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"So you're saying this thing can send people into the future?!" Sawamura shouted, excitement and disbelief making his voice even louder than usual.
Kazuya glanced over from his seat a few tables to the left. He recognized the tube-like device he had seen the day before in Nori's hands. Apparently it was a time machine, from what Kazuya understood, that would take anyone ten years into the future for all of five minutes. As if, Kazuya snorted. There was no such thing as time travel.
Disinterested, he turned back to his breakfast, taking his eyes off the device... which he really shouldn't have done. He heard some scuffling, some shouts, and then a sharp:
"Miyu–"
He lifted his head, but it was already too late. The bazooka was flying through the air, and frozen in place, Kazuya watched it spin his way. Before anyone could react, it hit and swallowed him whole in a cloud of pink velvet dust.
Kazuya didn't believe the whole time travel concept. Not even when the mist around him fell and he could clearly see that he was no longer in the dorm cafeteria. It seemed like he was in someone's apartment, the room clearly belonging to more than one person. The double-sized bed was messily covered and when Kazuya looked around, he noticed a couple of shirts thrown in a hurry over one of the doors of the open closet, some more spilling from the drawer next to it.
On the top of the drawer was a collection of photographs. Despite his continuous disbelief that he could have travelled to the future and this could actually be his bedroom, Kazuya curiously stepped closer, peering into the pictures.
The first one his eyes caught had been one of him and Kuramochi, but... they looked older. Kuramochi's bangs were longer, face sharper, less round, and so was Kazuya's. Kuramochi's arm was casually slung over future Kazuya's shoulders. The two in the picture seemed far more at ease with each other than Kazuya had ever been with Kuramochi. Swallowing uncomfortably, he tried to convince himself it was only a trick of the camera, this wasn't the future. It couldn't be.
But then he looked at the next picture, and froze. Because this time it was Sawamura who was on the photo, and Kazuya couldn't pretend anymore. It was definitely the future. Sawamura had always looked a bit childish when he smiled, his cheeks too puffy, eyes too squinty, mouth grinning too wide. But here, right in front of Kazuya, was the proof that it would all pass. The Sawamura from the photo was handsome, his jaw and cheeks sharp, eyes just as bright but open in a smile, lips barely showing his teeth in a gentle smile. Kazuya quickly had to look away, pink dusting across his cheeks like he had just seen something he wasn't supposed to.
He regretted turning his gaze away almost immediately, though. If it was hard watching the future Sawamura, it was even harder watching himself with the future Sawamura. Kazuya's breathing stopped as his eyes scanned a dark picture that must have been taken in a club of sorts. His ears stung a bit when his blush spread over his neck and reached their tips. The air in the room was suddenly all too hot as Kazuya's eyes took in the way his future self held future Sawamura's hips from behind, how Sawamura's hand reached to his neck, how their heads were aligned, almost as if–
Kazuya quickly tore his eyes away, face flaming. It was far too intimate and he felt like he was prying into someone else's privacy. Even if it was his future, Sawamura was... He shook his head. All Sawamura was to him was a teammate, a valuable pitcher. This wasn't his life. Maybe it would be one day, but not yet. He had no feelings for his Sawamura – Kazuya felt the blush creep down his neck as soon as he thought of Sawamura as his. He rubbed at his eyes beneath the glasses.
Sawamura wasn't... He wasn't... They weren't... like that.
Deciding to leave the room immediately, Kazuya opened his eyes. And from the corner of his eye he caught another picture. If he thought it was hot before, he was literally boiling now. Suddenly, he knew whose bedroom it was. In the picture, the future Sawamura was smiling, a smile Kazuya had never seen before: kind and gentle, but also so full of love it made Kazuya's hand itch to touch it. The foreheads of the people in the photo were touching, Sawamura's hands placed on the future Kazuya's neck. But what shocked the current Kazuya the most, was the look in his own eyes.
He looked totally smitten. Glowing eyes, unguarded and open. A look Kazuya had believed he had long since forgotten. Ever since his mother's death...
Kazuya forced himself to look away, throat suddenly tight with emotion. Without looking back, he exited the room, his hand on the doorknob shaking a little. To distract himself from what he had seen, he wandered around the flat. It was pretty cozy, he had to admit. There were a few more pictures here and there, but Kazuya pointedly ignored them, his emotions still running high-wire from before.
He tried to remember the details of what Nori had said about the time machine. Ten years into the future. Five minutes. Kazuya checked his watch. He had no idea how long he had already been here, but he would have placed his bet five minutes should be up very soon.
Walking around the house, Kazuya finally stepped into the small living room, which was only separated from the kitchen by a small counter. There were pictures on the wall behind the sofa, but Kazuya looked ignored them. Deciding it was far safer to inspect the kitchen, he stepped behind the counter. There was little space, but for one person it was just enough. The utensils and the oven were all good quality, Kazuya nodded, happy that his future self had enough sense in him to equip the kitchen properly.
A small black box hidden behind a bag of flour caught his eye and before he knew it, curiosity took the best of him and Kazuya was reaching out for it. Thinking it was a container for some sort of spices, he popped the lid open... and froze. Inside was a simple silver band, but it was enough to shut down Kazuya's mind. Because his future self was planning to–
The lock on the front door clicked and a short "I'm home" broke Kazuya out of his trance. He wanted to close the box and put it back where it was, but feeling slightly panicky, it slipped out of his fingers, slid over the kitchen counter and fell to the ground. Like burnt, Kazuya jumped to get it, not even sure why he cared so much. All his luck seemed to have left him in that second (or maybe it was the whole day that was unlucky, he'd say thinking back on it), because in all the rush, he kicked the box even further away, right before the door to the living room that were already being opened.
