Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

How it began is something of a mystery, and those involved answered with little more than a smile and a word or two of explanation.

Was it, as one friend swore he heard, at a baseball game? Some strange confluence of neighboring seats, a spilled box of popcorn, shared snark and catcalling during a double-header?

Maybe it was at a beach, the waves stronger than one of them expected, the other seeing trouble and preventing it?

Or was it, as others claimed, at a pickup game, one which drew in a genius catcher and a southpaw shortstop who could bunt like a dream?

We may never know.

All we know is somehow they met, and spent every minute they could of that summer together.

“I have to go back to Nagano,” Eijun sighed, bumping into Kazuya’s side as they sat on the blanket watching fireworks. “Dad’s contract here is up; we’re leaving in a few days.”

“I know.” Kazuya leaned back into him; this was all the contact, all the comfort they ever allowed themselves. “I wish you didn’t have to go.”

Eijun nodded. “Yeah. But we can email and text, and maybe my dad will have to come here for work again some time.”

“It won’t be the same, though. I’ll miss you.” Kazuya gathered up his courage and asked the one thing he knew he shouldn’t, but the one thing he wanted most from his friend. “Ei?” He started, tentatively.

Eijun turned his head, golden eyes gleaming in the dark. “Yes?”

“Would you...could you…?” Kazuya took a deep breath and took the plunge. “Would you pitch to me?”

“Miyuki Kazuya!” Eijun hopped up, face reddening. “You know better! I don’t pitch anymore, and you know it! Why would you even ask me? Are you trying to ruin our last couple of days together?”

Kazuya rose to his knees and grabbed his arm. “I’m sorry, Ei, please sit down. I know you don’t do that anymore, I just thought since we may not ever see each other again…”

Eijun sat down, grumbling. “Stupid Kazuya, why do you think that would change anything? I’m not a pitcher anymore.”

“I know, and I’m sorry. It’s just that I think we’d make a great battery.”

“Trust me, Kaz; you don’t want me to pitch to you.”

“I’ll always want to catch your pitches.”

Seido High was one of the premier athletic schools in Tokyo, and its focus was baseball. Eijun wasn’t enrolled there to play the sport he loved so much, he was attending because it was his local school and as one of the neighborhood residents, he received free tuition. He was glad for that, his family had just moved into the area the previous week and he didn’t know what he would have done if he hadn’t been able to register there. He’d already made a couple of friends who attended, and that was going to make everything much easier.

Kuramochi Youichi lived a few blocks away. He and Eijun met at the local skatepark, bonding over skateboards, video games and the occasional random act of stupidity teenaged boys seem to gravitate towards. Mochi, as he liked to be called, was a year ahead of Eijun, so he knew the school and knew how to avoid trouble. Or—more frequently—how to find it. He also, Eijun discovered, was baseball mad and a former member of the Seido team. He’d never explained to Eijun why he quit, but Eijun hadn’t asked, either.

Kominato Haruichi was his next-door neighbor; they’d met the day Eijun moved in. He was a quiet, unassuming person, in almost every way the opposite of Eijun. Despite that, they’d found they had some things in common, and quickly became friends. He was a member of the baseball team and a second year like Eijun. Eijun was glad to have someone he could talk to in his grade.

If Eijun felt a twinge of envy whenever he saw Haruichi heading out to baseball practice, he swallowed it down and refused to acknowledge it. If his stomach did a flip whenever Haruichi mentioned the monster pitcher on the team, he hid it with a grin. Baseball was no longer his world.

The first day of school was sunny, and far nicer than Eijun thought the first day of school had any right to be.

He groaned his way out of bed when his alarm went off, and stumbled into the kitchen, halfway snoozing his way through a bowl of cereal. Head a little clearer, he yawned widely as he climbed into the shower, keeping the water on the cool side so he would wake up some more. Regretting his late night playing Far Cry with Mochi, he cleaned himself up and tried to make himself presentable for the first day of school.

Hardest things first, the hair. Mochi’s hair was insane, the faux hawk worked well for him. Eijun thought it made him look cool, but he also knew he had neither the patience nor the talent to pull that off. The best he could do is to put some gel in it and let it dry while he got dressed, and then decide if he wanted to pull the whole wavy brown mass back into a ponytail. He’d let it grow out over the summer, but a few days before school started he got the sides and back undercut,  while keeping the top long enough to pull back if he wanted to do so. His grandfather smacked him and told him he looked like a reprobate, his mom patted his cheek and smiled, and his dad gave him a thumbs up for carrying on the Sawamura family tradition of ‘sticking it to the man’.

Next, the clothes. This part wasn’t hard. Black skinny jeans, tight enough to look good, but with give so he could skate, and a t-shirt of some kind. Since it was the first day of school, he made a concession to his future teachers and wore a white tee, eschewing the band tees and other questionable garments in his drawers. It was warm, so he didn’t need a jacket, but he put a black zip-front hoodie on the bed with his backpack.

Shoes. This was the questionable bit. He had to admit, he did like shoes. Vans, DC, Converse, skate shoes of all types, his closet was full of shoes. He picked out some old school black and white checkered Vans, slipped them on and wandered back into the bathroom to check his hair. Deciding against the ponytail, he wrapped a black band around his wrist in case he changed his mind later and expertly applied black eyeliner. Looking in the mirror, he shrugged, knowing he’d done the best he could.

He sighed as he remembered the last time he’d made the effort to look good.

Kaz, I miss you. I hope I see you again some time.

Slipping on his hoodie and grabbing his backpack and board, he ran out the door, headed for the corner where he was meeting Mochi; Haruichi had early practice, so they’d planned to meet up at the school.

Not so far away, Kazuya looked through his closet. He’d showered after morning practice, and was trying to figure out what to wear the first day of school. As catcher, clean-up and now captain (what were they thinking?) of the baseball team, he had a responsibility to maintain a certain image, especially in light of his academic achievements, which included a place in the top ten of his class and a seat on the student council. Letting out a huff of irritation, he reached for his navy chinos and a pink and maroon plaid button-down shirt.

Shoes, well, there wasn’t much choice. Brown boat shoes, with navy and pink socks. Rolling his eyes at the predictability of it, he pulled a cream sweater from the drawer and tied it around his neck.

Stepping over to the mirror, he tried to bring some semblance of order to his honey colored hair, using as little product as he could to get an acceptable style. He slid silver studs into his ears, his one piece of rebellion. This little bit was allowed; it added an edge to his straight-laced image and made the others think he was ‘authentic’. What a joke.

He hated this act, hated the part he played and wished there was some way to shake it. But he’d made the decision several years ago to treat school like this, and there was no way he could think of to change it without losing everything he’d worked for. His reputation as the big man on campus was his way of dealing with the bullies from his past, and his sarcastic wit and biting tongue were only acceptable in one who was athletically, academically and socially above the others.

Checking his phone one more time, he sighed.

I hope he’s all right. I haven’t heard from him since shortly after they went back to Nagano. I miss him. Eijun, please be okay, and please answer me soon. You’re the one person I don’t have to put up a front around.

Hearing a knock at his door, he strode over to open it to Zono and Nori, who’d stopped by to walk with him to class. He couldn’t help his involuntary glance over their shoulders, hoping to see the slouching figure of his former best friend. But he wasn’t there, Kazuya knew better. He’d quit the team at the end of the season last year, and Kazuya hadn’t spoken to him since. He didn’t know what to say; He understood his reasons, but he didn’t understand quitting, not really. He’d tried to keep in touch over the summer, but their texts had been sporadic and stilted, and he was unsure if they were ever going to be able to rebuild what they’d lost.

Nori smiled at him sympathetically, “Come on, Kazuya. First day of class.”

“Woo-hoo.” Kazuya rolled his eyes as he stepped out the door, locking it behind himself.

Eijun sighed as he walked into the lunchroom. He’d made it through the first half of the day, and knew he owed his survival to Haruichi. “Thanks again for all of your help! Let me at least buy your lunch.” He pulled out his wallet as they headed for the lunch line.

“No, it’s fine. I don’t even pay for my lunch, it’s part of the baseball scholarship.” Haruichi glanced around the full lunchroom. “In fact, I should be eating in the team cafeteria next door.” He waved at the doorway on the side of the room. Eijun looked through it and saw groups of students walking by the door with trays piled high. “Tell you what, I’ll go over there and grab a tray and bring it back over here. I see other team members in here. I’ll be right back.”

“Sounds good!” Eijun moved towards the regular lunch line, trying to figure out what he wanted to eat. He was so busy thinking that he failed to notice the body moving up behind him, until he felt a kick in his backside and a heard a laugh in his ear.

“Kyhahahahaha! Pay attention to your surroundings, knucklehead!” Eijun jumped and spluttered for a second, before grinning at his friend.

“Hi, Mochi-senpai! How was your first morning?”

“Oh, you know. School is school.” Mochi slid his hands into the pockets of his ripped jeans, and slouched against the wall. “What about you? Meet any cute girls?”

Eijun rolled his eyes. “There are some cute girls in my classes, yes. You know I don’t swing that way. Idiot.”

“Pay attention, the line’s moving.” Mochi prodded Eijun in the side, and they made their way through the line, collecting their meals and finding a seat at the end of one of the benches. Haruichi joined them shortly after, followed closely by Ryou, Haruichi’s older brother. Eijun was wary of him, he knew he was smart and devious, he just wasn’t sure if he used his powers for good or evil.

Haruichi quickly moved to set his tray beside Mochi, and Ryou, with a raised eyebrow and a slight smirk, slid into place beside Eijun, who was looking at Haruichi’s tray with something bordering on reverence.

“Hello, Mochi-senpai, how are you?” Haruichi sat on the bench.

“Well, thank you, Haruichi.” Mochi pointedly ignored Ryou’s presence across the table.

“You know each other?” Eijun’s eyebrows knit in confusion.

“Yes. I played on the team last year, remember?”

“Oh! Okay, that makes sense.” His attention caught again by the tray in front of his friend. “Are you really going to eat all that rice? You must be starving!”

