Chris wondered if he was only imagining. “It’s been a while… since I saw you smile like that, senpai.”
… Oh.
Chris could feel the beating of his heart slow. He smiled again, faintly. His smile could not hold a candle to the radiance of Eijun’s, but it was there.
And Eijun certainly seemed to notice.
Oh.
Without thinking, he took Eijun’s shoulders in his hands.
“Ch.. Chris--?”
It seemed too simple.
Eijun’s smile lit up the whole world for him. But for him to do anything like that for Eijun seemed impossible.
“Chris-senpai… your eyes…!”
Still, here he was, holding a sun kissed angel in his arms. He supposed it was his fault after all. He rarely smiled anymore. Maybe it wasn’t that Eijun was an idiot, but that Chris never opened himself up enough.
“Can you see them..?” he whispered, faintly. Eijun’s awestruck eyes drew him closer.
“Chris-senpai, I…”
He could feel the other’s breath on his face.
“... I think I’m going through puberty…”
The sincerity of Eijun’s tone made it impossible for Chris not to laugh. The redness of his face faded with it, and he pulled away, still smiling.
“Then I guess you’re still too young for me.” he grinned, and Eijun’s expression dropped to that of someone who’s just seen a tree drop onto their car.
“Wh-What?! No way!! You-- You can’t do that and then--!!”
“I’d say… at least two years before I can even think about kissing you.”
“Chris-senpai, I take it back! I’m not going through puberty, I swear!!”
Chris laughed again, and this time watched as Eijun’s eyes gleamed in the hazy dusk.
Well, if he was wrong, it wouldn’t be the first time he was off by a year (or two).