"Oh, Kazuya, I didn't know you were home."
The future Sawamura, the same one from the pictures was standing right before him and Kazuya had to focus in order to bring his mind out of the gutter. His thoughts kept going back to that picture, the one with them smiling, so close, so intimate, so loving... The way Sawamura said Kazuya's name didn't really do much to help. It seemed so natural, so effortless, as if he had years to get used to it, and Kazuya supposed he had. He shook his head to rid himself of the echoes of his name falling from Sawamura's lips.
Struggling to focus, he took in the man before him. It took only one glance at this Sawamura to take Kazuya's breath away. Pictures didn't do him justice, not at all.
He was tall, taller than Kazuya who had always been more compact and broader in the shoulders than him, but still, craning his neck to look at Sawamura wasn't something Kazuya had ever thought he'd experience. And his face... It was Sawamura, Kazuya could tell, but he looked so different. So much more... mature. There was an air of calm around him, something Kazuya had never seen before. The gold eyes glowed as they usually did, but the smile sent his way wasn't the face-splitting grin Kazuya knew so well. It was more similar to the smile of that last photo from the bedroom, light and full of affection.
Kazuya shifted, suddenly very aware of the box at Sawamura's feet.
"Shouldn't you be at work?" Sawamura continued talking, unaware that this Kazuya wasn't the one he knew. "Didn't you say you're gonna stay up late today?"
Kazuya suddenly started praying for the five minutes to be over already. His eyes unconsciously flicked down to the box still laying on the floor. Sawamura must have grown more observant throughout the years as well, because to Kazuya's horror, he had caught his nervousness and looked down. Kazuya felt his heart stop.
How would he even begin explain it? It wasn't his job! He was too young to handle proposals! Sweat broke at the back of his neck and Kazuya swallowed harshly. This was way too much for him.
"What's this?" With fear gripping his throat, Kazuya watched Sawamura pick up the box that during the tumbling must have closed again. "Kazuya?"
What was he supposed to say? Should he even say anything?
"I–" he started, then stopped. "Um..."
Kazuya's heart was beating wild in his chest, probably more than it would be if he really was the one proposing. He opened his mouth to say something else, this time maybe more intelligent, even a corny joke would be fine, but Sawamura chose that very moment to push back the lid. He was silent for a long while, and Kazuya, despite not being that timeline's Kazuya, felt the nervous thrill of waiting for the response.
Sawamura's eyes finally lifted from the ring, almost immediately locking with Kazuya's. They were slightly widened, but warm and fiercely gleaming gold – a sight that Kazuya had seen from time to time on the mound.
"Is this..." Sawamura started, the hand that was holding the box trembled a little. Kazuya watched him swallow and start over again. "Is this what I think it is?"
All Kazuya wanted to do in that moment was to collapse and never get up. He felt as if his whole body was on the edge of a cliff, one leg already taking the step into the void below. With his heart in his throat, he swallowed harshly.
"I..." he rubbed at the back of his neck, a nervous tremor passing through his body. "I think so..." He looked away.
It felt like cheating. He wasn't the one that was supposed to do this. He felt like he was robbing his future self of this moment and it wasn't fair.
"Yes."
Kazuya blinked. "Yes?"
Sawamura was smiling at him and... were those tears...?
"Yes, I'll marry you," Sawamura repeated, his face alight with a brilliant smile despite the tears that rolled down his cheeks.
Kazuya could do nothing when Sawamura stepped up to him and enveloped him in a tight hug. He was stiff in the embrace, the arms around him felt strong, and for a brief moment Kazuya wondered if the Sawamura from his time possessed the same strength. Hands still on his shoulders, Sawamura broke them apart, peering down at Kazuya closely.
"Wait," his voice rang with a hint of confusion. "Aren't you a bit... smaller than usual?"
Kazuya thanked all the gods when pink smoke burst all around him, sucking him back to his time and saving him from yet another awkward conversation.
Everyone was looking at him. And it wouldn't be anything unusual, but the looks they were giving him... After the spontaneous proposal, Kazuya's nerves were in shatters, and he really didn't feel like dealing with anything or anyone at the moment. He knew, though, that if he didn't clear up the air now, rumours would start and everything would be even more painful to deal with.
"What did he... I mean, I," he corrected. "What did I do?"
There was only silence for the longest while. Kuramochi stepped forward, placing one hand on Kazuya's shoulder.
"It's okay, Miyuki, we accept you as you are," he said and Kazuya felt dread creep up his back.
"Thanks," he replied drily. "But what happened?"
He looked around, urging someone, anyone, to answer. In the crowd his eyes met Sawamura's and somehow Kazuya got a hint. The first year jumped to his feet as soon as he noticed Kazuya watching him. His face was bright red, and Kazuya felt like groaning and curling in on himself. Sawamura bolted out of the room, covering his face with his hands, and to be perfectly honest, Kazuya wanted to do the same.
Instead, he plopped down on one of the chairs and knocked his head on the tabletop. And then again. Oh, he could already sense the headache of the next few days coming to haunt him. He hit his head on the hard surface again, lips stretching in a wry smile.
Fucking wonderful.