The others laughed, while Eijun just looked confused. “No Eijun, I’m not that hungry, but it’s a requirement of the baseball program that every player eat three bowls of rice at each meal.”

“Kyhahaha! I don’t miss trying to choke that down!” Mochi laughed.

Ryou muttered, “No, you’re never one to try too hard for anything, are you?” Eijun looked at Ryou in surprise, and then shifted his gaze to Mochi, who had fallen uncharacteristically still, looking at his food.

“Aniki,” Haruichi said reprovingly.

“I’m sorry, I’ll be quiet. Please, continue your conversation.”

Haruichi turned to Mochi. “Do anything interesting this summer, Mochi-senpai?”

Recovering himself, he shot a glare at Ryou and turned to Haruichi. “Nope, nothing exciting. Just hung out at the skatepark and played games. How about you?”

“Same here, nothing new. Eijun?”

“Oh, yeah. Eijun, you never did answer my question, so let’s rephrase. Did you meet any cute boys over the summer?”

Eijun blushed and picked the pickles off his hamburger. “I did.”

“You did? What did you do?”

“We just kinda hung out and stuff.”

“Sounds perfectly dreadful,” Ryou snarked.

Eijun sputtered in denial. “It wasn’t! He was nice. We talked about a lot of things; we went to the movies and played catch. It was the best couple of months of my life, and now it’s over. I’ll never see him again.” He continued to disassemble his lunch, appetite gone.

“Didn’t you get his phone number?” Haruichi asked.

“I did,” Eijun sighed. “But the movers lost the box my phone was in.”

Haruichi patted Eijun’s arm. “I’m sorry, Eijun. These things do have a way of working themselves out, though.”

“You think so?” He perked up, gold eyes glimmering.

“I do,” his friend replied.

Ryou interjected, “So, this paragon of virtue and kindness. Does he have a name?”

“Of course he has a name! Everyone has a name.”

“Will you be so kind as to provide us with it?” Ryou responded.

Eijun fumed for a second. “If you wanted to know his name, you should have just asked me. His name is Kazuya. Miyuki Kazuya.”

Everyone got quiet for a moment.

“Did you say Miyuki Kazuya?” Haruichi asked incredulously, while Mochi looked concerned.

“Yes, Miyuki Kazuya! Why?” Eijun queried, confused by the reaction.

Ryou stood up and placed a hand on his shoulder. “No reason, none at all. Have faith, Eijun. One day your Prince Charming may show up again.” The corners of his mouth lifted in a smirk, and he walked away, waving a hand in farewell. “Don’t forget to eat your rice, Haruichi.”

Kazuya made it through the first half of the day with no issues, the same as almost every day. He did precisely what he needed to, snarked as much as he wanted and wasn’t called on any of it, took notes and was attentive in class. Dropping his tray on a table, he sat near the rest of his batchmates on the team, not realizing until he sat what they were discussing. They were recounting (and exaggerating) their summer vacation.

“And so I told her I’d call her, but I’m so busy with baseball, I haven’t had time.” Zono finished.

Kazuya smirked into his rice. “Yeah, sure.” He shoveled some into his mouth. “You didn’t even get up the nerve to ask for her number, did you?” Zono glared.

“Well then, how many girls did you meet this summer?” He asked, crossing his arms.

Snickering, Kazuya put down his chopsticks. “Gay, remember? Not into girls.”

“Then boys? How many boys did you meet?”

“Just one, but that was enough.” Zono eyed him with disbelief.

“You met someone? And they put up with your crappy personality?”

Kazuya donned a look of hurt. “Really? You don’t think I could fool anyone into thinking I’m nice for a few months? I have all the teachers fooled.”

“This is true,” Nori agreed. “So tell us more about this boy you met.”

“Well, he was kind of an idiot, but really cute and so giving, if you know what I mean.”

“Did you get his number?” Zono asked, skeptical.

Kazuya laughed, “Of course I did, I’m not you. I have his number; we spent most of the summer together.”

“What did you two do?” Nabe asked. He’d been silent the whole time, observing Kazuya. Something wasn’t right; he could tell his friend was putting up some kind of a front. About what, he wasn’t sure. Yet.

Kazuya rubbed his head self-consciously. “Well, a gentleman doesn’t kiss and tell, does he?”

Zono narrowed his eyes. “And where is this cute guy now?”

“I’m not sure.” Kazuya started back on his rice, but not before Nabe saw him look pensive for a second. “He had to go back to Nagano; he was only here for the summer.”

“You haven’t called him?” Nori asked.

“Why should I? We had our fun, and it’s over. I don’t think I’ll ever see him again. Anyway, what did you do this summer, Nori?” Kazuya changed the subject and returned to his lunch, not realizing Nabe was still watching him closely.

Chapter Text

Later that afternoon, Eijun was considering starting on his homework when Mochi came by, wondering if he wanted to get some ice cream and hang out for a while. He looked guiltily at the pile of books and shrugged; homework could wait, he had no illusions he’d be doing any better in class here than he had been in Nagano.

“Take the boards?” Eijun reached to grab his on the way out the door.

Mochi shook his head. “Nah, we don’t want to take them over that way if we don’t have a good reason. It’s in the shopping district, and they’re a bunch of hardasses.” He left his skateboard by Eijun’s, and they headed out.

As they got to the sidewalk, Mochi spotted Haruichi coming towards them. He waved him down, and they stopped, waiting for him to join.

“We’re going to get some ice cream,” Mochi explained. “Wanna come?”

Haruichi glanced at Eijun, and then met Mochi’s gaze. “Ice cream? Are you sure that’s a good idea, Mochi-senpai?”

“I think so, yes. We need to show Eijun around sometime, right? And it’s best if we’re with him.”

Eijun watched them talking, but couldn’t figure out what they were talking about. “What’s going on?”

“Oh, we just want to show some places you haven’t seen yet.” Mochi said, hands in pockets, rocking back on his heels.

“I’m going too,” Haruichi decided. “Can you wait until I drop my bag?” He inquired, face determined.

Eijun grinned. “Of course, we’ll wait for you here.” Haruichi ran to leave his bag at home.

As soon as he’d moved away, Eijun turned to Mochi. “Mochi-senpai, what’s really going on?”

“Don’t senpai me, please, Eijun. Just Mochi is fine.”

“Don’t avoid the subject, Mochi. What’s going on?”

“We’re going for ice cream.” He looked uncomfortable for a minute, then continued. “But, the baseball team tends to hang out there after practice, and I think Haruichi is worried that I’d feel unwelcome.” Eijun eyed him carefully, and realized he was telling at least part of the truth.

“Then why were you discussing me?”

“Well—” Mochi started, but Haruichi chose that moment to rejoin them, and the answer was lost.

“Ready?” Haruichi asked.

“Ready.” Mochi replied, and off they went.

The conversation was general, Mochi and Haruichi pointing out places Eijun needed to know, or ones they thought he’d find interesting. As they approached the ice cream shop, Eijun noticed Mochi was getting quieter. “Hey, Mochi. If you don’t want to go, I can just go in with Haruichi and you can stay outside. I’ll bring you something, whatever you’d like.”

“No, that’s okay. I want to go in, it’s just...this is the first time I’ve been in there since I left the team. I lost a few friends that I didn’t want to lose when I quit. We didn’t fight or anything, we just have lost our ability to communicate with each other, now that we don’t have baseball.”

“I’m sorry. I know how that sucks, truly I do.” Eijun laid a comforting arm on his shoulder. “We should do this later.”

“No, Eijun,” Mochi insisted. “We need to do this now, or things are only going to get harder.”

“Okay. If you think so, Mochi,” Eijun agreed. “Haruichi, lead the way!” Eijun followed as Haruichi pushed through the doors.

As they walked in, the bell over the door chimed, and several heads turned their way. Slowly, the room fell silent as the ones who noticed them walk in nudged their friends.

Eijun noticed it was a large space, with lots of tables. In one corner where the crowd was dense, he couldn’t even see what the tables were like because there were too many people. That was also the section that fell silent as their presence was noted.

Haruichi waved at the group in the corner, the gathering place for the baseball team, as Mochi turned towards the counter. Suddenly, several players were headed across the room with serious looks on their faces.

“Mochi!” Barked out one of them—a senior, if the facial hair was any indication.

Mochi slowly turned to face him. “Yes, Jun-senpai? How are you?”

“We’ve missed you, idiot. Even if you’re not playing, don’t be a stranger,” he growled, stepping forward.

“Jun.” A firm voice interrupted. “That’s enough. Mochi, what he’s trying to say is that you don’t have to avoid us. Please come around and see us, you’re our friend, even if we’re not playing together anymore.” This came from yet another senior.

“Yes, Tetsu-san.” Mochi bowed his head to the senior, who laid a comforting hand on his shoulder.

“I don’t know why you quit, but if you reconsider, or need someone to talk to about it, I am more than happy to listen.”

“Thank you, Tetsu-san.”

Nodding sternly, he and Jun turned to return to their corner. The other boys who had come with them stayed and greeted Mochi and Haruichi.

“Who’s the new guy?” One of them inquired, pointing to Eijun.

“Oh! I’m sorry. This is a second year, Sawamura Eijun, he’s just moved here from Nagano. Eijun, these are my friends, they’re all in my year. The big one is Zono, first base. The one with the cute cheeks is Nori, and he’s a sidearm pitcher. The third one is the one you have to watch out for, he’s smart and nothing gets by him. He’s our team information gatherer, Nabe.”

Eijun nodded at them all, repeating their names. “Zono-senpai, Nori-senpai, Nabe-senpai. It’s nice to meet you.”

Nabe looked at him curiously. “Nice to meet you as well. Did you say you were from Nagano? When did you move here?”

“Oh! We just moved last week. My dad was here all summer for a job, and we came with him for that, because he didn’t want to be gone from us for that long. He was transferred here about a week after we went back.” Nabe’s eyes widened and he met Mochi’s gaze. Mochi nodded.

