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Fall has to be Mika’s favorite time of year.
The balmy, summer heat had finally begun to dissipate, making way for temperate weather blowing through the treetops, scattering not-yet-turned leaves to the wind. Another gust has a group of school girls huddling together for warmth, and as they rush past his perch on the schoolyard bench, Mika huddles deeper into his jacket. He takes a moment to indulge and inhale deeply into the collar.
That’s just another perk of fall—this jacket does not make its appearance all year round, after all.
A quick check of his phone tells Mika that after-school club activities should be about wrapped up, and a small thrill races up his spine. He gathers his belongings and begins his walk toward the back of the school. The general chatter of students leaving their relative sports clubs washes over him as he approaches the fenced-in field, but his focus is drawn to the baseball club gathering their things at the dugout.
Mika walks faster when he hears a warm peel of laughter that never fails to make his heart race.
Nearly sprinting by the time he arrives, Mika hunkers down further into the letterman jacket and smiles warmly as he approaches the group. Two of them are wearing the same jacket as Mika, but one is dressed simply in his average attire—and he looks up just as Mika approaches with a blinding smile.
“Mika!” Yuu says. “I was just wondering where you were!”
Mika blushes, but he remembers their company and turns to greet the other members of Yuu’s team. “Hey Kimizuki, Yoichi. Good work at practice today.”
Kimizuki nods and hefts his equipment bag further up his shoulder, and Yoichi smiles with a small wave. Then, Kimizuki looks Mika up and down and snorts.
“So that’s where your jacket went,” Kimizuki says to Yuu. “I just thought your dumb ass liked to freeze.”
Yuu squawks indignantly. “H-hey!”
Yoichi laughs, glancing between him and Mika with a knowing look. “It did start getting a little cold recently—but I’m sure Mika is grateful to have something warm, too!”
“Yeah!” Yuu agrees emphatically. He pulls Mika closer by the sleeve and wraps an arm around him, jabbing his thumb into his own chest. “It’s called being a considerate boyfriend, telephone pole. Something you wouldn’t know anything about!”
Kimizuki does not dignify the comment with anything but a roll of his eyes, but Mika still looks at Yuu with a concerned frown.
“I don’t mind giving your jacket back if—”
Yuu cuts him off. “Nope! A little cold weather doesn’t bother me.” Then, he pouts. “And you didn’t tell me I did a great job at practice yet...”
Now, Mika is the one to roll his eyes, but he still pats Yuu on the head softly. “Great work at practice today, Yuu-chan.”
The bridge of Yuu’s nose turns pink at the compliment, and he leans in to give Mika a chaste kiss on the lips.
“Alright, I’m gonna head out before I puke,” Kimizuki announces. He waves over his shoulder. “See you lovey-dovey idiots tomorrow.”
Yoichi jogs to catch up with him, but looks back at Mika and Yuu and smiles. “See you tomorrow!”
As they retreat, Yuu uses the privacy as an excuse to give Mika a deeper, more prolonged kiss, and Mika feels like his feet might float off the ground at any moment. When they part, Mika looks away, suddenly bashful, and tucks a stray lock of hair behind his ear.
“I thought maybe we could walk home through the park today,” Mika murmurs. “Just to spend a little more time together.”
Yuu laces their fingers together and bumps their shoulders together. “Any excuse to spend together sounds amazing to me.”
The park is full with all sorts enjoying the pleasant weather, just as Mika suspected. Children giggle and chase each other through the open green, sweaters bundled tightly as their mothers watch from the nearby benches. Older folks sit playing chess or tossing bread crumbs to the swaths of begging pigeons. And, of course, couples are walking around, using the cooler temperature as an excuse to canoodle as close as they can. Mika is sure he and Yuu look the same way, hands clasped tightly and gazing at each other with lovestruck expressions.
As they continue to walk down the path, Mika notices the slight shiver in Yuu’s shoulders, and he has a pang of guilt as he recalls the earlier conversation.
“Are you sure you don’t want your jacket back, Yuu-chan?”
Yuu shakes his head, grinning even as hugs himself for warmth. “Nah. Seeing you in my clothes is worth being a little cold.”
Now Mika is not just warm—he is burning hot. “H-hey, don’t just say things like that...”
Yuu chuckles impishly but then purses his lips with a thoughtful expression. Mika, who was already flustered, begins to squirm even more.
“What is it…?”
“If you do want to help warm me up,” Yuu says with a glint in his eye, “then I have a great idea.”
That’s all the warning Mika gets before Yuu grabs his hand and tugs him toward a nearby field. Mika stumbles down with a yelp but manages to catch himself before getting a mouthful of grass. He sits up on his knees just before Yuu drops onto the ground with him. With little invitation, Yuu settles his head onto Mika’s lap, stretching out his legs and letting out a long sigh.
Yuu looks up at Mika through dark lashes, eyes glittering emeralds in the midday sun. “Yeah, this is perfect. ”
Barely managing to recover from his tumble, the tender expression Yuu levels Mika with has him reeling yet again, butterflies kicking around violently in his stomach. Quickly, he relaxes, shifting to give Yuu a better angle to lay his head down on his thigh. Mika runs his fingers through Yuu’s hair—an absolute mess after his baseball practice—and Yuu practically melts into the touch. Mika half expects Yuu to break out into a purr with how pleased he looks right now.
“You dork,” Mika mumbles, giving a gentle scratch behind Yuu’s ear.
Yuu smiles up at him again, but this time it's beaming, and its radiance is enough to warm Mika all the way through winter.
Another breeze blows by and Yuu snuggles closer, and Mika hangs his head back toward the sun, smiling softly to himself.
Fall is definitely his favorite time of year.