“Is he here?” Mochi stepped forward, in front of Eijun. He didn’t know how Nabe knew about him, but he wasn’t about to allow anything bad to happen. Eijun was a sweet kid, and he wanted to shield him as much as possible. Unfortunately, there was only so much he could do.

Nabe indicated the back corner. “Working on some homework. I don’t think he saw you come in.”

“Okay, good.” He grabbed Eijun’s elbow and pulled him towards the back corner, where there was still a crowd gathered. Haruichi followed closely, with the other second years trailing behind.

As they got closer to the table, the crowd noticed Mochi and started to part, pulling away from him. He sneered at them all, and tucked Eijun behind himself as he walked up to the table.

“Kazuya.” Mochi spoke to the person whose head was lowered as he worked through a math problem.

Kazuya had been occupied with his homework; he’d gotten good at blocking out the irritants around him, able to ignore the chatter and commotion from a dozen or more boys. He’d registered the brief silence, but before he could be distracted by it, the noise resumed and he continued with his work, oblivious to what was going on. He wanted to get this done, wanted to get a good start on the year. He hadn’t been sleeping well, and he was hoping that maybe the mental exercise would wear him out.

He was parsing a particularly tricky double integral when he heard his name in a voice he’d not heard for a while. Looking up, he saw Mochi standing there. His face broke into a smile he quickly schooled into a smirk, as he scrambled for something to say. “Mochi. What brings you to this section of the shop? Looking to see if anyone’s up for some slumming?”

Mochi rolled his eyes. “Cut the crap, Kazuya. I have someone I want you to meet. Try to be nice.” He pulled Eijun out from behind his back.

Kazuya’s eyes widened and he jumped out of his chair. “Ei!” He reached over and grabbed Eijun’s hands.

“Kaz?” Eijun’s face broke out into a wide smile, and he stepped closer.

“I was worried about you, why didn’t you answer your phone?” Kazuya ruffled Eijun’s hair.

“The movers lost the box that had my phone in it. I’m sorry! I didn’t have your number anywhere else.”

“Wait a second, what are you doing here? I thought you moved back to Nagano.”

“We had a change in plans, we’re here permanently.”

Kazuya felt his smile widen. He slowly became aware of the eyes of the team on him, looking at him in disbelief. Their sarcastic snob of a captain was purposefully, even happily speaking to someone who clearly didn’t belong in the same social circles? He scrambled for the correct reaction, and went with his default.

“Well, that’s nice, just what we need around here. More people to lower the collective IQ.”

“What are you even talking about?”

“My point exactly.” Kazuya smirked at him, perfectly calibrated for maximum offence.

“What is wrong with you, Miyuki Kazuya?”

“Me? Nothing at all. I can see at least...a dozen things wrong with you, though. Would you like a list?” Eijun stared at him, confused. “No? I can write it down for you, but I’m not sure you’d be able to understand it.”

Eijun’s tear filled eyes met Kazuya’s scornful ones. “Wow. You really are a jerk. I have no idea what your problem is, but I’m glad they lost my phone.”

Eijun turned on his heel, wiped away the tears from his eyes, and moved towards the front of the shop, Haruichi beside him with his hand on his shoulder. Mochi stepped up into Kazuya’s space, and gritted out, “Fix this, dammit. That kid had nothing but good things to say about you. This is your chance to change things, to make your life different, don’t waste it.” He turned and followed Eijun out of the shop, slinging an arm around his shoulders as he shot one last glare at Kazuya through the glass.

Kazuya shot a smirk at the boys staring at him. “Well, that was entertaining.” He turned his attention back to his homework, ignoring the attention he was getting. Gradually, the conversation resumed, and he was left to stare at his work, mind totally scattered.

Guess I’m not sleeping tonight, either.

Eijun couldn’t process what happened, he was dazed and not in a good way. He felt Mochi’s arm over his shoulder as he steered him towards his house, a running commentary punctuated by soft responses from Haruichi.

“I can’t believe him. What an asshole. Dammit, I should have known better, I should have waited until he was alone, away from his minions.”

“You couldn’t have known, Mochi. It was better we did it that way than wait it out, honestly. I wouldn’t have trusted Aniki to leave it for long, you know how he is.”

“You’re right, but still, what a jerk.”

And so it went, until Eijun started thinking again and stood up straight. They were still a few blocks from home, and he didn’t want to worry his parents by looking distraught. He stopped where he was; the others walked a few steps before realizing he wasn’t beside them and turning back.

“Thank you, Mochi. And Haruichi. I appreciate you taking me, and for not treating me like I was some idiot for raving about how nice he was. I don’t know what happened, or why he’s like that, but he wasn’t, I promise you he wasn’t.” He swiped at his eyes, trying to hold back the leaking.

“We know, Eijun.” Mochi comforted him, rubbing his back. “We believe you.”

“Come on, Eijun, let’s get you home. You need your rest, today was rough.” Haruichi took his elbow and guided him towards home.

Chapter Text

Later that night, Eijun was lying in bed, staring at the ceiling. He couldn’t sleep. He tried, he’d really tried, but every time he closed his eyes, he saw Kazuya with that superior look on his face. Giving up, he decided to start on his homework, maybe that would knock him out. He’d just pulled out his textbooks and gotten organized when his phone buzzed and he jumped, letting out a soft squeak. He couldn’t help the way hope leapt in his heart, even though he knew only a few people had his new number. Unlocking his phone, he let out a small sigh of disappointment.

Mochi: Come outside, I know ur awake.

Me: It’s 11:30. Go home and sleep.

Mochi: Like u r? Get out here.

Me: Where r u?

Mochi: Look out ur window.

Eijun stepped over and peeked outside. Sure enough, there was Mochi, beckoning him to come outside. Eijun slid open his window.

“What are you doing? You’re going to wake up the neighborhood!”

“You’re the only one yelling, idiot. Come on out!”

“Ugh, fine. Whatever.” Eijun threw his jeans back on and slipped on some shoes. Opening his window wider, he climbed out and down.

Mochi ran up to him laughing. “Kyhahaha! Why don’t you use the front door like a normal person?”

“The hallway creaks, and my mom’s a light sleeper. I don’t want to wake anyone up. Why am I out here, Mochi-senpai?” Eijun moved out of the yard to the street.

“We’re going to the park. I want to talk to you about something.” Mochi’s face was set, and Eijun could see he was determined to see whatever it was through to the end. “And stop with the senpai thing, or I’ll kick your ass. You know I can.”

“You can try,” Eijun laughed at him, giving in. “You got me out here, let’s go.”

They walked together in silence, comfortable, each lost in his own thoughts. Eijun remembered Mochi’s face at lunch after Ryou dug at him, and his trepidation about entering the ice cream shop, and wondered if he was having as hard a time sleeping as he had been.

Reaching the park, Mochi led Eijun away from the skate park section and to the playground, where he sat on the roundabout, motioning for Eijun to join him. He plopped down on the section next to him and smiled at Eijun.

“It’s a beautiful night.”

Eijun leaned back on his arms and looked at the sky. “It is. The stars are a lot brighter in Nagano, though. There’s not as much light pollution.”

“Really? That makes sense.” Mochi reached for his backpack, and pulled out two bottles. “I know you’re wondering why I called you out in the middle of the night. I’m being the good senpai you keep calling me.” He handed one of the bottles to Eijun. “Drink up. And talk to me, Eijun.”

“Mochi, I don’t know what—” Eijun was cut off.

“Don’t bullshit me. You need to talk to someone about it, and I’m in the perfect position to understand, and maybe help you with, both of your problems.” He twisted the lid off the bottle and took a sip.

Eijun looked down and realized he had a wine cooler in his hand. “Did you steal these from your mom?” He snarked as Mochi kicked at him.

“Shut up and drink. Or just talk, I don’t care.”

“Fine, I’ll talk. But under one condition.” Eijun glared at Mochi, gold eyes flashing. “You too. You’re in the same boat I am, so you’re going to talk to me too.”

“Of course, that was the plan all along. Why do you think I brought drinks? I think we’re both going to need them.”

“I don’t know what to say.” Eijun opened his drink and took a sip. “This tastes like Kool-Aid.”

“That’s the point, idiot.” Mochi took another drink. “Say anything.”

“This is hard. I really don’t know what to say.”

“Okay, how about this. I’ll ask a question, you’ll answer truthfully and completely, and then you can ask me one. How about that?”

“Sounds better than anything I can think of. Shoot.” Eijun sipped at his bottle, figuring he’d need the alcohol soon enough.

“Okay, easy one. What position did you play?”

Eijun snorted. “I didn’t tell you? I was a pitcher. Southpaw.” He thought for a second. “What did you say to Kazuya before we left?”

“Oh. Well. I don’t know if I exactly remember, but I told him he was an idiot, and that you were over the moon about him. Or something like that.” He snorted out a laugh as Eijun kicked at him in irritation. “To tell you the truth, I wasn’t surprised by his reaction, but it was better than waiting for whatever Ryou was planning. Here’s the thing—until I quit the team, Kazuya and I were best friends. I think he’s still my best friend, and I’m sure I am his, and I understand more about him than I feel comfortable telling you. I will tell you this much: If he tries to get back with you, if he apologizes, please forgive him and do your best to be patient. I think you’ll find he’s worth it.” Mochi took a big gulp out of his bottle. “Next question. Why did you quit playing?”

Eijun sighed deeply, looking at the sky. “You go straight to it, huh? It’s...I don’t know if you’ll think it’s stupid, or if you’ll understand.” He took another drink, steadying himself, beginning to feel the alcohol in his blood. “I told you I was a pitcher. Well, I have a strange form, and my pitches curve, Mochi, and I don’t have a lot of control. I’ve yet to find a catcher who can consistently catch them.” He brought his knees up and wrapped his arms around them. “Hell, I’ve never found anyone who can catch my pitches at all, at least not when I’m really trying to pitch and not pulling them. There may be someone who can, but no one in Nagano could.

“Anyway, the last game I pitched in was last fall. We were down by two, and I wanted to win so badly, wanted to go to Koshien with this team I’d help to build and bully into shape. I was so focused on that result that I forgot to pull my pitch. It went hard and on a trajectory the catcher couldn’t handle. At home plate, it curved up, and hit him on the side of the head hard enough to knock him out, even with his protective gear. He was in a coma for days, and I was devastated. I felt so guilty; I couldn’t even imagine pitching again. Some of my friends tried to get me to get back on the mound, but I couldn’t do it. I did try, but I couldn’t pitch, I’m terrified of hurting someone else.” He met Mochi’s gaze, tears sparking on his lashes.

Mochi winced in sympathy. “Man, that sucks. I’m sure that was awful. But the equipment should have protected him, was he wearing all the headgear?”

“Yeah, he was. It was later found to be faulty, and the company had to pay a settlement. He’s also all right, when he woke from his coma there was no real damage done, but I just got lucky. I took that to be a sign I should quit.” Eijun drained the last of his drink and looked at Mochi.

“Your turn. Why did you stop playing?”

Mochi reached into his bag and brought out a couple more bottles. “If I’m going to talk about this, I’m going to need to drink more.” He opened the new bottle and started his story. “It’s nothing like what happened to you, although it was just as hard on me. You know I played shortstop, right? And Ryou plays second base?” Eijun nodded. “Okay, good. We played well together, and our teamwork was outstanding. Ryou’s a great player, and he pushed me to be much better too.” Mochi picked at the label of his drink, thinking.

“Our partnership strengthened throughout the year. We started hanging out off the field too, doing almost everything together. After a few months, I began to realize I cared for him more than just as a teammate, and I couldn’t...I had a hard time hiding it. He figured it out, and we started dating. It wasn’t very different from before, we’d been hanging out a lot already. It just was a little more...intimate, I guess.

“Things were going well, I thought. We were moving slowly, taking our time getting to know each other.” He leaned against the bars that were between himself and Eijun, looking out over the rest of the playground. “Then I noticed that he seemed to be getting more withdrawn, he wouldn’t talk to me, and our teamwork was suffering. When I’d finally had enough, was frustrated enough to confront him, he told me we were a mistake. He wished we’d never started dating, wanted us to go back to the way it was before.” Eijun heard his voice crack, and laid a comforting hand on his friend’s shoulder.

“I tried, Eijun, I really did. I stuck it out for a week, but it hurt so much to be on the field with him and know he was so far away. One day after practice, I couldn’t take it anymore. I made it to the back of one of the sheds before I broke down, and that’s where Kazuya found me. He listened to me, talked to me, and let me cry on his shoulder. I told him I was quitting the team and he understood, but he didn’t like it at all. I didn’t see any other way to get over him, though.”

“I’m so sorry you went through that. I can’t imagine how hard it must have been.” Eijun leaned sideways on the bars Mochi was propped against, offering his warmth. “What did he mean at lunch, then?”

“I honestly have no idea. I never could read him like he was able to read me, and I don’t know what he was talking about. Maybe he thought I should try harder? But try what? To get over him? To play like before? I don’t have a clue.” Mochi shrugged. “Next question. So you and Kazuya? Tell me about that.”

Eijun turned and leaned on the bars, back to back with Mochi. “There’s not a lot to tell.” He sighed, and pulled up a knee, resting his arm atop it. “We met, and we hit it off. I thought we had a lot in common, and we did so much together. My family was only supposed to be here for a few months, so we knew we had a limited amount of time. He was so different, Mochi. He was nice, and he could be so very sweet. He was still sarcastic, but not mean, never mean.”

“Did you guys...were you ‘together’?”

“No, it wasn’t like that.” Eijun rested his chin on his knee.

“You do know he’s gay, right?”

“Of course I do.” Eijun elbowed him. “I’m not stupid. I don’t think either one of us would have been opposed to that, but we only had two months. Leaving was hard enough without that added complication.”

“Does he know why you quit baseball?”

“No, I never told him why, just that I had. He asked me, once, but I told him I didn’t want to talk about it, and he didn’t pry. Neither of us did. We exchanged numbers, but that’s about all. I didn’t know he went to Seido. I did know he was a catcher, he asked me to pitch to him a time or two.”

“Did you?”

“Did you miss the whole ‘terrified I’m going to kill someone’ part of this evening’s festivities? There’s no way I’ll pitch again, especially to him. I couldn’t. I don’t trust myself.”

Mochi sat up and finished his drink. “So any more questions?”

“I don’t think so, I can’t think of anything.” Eijun threw their bottles in the recycling, and offered a hand to help Mochi stand. “Time to go to bed, I think.”

“Yeah, I think we should be able to sleep now.” Mochi agreed, and together they walked out of the park. When they reached the corner where they needed to part, Eijun stopped.

“Thank you, Mochi-senpai. That was something I did need to talk about, I appreciate it.”

“You’re welcome. It’s nice to have someone you can talk to that knows your secrets.” He rubbed Eijun’s head affectionately. “Thank you, too. I’m glad we did this.”

“Goodnight, Mochi.”

“‘Night, Eijun.” Mochi waved over his shoulder and walked away.

Eijun watched him for a minute before turning towards home. Climbing back in the way he left, he shed his shoes and jeans, falling into bed. Exhausted, he fell asleep.

Kazuya lay in bed staring at the ceiling. He couldn’t sleep, the events of the day circling his brain. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw the hurt on Eijun’s face, in those expressive eyes, and felt guilt dig a little deeper. He had never even considered he might turn up here, that his two worlds would collide like they had, but they did, and now he had to deal with the fallout.

It wasn’t as if he hadn’t nursed some fantasies, thought about them attending the same school together, able to talk whenever they wanted, able to see each other whenever they wanted, able to do whatever they wanted. Maybe they could even let what was developing between them bloom, given time and attention. Those dreams, though, never included Seido, never included any aspect of his current life. They just included Eijun, and some ephemeral place where they had nothing to hide.

After Eijun had left, followed by Mochi, Kazuya had stared at his math, unseeing, unable to think, unable to comprehend what happened. His mind vacillated between joy that Eijun was at Seido to guilt and pain about what he did. The words Mochi whispered to him echoed in his mind, around and around. ‘Fix this...nothing but good things to say...change your life...don’t waste it.’

He’d been so caught up in his thoughts, doodling idly on his paper; he hadn’t noticed the person who slid into the chair across from him until a hand landed on his forearm.

“Hey, are you okay?” Nabe watched him with narrowed eyes.

Kazuya chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. “Of course I am. Why wouldn’t I be?”

Nabe just stared, unimpressed. “You can’t do this, you know that.”

“What are you talking about?” Kazuya deadpanned, hoping to fool his friend.

“You know what I mean. I’m around when you want to talk about it.” Nabe shot him a glance. “Don’t wait too long.” He pushed his chair back and stood, leaning close enough that only Kazuya could hear him. “Or else you could always do what Mochi suggested, and fix it. He seems like a nice guy, he could be good for you.” Meeting Kazuya’s eyes, he nodded, turning on his heel and heading out of the shop.

Kazuya left soon after that, heading back to Seido with a group of the first string. He wasn’t paying any attention, just moving with the crowd as his mind roamed where it would.

Which was directly to Eijun.

Sighing, he hitched his bag higher on his shoulder and waved at the rest of the team as he split off to climb the stairs to his room. He closed the door behind himself and locked it, not interested in any company that evening. Changing into sweats and a t-shirt, he pulled out his homework and did what he could, avoiding anything that needed any real concentration; he knew that was pointless tonight. After he finished and packed up his bag, dropping it by the door, he collapsed onto his bed.

So there he lay, mind churning. He set every ounce of his considerable self-discipline into creating some order out of the chaos. Keeping his mind from veering off into giddy delight or abject despair, he walked the razor thin line between, trying to come to some conclusions. He was well known for his ability to analyze any game situation, reading the future in a twitch of a hand and a shuffle of a foot, and he worked to apply the same ability to this problem.

Here’s what he knew.

Barring some mass hypnotism, or himself having a nervous breakdown of some sort, Sawamura Eijun was currently enrolled at Seido.

He, Miyuki Kazuya, wanted to resume their relationship. Possibly even enter a romantic one with Eijun.

He, Miyuki Kazuya, had fucked things up.

It was up to him to fix things.

But he didn’t have the first idea how to do so.

Think, Kazuya, think.

Fix this. Fix Eijun. How?

His eyes flew open as he got an idea. Leaning over, he grabbed his phone off the side table, and sent a text. He sat up and stared at his phone, hoping there would be an answer.

Me: How is he?

Mochi heard his text notification, and groaned as he squinted at his cellphone. He knew who it was, and although he was gratified to win the bet with himself that Kazuya wouldn’t last the night, he was exhausted. And it was a school night.

Mochi: Holy Christ, it’s 2:30 in the morning. Go to sleep.

Kazuya sighed in relief when his phone lit up, grinned, and responded.

Me: Just tell me. Please.

Mochi: How the fuck do you think he is? Asshole.

Me: What did he tell you?

Mochi: Enough to know that you should seriously consider getting your grovel on. He’s gold, Miyuki Kazuya, and you don’t deserve him.

Kazuya relaxed when he read this. This, more than anything, told him he hadn’t messed things up beyond repair. Mochi wouldn’t lie to him about important things, and this was important.

Me: You’re not wrong.

Me: Why did you spring him on me like that? I admit to reacting badly, but it was a big surprise.

Mochi: Ryou ate lunch with us, and was there when the idiot told us the story, including your name. Haruichi and I thought it was best to beat him to whatever evil he was cooking up.

Blanching as he read the last message, Kazuya couldn’t even imagine how bad it might have been.

Me: Oh, god. Thank you.

Mochi: I didn’t do it for you.

Me: I know, thank you for being his friend. He couldn’t find a better one than you.

Mochi glared at his screen for a while, the abandonment he’d felt since he’d quit the team rising to the surface.

Mochi: …

Mochi: So that’s why you still hang out with me, because I’m such a good friend?

Me: You’re still my best friend. Seriously.

Mochi: Only because no one else will put up with your nastiness.

Me: Probably. I’m going to fix this, all of this. I promise.

Mochi: Think about fixing yourself first.

Me: That’s part of the plan. I’ve always been good at multi-tasking.

Kazuya hesitated, but need overtook diplomacy, and he asked.

Me: Would you give me…

Me: Would you ask him if it’s all right if you gave me his number? I’d really like to talk to him.

Mochi: Maybe. Let me see how he is in the morning. I’ll let you know.

Me: See? Best friend ever. Thank you!

Mochi rolled his eyes.

Mochi: Oi! You don’t have his number yet!

Me: *prepares to get his grovel on* Night, Mochi!

Mochi could almost hear Kazuya’s voice, singsong and irritating.

Mochi: Hey, idiot! Don’t assume things.  

Mochi: Get some sleep, asshole. You look like crap.

Kazuya smiled as he put his phone on the bed, rolled over, and went to sleep.

Chapter Text

Eijun got out of bed with even less enthusiasm than he’d had the day before. Second day of school. Good thing it was a Friday, he hadn’t gotten enough sleep the night before, and the weekend couldn’t come fast enough.

He did the same things he did every morning in prep for school, and headed out to meet Mochi on the corner.

“Morning, Mochi. How are you?”

“Tired as fuck.” Mochi dropped his board and joined Eijun. “You’ll never guess who decided to text me at two thirty this morning. I knew he wouldn’t make it through the night. Asshole.”

“He texted you?” Eijun looked at him, curious, trying not to seem too eager.

“Of course, he may be an idiot, but he’d not stupid.” They paused as they waited for the light to change. “He asked for your number.”

“He asked you to give him my number? Really?” Eijun frowned, unsure about the wisdom of that.

“No, sorry, I lied. He asked me to ask you if I could give him your number.” Mochi clarified.

Eijun’s face cleared. “Oh! That’s different.” He thought about it for a few minutes, weighing the evening before against the months of the summer. “Go ahead, give it to him. You said I should, right?”

“Yeah, I think so. He has a few...issues he needs to work out, but I think your presence has motivated him to do something, rather than just be miserable about them. Even though I suggested you should be patient with him, don’t be too accommodating. I think you’ll know what I mean. Don’t make things too easy for him.” Mochi concluded, not wanting to tell Eijun what to do, but wanting to give him some guidelines.

“Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind.” Eijun smiled. “Thanks, Mochi.”

“You’re welcome.” Mochi knew it would do Kazuya good to have to work for what he wanted. Payback for the early morning texts was just an added bonus.

Kazuya was in his Literature class when his phone buzzed. Trying unsuccessfully to reign in his optimism, his fingers shook a little as they typed in his passcode and he checked his texts.

Mochi: 555-222-1818. Don’t fuck it up. I’m serious.

Me: Thank you. Really, thank you. I won’t.

Relieved, Kazuya started to put the phone away. He hesitated, and then sent another text.

Me: Want to hang out later? Just you and me?

Mochi: *glares suspiciously* What’s the catch?

Me: Nothing, honestly. I’d just like us to be friends again. I miss your ugly mug. We can meet wherever, after practice.

Mochi: Fine, I’ll bite. Meet me at the skate park at 7. Don’t bring the minions.

Me: See you there!

Kazuya grinned at his phone as he stored Eijun’s number. He resisted the temptation to text him immediately, he wanted to think about what he needed to say and how to make sure things were set right. That included himself, and that might be the part that would take the most work.

He spent the rest of the morning in class considering and discarding strategies and schemes, his mind busy. Finally, after chasing every idea to the end, he realized he was thinking about this in the wrong way. He didn’t need to manipulate the field; this wasn’t a contest.

He’d settled on a few things he wanted to achieve. He wanted Eijun in his life, as much as possible. He wanted to be able to be himself. He still wanted to play baseball, of course, and he wanted to make good grades, but class and social rank were not important. He wanted to have friends, but he wanted to have friends who liked him, not his GPA or DRS. Mochi was one of those. Nabe. Nori. He was sure there were others, but he’d played the game so long and so well he didn’t know who. Yet.

To do all this, there was only one thing he could do, one strategy he could employ that would get him where he wanted to go. He needed to be honest. His initial reaction to this revelation was denial, there was no way he could open himself up, he had no idea how to do that. He had to figure it out, if he was going to change things.

First things first, though.

Me: Hi, Eijun. It’s Kaz. I’m sorry. I’m sorry for the way I spoke to you last night, the way I treated you. You did nothing to deserve that. I was surprised, and went for my default. This isn’t an excuse, but it’s the reason. I just want to make sure you understand what happened. At Seido, I’m different than I was during our summer, but I want to change that. With your help, I’m convinced I can. Let me know if you want to talk, I’m willing to do whatever you want. I’ve missed you terribly, and was worried about you.    

He closed up his phone and put it away, turning his attention to his teacher.

At lunch, he still hadn’t heard anything from Eijun, and he was a little nervous about it. Kazuya was capable of patience; he just didn’t like to wait. Sighing, he made his way into the team lunchroom and dropped his bag on a chair beside Nabe, heading for the lunch line. As he made his way across the room, he saw the pink hair of the younger Kominato heading through the doorway to the other lunchroom. Curious, he headed that way and watched as Haruichi joined Mochi and Eijun at their table. He saw Eijun smile at his friend as he joined them, face clear and eyes bright.

Good. He’s all right.

Turning, he headed back towards the lunch line.

He sat with his usual crew, speaking when he was addressed, but otherwise keeping to himself, thinking about things. Brooding, Eijun would call it if he saw it.

“Kazuya, are you okay?” Nabe asked.

“Yeah, Nabe.” Kazuya looked at him and smiled. “I think I am.”

Nabe gave him a searching glance before nodding. “Good. It’s about time.”

Kazuya couldn’t think of a response to that, so he just grinned again, turning back to his food.

They’d eaten and were just chatting when Kazuya looked up to see Ryou slide into the spot across from him. “Hello, Ryou-senpai. How are you?” He was going for neutral; he had no idea which way Ryou was going to jump.

“I’m well, thank you. How are you? I heard you had an interesting encounter yesterday.” The edges of Ryou’s mouth quirked upward minutely as he eyed the boy sitting across from him.

Kazuya let a smirk play across his lips and nodded. “Indeed I did. An unexpected run in with someone I thought was far away.”

“And how did that go?”

“As well as it could have, considering the circumstances. Why do you ask?”

“Mere curiosity. He’s a neighbor, and friend of Haruichi’s. Attractive enough if you’re into that type.” Ryou waved his hand at the doorway to the other lunchroom. “The slightly stupid and overly loud skater type.”

Kazuya narrowed his eyes, and tried to step carefully. He knew he needed to walk a thin line with Ryou. He didn’t want to intrigue him, getting him interested in the situation would not be beneficial for any of the parties involved. He couldn’t back down though, either, that would definitely raise a flag or two. “You’re right, he is cute. And my type. Well, if he can be housebroken, that is.”

Ryou laughed. “Good luck with that.” He stood up, and Kazuya started to relax until Ryou leaned in again. “You may want to watch him, though. He and Mochi are getting awfully friendly.” His face grew cold. “And that could prove to be problematic.” Turning without another word, he made his way out of the cafeteria.

Kazuya watched Ryou leave, and let out a sigh. So that’s what it was about. Not so much about Eijun, but more about Mochi. Poor Mochi. I’ll talk to him about it this afternoon, and warn Eijun. He gathered up his lunch tray, said goodbye to the table, and headed out to class.

Eijun sat in History class taking notes. History and literature were the only classes he liked and did well in, and this was Japanese History, so that was even better. He’d watched so many dramas and movies with his grandfather that he knew a lot of the information already, and anything new was even more interesting.

This morning, though, he found his mind drifting a bit. He was still tired from the night before, and sitting in a warm classroom was not conducive to either paying attention or staying awake. The one thing that had kept him awake was Kazuya, wondering if he was going to call or text, and when. Eijun realized that he was no longer upset about the night before, but he was curious about why his friend had acted like that. Thinking about what Mochi had said, he thought he understood his advice, and was going to do his best to stick to it. He’d just turned his attention back to the teacher when his phone buzzed.

Glancing at the front of the room, thankful for his foresight in sitting near the back of the class, he stealthily pulled out his phone. Leaving it in his lap, he unlocked it and read the text. He shut the phone, wanting to give himself time to figure out how to respond, because he needed to think about it. He stopped himself from sending the text he wanted to; he had to make sure he made the proper response. Kazuya needed to understand that although he wasn’t mad at him, he wasn’t going to allow him to treat him differently than he had over the summer. He sat, weighing his options, until the bell rang for lunch. Startled, Eijun grabbed his bag and left the room, Kazuya’s text message slipping his mind.

In the lunchroom, he sat chatting with Mochi when Haruichi set his lunch down opposite Eijun and slid into a seat. Eijun glanced at his friend, ready to greet him, when his eyes were snared by the sight of a familiar head of hair moving back into the other cafeteria. He smiled at the sight, glad to see even that much of Kazuya, when a few days ago he didn’t know if he’d ever see him again. He jumped a little in his seat. Crap! I forgot to answer him!

“Hi, Eijun, Mochi-senpai.” Haruichi began to eat his lunch. “How’s your morning been so far?”

Eijun stared at him vacantly for a second before his mind came back on board. “Oh! Hi, Haruichi. My morning’s been fine. How about you? You good?” He moved the pickled vegetables away from his rice and began to eat.

They exchanged pleasantries as they ate, Eijun trying to figure out what he should tell Mochi, or if he should say anything in front of Haruichi. The question was soon answered for him.

“Eijun, did you get any interesting texts this morning?” Kuramochi asked, waving around his chopsticks.

Eijun smiled, “Yes, I did. Very interesting.”

Haruichi looked intrigued. “From who?”

“The asshole.” Kuramochi responded. Eijun started to object to that characterization but subsided, remembering the previous evening. “He texted me last night looking for Eijun’s contact info. I sent it to him after Eijun gave me permission to do so. I assume he was properly grovely?”

“He was.” Eijun nodded.

“Good.” Haruichi said decisively. “Make him earn it, Eijun.”

Eijun: Hi, Kaz. I’m glad you texted. I understand that you’re sorry, and I get that things are different here for you, but you can’t treat people that way. Not people you claim to care about. If that’s going to be a problem for you, please let me know. I don’t want a relationship based on hiding or only being friends in certain situations. I like you a lot, and I think we could have a great relationship, but not under those circumstances.

Kazuya was packing his bag for the end of the day when the text arrived. Opening his phone, he quickly scanned Eijun’s message and let out a sigh of relief. I haven’t blown it completely; he’s giving me another chance. And holding me accountable. Good for you, Ei! He’d been worried when the day had progressed and there was no response to his message. Reading it again, he knew Eijun had thought about what to say carefully, was taking the situation seriously. He typed a quick reply as he headed out to practice.

Me: Thanks for answering. I agree. When would you like to meet to discuss this more fully?

He smiled as he closed the phone, grabbed his backpack, and left the classroom.

After practice, dinner and a shower, Kazuya headed to his room and worked on homework until six thirty, when he changed into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, tennis shoes and a cap. Digging his skateboard out of the closet, he threw it into his backpack and headed out. Leaving his room, he made his way out the dorms, avoiding his teammates. He trotted down the street and headed towards the skate park, feeling freer than he had since the summer.

Mochi sat on the concrete wall surrounding the skate park and waited, watching the path from the school. It was almost seven when he saw Kazuya coming down the road, alone. Kazuya smiled as he approached, slinging around his backpack to dig out his skateboard. “You wanna?”

“Do you remember how?” Mochi snarked.

Kazuya smirked. “It’s not been that long.”

“Did you and Eijun skate?”

“We did. Not a lot, we did a bunch of other stuff, but a time or two a week.”

“Good. It’s good that he knows you can, most of the minions don’t.”

“Oh, god,” Kazuya groaned. “They’d either be clutching their pearls, or thinking I’m even more ‘authentic’, whatever that’s supposed to mean.”

“I think it’s supposed to mean you’re rebellious or something. But they don’t realize you’re just an asshole.”

“Hey! I resemble that remark!” Kazuya laughed as he pushed off, heading into the skate park. Mochi joined him and they spent the next hour skating, goofing around and catcalling each other.

Eventually, they found themselves sitting back on the concrete wall, and Kazuya reached into his backpack, handing Mochi a bottle of water.

“Thanks.” Mochi cracked the top and took a big gulp.

Kazuya pulled out his own water. “You’re welcome.” He looked down at his bottle and picked at the label, trying to decide what to say. “So, things…”

“Yeah, about that,” Mochi responded.

“Listen, Moch, I’m really—” Kazuya started before Mochi shut him down.  

“Save it. I don’t need to hear it.” He drained half of his bottle before continuing. “Just don’t do it again, okay?”

“I won’t,” Kazuya promised. “I mean it.”

“Good. Because I know where you sleep.”

Kazuya let out a sharp laugh. “Ooohh, scary. Save it for the first years.” He sobered, remembering Mochi wasn’t around to harass the first years on the team. “I miss you, Moch. I know why you’re not playing, but I wish you were.”

“I wish I was too, Kaz.” Mochi ran a hand through his hair. “I miss it more than I thought I would. But it would destroy me to be on the field with him after what he said.”

“About that,” Kazuya started, and Mochi shot him a sharp look. “Ryou visited me today at lunch. I thought he wanted to grill me about Eijun, and he did, but he also wanted to warn me. His exact words were, ‘He and Mochi are getting awfully friendly. And that could prove to be problematic.’”

Mochi sighed. “I wish he’d make sense. He took a jab at me yesterday as well, something about me not trying hard enough. I really don’t know what he wants. He dumped me, but he’s the one acting hurt.”

“I don’t know either, but a master at relationships I am not. Clearly.”

“True. And with that admitted, I need to ask as a good senpai. What are your intentions with Eijun? He’s not a plaything. I don’t think he could handle your games, Kaz.”

It was Kazuya’s turn to sigh. “I know, and I don’t intend to play any with him. We had such a good time this summer, and I think I’d like to explore that, now that we don’t have a time limit hanging over our heads. He’s sweet and loud and sort of an idiot, but he’s also kind and has a huge heart. I’m hoping he’ll forgive me for last night, and we can continue where we left off.”

“You know you’re going to have to be totally honest with him and explain exactly what happened last night and why it did, right?” Mochi pinned him with his gaze, “Kaz, if you want to be with him, it can’t be some covert thing that you hide from everyone, he deserves more than that.”

“Believe me, I know. He’s not someone to hide away, I’m not ashamed of him, he’s better than that. I think he could be the best thing that happened to me, if I let him,” Kazuya responded earnestly.

Narrowing his eyes, Mochi continued, “Good call. I’ll be watching. I don’t want him hurt; I don’t ever want to see those eyes that dull again.”

“Yeah, me either. I’ve got some explaining to do.”

“You do.” Mochi glanced over Kazuya’s shoulder and shot him a wicked grin. “Are you ready to start now?” He raised his hand to wave someone down. “Eijun! Yo, Idiot!”

Chapter Text

Kazuya jolted in shock, looking over his shoulder. Sure enough, there was Eijun, who’d clearly been walking along the path that led to the skate park. Kazuya panicked for a second, wondering if he should turn around and just pretend he wasn’t there until Eijun joined them, but then he paused and realized that was Seido behavior, during the summer he’d never tried to hide how eager he was to see the boy. He turned on the wall to face Eijun and smiled, he couldn’t help it.

Eijun heard Mochi call him, and started his way eagerly until he realized who was sitting with him. Kazuya was sitting there with his back to him, as if he wasn’t even going to acknowledge him, and he was suddenly unsure of his welcome and his steps slowed. Then Kazuya looked over his shoulder, saw Eijun, turned around after a second of hesitation and smiled at Eijun, which was all the encouragement he needed to continue.

“Mochi-senpai, Miyuki-senpai, good evening.” Eijun bowed to them both, the nerves bringing out his tendency towards formal behavior.

“The fuck, Eijun?” Mochi said, incredulous. “Mochi-senpai? Miyuki-senpai? I’ve warned you about that, haven’t I? Ready yourself for a takedown!”

“Now, now,” Kazuya laid a restraining hand on Mochi’s arm. “Don’t damage him. He’s only just got here.”

“I was looking for you, Mochi.” Eijun finally relaxed when he realized Kazuya wasn’t going to act like he did the night before. “I called you but you didn’t pick up, and when I stopped by your house your grandpa said you’d left with your skateboard, and he thought you were heading here.”

“Well, you found me. Why were you looking?” Mochi asked.

“Nothing important, I just wanted to know if you wanted to hang out for a while. But you two are busy, so I’ll let you be.” Eijun turned to leave, but Kazuya reached out and grabbed his arm.

“Hey, you don’t have to go. We were just talking.” Kazuya looked at Mochi, who rolled his eyes and nodded.

“Yes, and I have to go anyway,” Mochi deadpanned. “I have...something I have to do. Very important.” They both stood up. “I’ll see you two later. Kaz, don’t let him have any alcohol, he drank enough last night.” He waved as he walked off, whistling.

Kazuya looked at Eijun and cocked an eyebrow. “Care to explain, Eijun?”

“Do I really need to?” Eijun answered in the same tone, tilting his head in inquiry.

“No, I don’t suppose you do,” Kazuya sighed. “Want to walk a bit?”

“Sure.” Eijun fell in beside him, and they set off down the path.

“I...I owe you an apology and an explanation. First, and most importantly, I want to tell you again that I’m sorry about last night. I’m sure you’ve seen that I’m not quite the same at school as I was over the summer, and that’s one of the things I’d like to explain.”

“Kaz, you’ve already apologized, and you don’t have to do it again. I’m glad you were talking to Mochi, he misses you a lot.”

“I missed him, too. He’s been my best friend for a while, and I...well, when he left the team I didn’t know how to talk to him. Which is bullshit, I should have tried harder, I knew he was hurting, and I didn’t even say anything. So that’s on me, but I’m determined not to lose track of him again.”

They’d arrived at the playground, and Kazuya motioned to the roundabout. “You want to sit for a bit?”

Eijun laughed. “Sure!”

“What’s so funny?”

“That’s where Mochi and I were last night. He fed me wine coolers that I think he stole from his mom, and we talked a lot. We both needed someone to talk to.” He sat on the roundabout with Kazuya sitting beside him. “We’re kinda in the same boat, and it’s good to share problems with someone who’ll listen, who cares.”

“Did he explain to you about why he quit baseball?”

“Yeah, and I don’t get Oniisan-senpai. Why would he do that?”

“Ryou’s...Ryou is difficult, and although I do think he cares about Mochi, I think he’s kinda stuck in his own head. But I think they’ll figure it out. I hope they figure it out.” Kazuya leaned his head against the divider and looked at the darkening sky. “But we should talk, I have to be back at the dorms by ten thirty, and there’s a game tomorrow.”

“Okay, then. Let’s talk.” Eijun pulled his knees up and wrapped his arms around them. “What’s going on, Kaz? What happened?”

“There’s so much about me I didn’t tell you, Ei. I didn’t want to spoil what time we had with things that weren’t important; I never imagined you’d show up at Seido. Don’t get it wrong, I’m happy you’re here; I just didn’t expect it.

“Anyway. The short version. I think I told you that my mom died when I was young?” Eijun nodded. “Okay, my dad kinda lost it, he worked long hours and didn’t seem to care much about me, and I basically raised myself. I was playing baseball by that time, and it should come as no surprise that I’ve always had a smart mouth, and I don’t have much patience for those who don’t try on the field. I was also small for my age. I’m sure you know what happened.”

Eijun made a noise of distress, and laid a hand on Kazuya’s arm. “I’m sorry, Kaz. That had to be so hard for you.”

“It was, but I’m stubborn and I refused to let them win, so I just kept coming back. Soon enough, they left me alone, and I decided it was never going to happen again. So I decided in my second year of middle school that I was going to play the game, become popular and important at school, so no one could mistreat me. I carefully built my grades up, and cultivated the popular people, dressing the correct way and speaking just so. It worked.

“But last year, everything went sour. I hate everything about my life. I don’t want to be that guy anymore. When I met you, I knew I didn’t have to, not with you. This summer I felt better, more me than I have in years, Eijun. I want to keep that going. I don’t want the phony friends—the minions, as Mochi calls them. They don’t know me; they only know what they think they see. I’m tired of being able to be as insulting as I want, and never being called on it, tired of getting away with things because I’m the teacher’s pet. That probably sounds stupid to you, but it’s true.”

“It doesn’t sound stupid, Kaz. It sounds lonely. Do you have some friends, though? Other than Mochi?”

“I do, Nabe’s a good guy, Nori. Probably some of the others, but most of them hang around me only because I’m the ‘Big Man on Campus’ or some such. I wouldn’t mind if they stopped.” He put his foot in the sand and pushed, sending them spinning slowly. “I don’t want to quit baseball, and I don’t want my grades to drop, but the other stuff I’d be glad to leave behind.”

“I...thank you for telling me. That explains a lot.”

“And that brings us to last night. Eijun, I’ve been worried about you, I didn’t know why you’d stopped talking to me. I thought maybe you were through with me, decided I wasn’t worth the effort.”

“I felt so stupid, Kaz. I couldn’t believe I let them pack my phone. Then they lost the box? Who does that?” Eijun straightened out his legs and let his feet draw patterns in the sand as they spun. “I was afraid I’d never find you again.”

“That’s not all, either. When practice started up last week, before the year began, I was appointed the team captain. I’m only a third year, and I’m already the starting catcher and the clean up. I don’t want to give up any of those positions, of course, but I’m not even sure how to be a captain. I’m sarcastic and I have a terrible personality. I don’t know how to lead.” Kazuya pulled up a knee, resting his chin on it.

“Wait a sec.” Eijun brought the roundabout to a stop. “You’re catcher, clean-up, and captain? At Seido? That’s amazing, Kaz. I was the captain at my old school, but we sucked and were all old friends, so that was fine. I can’t imagine the pressure you must be under.”

“I don’t really mind, to tell you the truth. I just...I want to have pressure I choose, you know what I mean? I don’t want to have to conform to some construct, even if it’s one I made myself. Let me continue.” Kazuya sighed, leaning back on his hands, looking at the sky. “Last night. I was working on homework, sitting with the team as usual, when Mochi brought you over. I was so happy to see you, really I was. Then everyone was staring, and I panicked and fell back to my default, insulting those that are supposedly below me, and that’s pretty much everyone. I regretted it instantly, and then Mochi dragged you out after telling me I was an idiot. Nabe also said so, in nicer words. And I was an idiot, but I don’t want to be one anymore.” He glanced over at Eijun.

“Eijun, look at me please.” Eijun turned to face Kazuya. “I’ve been moaning to Mochi for a year or more about how much I hate this corner I’ve painted myself into. After meeting you, I’ve not only grown to resent it, I have the motivation to change it. You. You’re all the motivation I need. I want...I’d like, if you’re okay with it, for us to continue where we left off, to be friends. And maybe, now that we know you’re not leaving soon, we could become more than just friends.” Kazuya jumped a little when he felt Eijun’s hand slip into his, looking down, and then up again, questions in his eyes.

Eijun met his gaze, fierce and determined. “I want that too, Kaz. I like you and I think it could easily become much more than that.” His eyes narrowed and he continued, “But, if we’re going to be friends, we’re going to be friends. I don’t expect you to abandon anyone, stop hanging out with whomever you’d like, but I do expect you to hang with me, publicly. In school. None of this ‘one way at school and another outside’ stuff. I don’t ever want to be someone’s embarrassment.”

“That’s exactly what I mean to do,” Kazuya confirmed. “I don’t want to be like that, I want to be with you.”

“Good.” Eijun looked down and turned to Kazuya. “I know you’re brilliant, but I don’t know if you’ve realized that this isn’t going to be easy. You’re changing behavior that’s ingrained, no matter how much you dislike it.”

Kazuya looked at their intertwined hands, “I realize that, I do. I thought that I might do it a little at a time, though. Make a change every couple of days, maybe. It’s...it’s going to be tough, giving up my pretenses, but you’re worth it.”

“Don’t be too hard on yourself if you’re not perfect,” Eijun said. “I’ll do my best to be patient. But Kaz, you might find that people care less about that stuff than you think. And those that do, well, those that do are not your friends, those are the minions, and they’ll find someone else to follow soon enough.”

“That would be amazing, if it worked out that way.” Kazuya admitted. “We’ll see, won’t we?”

They fell quiet, both of them lost in their thoughts, slowly spinning on the roundabout, feet dragging and hands intertwined.

“Hey, Ei?”

“Yeah?”

“I should head back.” Kazuya reluctantly stood up.

Eijun joined him. “Want me to walk with you?”

“Yes, please.”

“Do you want…?” Eijun hesitated. “Would you like to take a little detour? I can show you where I live, and I know my mom would love to see you again.”

Kazuya smiled. “Sure! I’d like to see where you live.”

“Okay, this way.” Eijun started out of the park, Kazuya by his side.

Opening the front door, Eijun led Kazuya into the house. “I’m home, and I’ve brought a visitor.” Eijun announced, and his mother popped out of the kitchen to see.

“Welcome ho—” she stopped, surprised. “Miyuki-kun?”

“Pardon the intrusion,” Kazuya said with a bow.

“Come in, come in,” she waved them out of the genkan. “Where did you find him, Eijun?”

“He goes to Seido, can you believe it?”

Sawamura Chika stepped forward and hugged Kazuya. “I’m glad to see you! Eijun was in despair when he lost his phone and thought he’d never be able to contact you again.” Kazuya returned the hug; he did like Eijun’s parents, even if his mother was more openly affectionate than he was used to. They’d met a couple of times; Eijun’s parents insisted he shouldn’t be running off to meet strange boys in the big city.

“It’s good to see you, too. I could hardly believe that he was there when I found out, I thought you guys were back in Nagano.”

“I thought you lived over on the other side of town?” Chika asked.

“I do,” Kazuya replied, “I’m boarding at Seido, I’m on their baseball team.”

“Oh, yeah! You’re a catcher, right?” She frowned for a second. “You must be talented to be boarding there. Too bad Eijun doesn’t play anymore, I’d bet you’d have been a good battery.”

Eijun spoke up, changing the direction of the conversation. “Kazuya has a curfew, I just wanted to show him where we lived and let him see you, he’s got to get back soon. I’m going to walk him back, okay? I’ll come right home afterwards.”

“That’s fine, Eijun. Miyuki-kun, we’ll see you soon. Don’t be a stranger.” Chika waved them out the door, and they headed off towards the school.

They talked a on the way to school, chatting about classes they were taking and the neighborhood and nothing important at all, both of them beyond thrilled to have the other at his side. After a few blocks, Kazuya slipped his hand it Eijun’s, sliding their fingers together. “In spite of any evidence to the contrary, I’m glad you’re here.”

“Me too, Kaz. I really missed you.” Eijun squeezed his hand. “I never imagined we could be at the same school.”

“I know, but I’m so happy you are.” Kazuya slowed to a stop, they were outside the school gates. “This is it, I guess.” He squeezed Eijun’s hand and let go. “I’ll see you later, Ei. Call you tomorrow?”

“Yes, do.” Eijun smiled and dropped his board, ready to go home. “I’ll be waiting. Good luck with your game tomorrow, Kaz.”

“‘Bye, Ei. Be careful skating home. Text me when you get there, okay?”

“I will, see you!” Eijun sped away, Kazuya watching until he turned a corner and disappeared from sight.

Kazuya had just gotten to his room and changed into sweats when his phone buzzed. Grinning, he checked his texts.

Ei: Home fine, u make curfew?

Me: Good! I did, plenty of time.

Ei: Yay! Was great 2 talk. Thanx for telling me.

Me: I needed to tell you, it’s important for you to understand.

Eijun laughed, Kazuya always used proper grammar when he texted, it was cute.

Ei:  Still thanx, tho.

Me: I’m glad I did. Hey, Ei? I was thinking.

Ei: *sideyes* Whatchu plotting?

Me: Shut up. I was just wondering if you wanted to come to my game tomorrow. It’s just a scrimmage against Yakushi, but you might enjoy it.

Ei: Yes! Is it ok 2 go?

Me: Of course! It’s on the main field, there are stands you can sit in. It starts at 1:00.

Ei: Is it a full game?

Me: Yeah, it just doesn’t count. But we’ve played each other for a while, and we’re rivals, of sorts. So we’re going to be serious.

Ei: Great, I’ll b there!

Me: Awesome! Good night, Ei. I’ll see you tomorrow.

Ei: Nite.

Eijun closed his phone, but it buzzed as soon as he set it down. Picking it up, expecting a text from Kazuya, he opened it up.

Mochi: Hey, how’d it go?

Me: Good. We talked.

Mochi: Coolness. He told u everything?

Me: I think.

Mochi: He better have.

Me: He asked me 2 go 2 the game 2morrow. Wanna come?

Mochi: He did? Yeah, sure, I’ll go. When?

Me: 1:00 - Yakushi.

Mochi: Oh, ok. Do u want to skate in the morning?

Me: Ye! Time?

Mochi: 11? Time 2 skate then 2 the game. I’ll come by.

Me: Good plan. See u then.

Closing the phone, Eijun plugged it into the charger and went to bed, trying to process everything that had happened that day.

Chapter Text

Saturday morning, Eijun walked out the door at eleven munching on a granola bar and met Mochi coming down the sidewalk.

“Morning, Mochi.”

“Heya, Ei. How are you?”

“Well, thanks. You?” Eijun offered Mochi a granola bar, “Want one? I brought a few.”

“Thanks!” Mochi took it and they both dropped their boards and started to skate, heading to the park.

They skated for an hour or so, and then sat on the wall around the park. Mochi pulled a couple of bottles of water out of his backpack, and Eijun passed over another granola bar.

“Thanks.” Mochi nodded. “About last night, I...I’m not going to pry, you two will figure it out. I’m rooting for you, though. I think you’re good for each other.”

Eijun smiled at his friend. “Thank you, Mochi. How did you guys end up here yesterday, anyway?”

“He texted me. Asked me to meet up, and actually showed up.”

“That’s good, then. Did you skate?”

“We did. We used to all the time before I left the team,” Mochi sighed. “I missed him, even though he is a sarcastic asshole. I hope he’s serious about this.”

“Me too, Mochi, me too,” Eijun agreed fervently.

They skated out of the park and to Seido, hopping off the boards as they approached the school gates. Hooking their skateboards onto their backpacks, they walked onto the school grounds, skirting the academic building and headed for the practice field. As they rounded the gym, Eijun sucked in a breath and stopped walking. He’d not expected this.

In Nagano, their team had a dusty practice field that had one set of bleachers, with benches for the teams, no dugouts, and no bullpen to speak of, but that was enough for them. He’d thought that maybe, with Seido being a big baseball school, that they would have a few more bleachers, a little more room, but that wasn’t what he saw.

Seido had three practice fields, all of which were well maintained and equipped. The one that was the main field had several sections of bleachers, and it looked like they could seat quite a crowd. It also had a regular bullpen and dugouts on either side of home base. Beside the third field, there was a covered bullpen with multiple lanes for pitching, and batting cages as well as pitching machines. What was clearly the dorms sat off to one side, with a long building that resembled a giant storage shed opposite.

“Wow.” Eijun was stunned.

“You haven’t been back here before?” Kuramochi asked.

“No. I had no idea. In Nagano, we had one field. Nothing else. I guess that’s what you get when you go to a baseball powerhouse, huh?”

“You’re not wrong,” Kuramochi grabbed his elbow and started towards the stands. “Gawk later, the game is starting soon.”

They climbed the stands and slid onto a bleacher between third and home, a couple of rows from the bottom.

Eijun looked out over the field where the two teams were warming up, watching them stretch and run, passing the ball around. This wasn’t a formal game, so the two teams intermingled a little, catcalling and exchanging good-natured insults, until they were called back to their respective benches. As they split up, the players came out of the bullpen and Eijun watched as Kazuya ran towards the dugout. He looked up, scanning the stands until he saw Eijun. He smiled and waved, Eijun grinned, and the game began.

Seido was at bat first, and Eijun watched, fascinated. He’d never been to a live high school game at this level before, and he was amazed that students his age could play this well. He cheered loudly when Haruichi was up to bat, groaning when the third baseman, a dark haired boy with a scar on his cheek, snagged the ball out of the air and threw it to first, getting him out. Three up, three down, and Eijun was disappointed that Kazuya was left on deck, but he really wanted to see him catch.

Eijun watched as Seido took the field, noting Ryou at second base, but all his attention was on Kazuya. The catcher squatted in the catcher’s box, exuding an aura of command, and Eijun didn’t see anyone else for the rest of the inning. The way he controlled the pitcher, watched the field and made decisions was beyond anything Eijun had ever experienced in a catcher, he had no idea that they could run the game to that extent. Maybe they usually didn’t, but Kazuya did, treating the diamond like his own fiefdom, demanding obedience and getting exactly what he asked for. Eijun’s catcher, his friend that he’d injured, had always been leery, unwilling to make a bad call, unable to take command of the situation. Eijun couldn’t imagine how it would be to be out there on the mound, working with Kazuya rather than feeling like everything was on his shoulders.

As the sides changed, Mochi nudged Eijun. “What do you think?”

“I’ve never seen a game like this before.” Eijun was entranced.

“Kyhahaha! Welcome to the world of powerhouse baseball.”

Kazuya was oddly nervous before the game, he was worried Eijun wouldn’t come, and he didn’t know how he’d feel if he knew Eijun was watching. As he came out of the bullpen, he couldn’t help scan the bleachers. Seeing both Eijun and Mochi in the stands, he smiled and waved, seeing Eijun grin from across the field. He felt himself relax, and settled in, preparing himself to play as hard and as smart as he could, so Eijun wouldn’t be disappointed.

He was first at bat during the second inning, facing Sanada, who was a beast of a pitcher. He’d been working on his inability to get on base if there weren’t others already on, but he wasn’t quite there yet. He managed to hit one to the outfield and get to second base, to the astonished jeers of his teammates. Grinning at the lot of them and promising extra running at the next practice, he turned his attention back to the game. This was going to get tough.

During the seventh inning, Eijun heard voices.

“I think I smell a quitter,” one of them said, and the others laughed. Eijun looked away from the game and saw some team members standing at the end of the bleachers. He moved towards them, but Mochi grabbed his arm, shaking his head.

“Look at him, he’s so pathetic. He couldn’t handle it, and now he’s stuck in the bleachers, watching the game.” Eijun glared at the boys at the end of the bench, and shook Mochi’s hand off. Mochi grabbed him harder.

“Leave it. It’s not worth it.” Eijun complied, but remembered who the speakers were; he didn’t like the way Mochi’s face looked.

The razzing continued. “What’s wrong? Don’t want to admit you’re a washed-up loser?” The leader smirked at the others in the group. “Why are you here anyway, has-been?” Eijun seethed in his seat, trying his best to keep his mouth shut, when a new voice joined the conversation.

“Better to be a has-been than a never-was.” The boys jumped and turned as Eijun realized that Ryou was standing right next to them, staring at them intently. Eijun shivered reflexively, and the boys tried to explain. “You know, I’d think you’d have a better chance of actually playing in a game if you put some of that extra energy into practice. In fact, I’m going to make sure of it, you three are going to be my pet project.” Ryou grinned at them and turned, heading back towards the dugout. “Of course, you could just...what was the word? Oh, yes. Quit.” He waved over his shoulder as he walked away.

The three boys stood there, stunned. They looked at each other and took off, heading for the rest of the team.

Eijun glanced at Mochi, who was watching Ryou walk away with a baffled look on his face. “You ok?”

“I am, but I’m as confused as fuck. What was that all about?”

“Looks like Ryou decided you needed some help?”

“I wish he’d make sense. He keeps doing this to me, it’s so confusing.” Mochi ran his fingers through his hair, mussing his hair. “Seriously. First he says that shit at lunch, then he tells Kazuya that you and I are getting too close, and now this? He dumped me. I don’t know what it is he wants.”

“Wait. He told Kazuya that we were getting to close?”

“Yeah, and told him to warn you about it. I don’t get it.”

“Strange. He sounds jealous. Maybe he’s changing his mind?”

“I have no earthly idea, Eijun. And until he comes out and says something, I never will.”

“Where did he even come from? I thought he was playing.”

Mochi grabbed him in a chokehold. “That’s because you haven’t been watching anyone but Kaz, idiot. He came out of the game last inning.” He rubbed Eijun’s head and let go. “He’s not in synch with the new shortstop yet, either.”

Eijun sighed. “I really want to play. I’ve never seen a game like this.”

“Me too. I miss it too.” Mochi agreed.

They sat in silence and watched the rest of the game as Seido squeaked out a win, 2-1.

As soon as the game was over and the handshakes were done, Kazuya and a few of the other first string players came over to where Eijun and Mochi were waiting.

Eijun climbed down the bleachers, making a beeline for Kazuya. “That was awesome, Kaz! I’ve never seen anything like that from high school players.” He looked over at the other players who’d come over, most of whom were speaking to Mochi. “You’re all amazing.” They turned to him and looked, and he realized he’d been introduced to most of them before. “I’m sorry; I’ll probably not remember all of your names. Please forgive me.” He went down the row, greeting those he recognized. “Nori-senpai, Nabe-senpai, Zono-senpai. Yuuki-senpai and...Jun-senpai?” They all nodded, and he let out a sigh of relief.

Kazuya tugged on his shirt. “Hey, Ei. Thanks for coming, I’m glad you did.” He looked over at Mochi, who was chatting with Nabe. “You too, Moch, I was happy to see you.”

Mochi shrugged. “Well, I couldn’t send my kouhai into this viper pit alone, could I?” He laughed. “But you guys looked good. Congrats on winning that one, it was hard.”

“It wouldn’t have been as bad if we had a decent shortstop.” Eijun heard one of the players mutter. Kazuya slanted Mochi a grin and turned to Eijun.

“Listen, we need to get back, but do you want to do something later?”

“Sure, when?”

“I’ll text you, ok?” Kazuya reached across the fence and squeezed Eijun’s hand. “See you soon.”

The rest of the players said their goodbyes as they all jogged back towards the locker room.

Eijun sat back down by Mochi as they watched the field being cleaned. “Looks like they want you back.” Eijun offered.

“Yeah, it does.” Mochi kicked at the rocks on the ground. “I do want to play again. I don’t know, maybe I’d be ok now, I’ve gotten used to it.”

“Possibly? But what are you going to do, just tell the coach you want to play?”

“No, nonono. You don’t want to tell Coach Kataoka anything. There are open tryouts Monday, I might just try out, see if I can win my place back.”

“Oh.” Eijun tamped down on the spurt of jealousy that was twisting in his stomach. “I’m sure you will.”

“What about you? You want to play.”

“You know why, Mochi. I can’t take that chance.”

“Hang on a second. You said you’ve never seen catchers like this, right?”

“Yeah.”

“And you can tell by looking around that the school takes care of the team, right?”

“Yeah.”

“So you can bet that they’re capable of handling your pitches, and that they’ve got the best safety equipment money can buy.” Mochi almost crowed. “You can totally pitch to someone from Seido.”

“Maybe? But Mochi, I can’t take the chance that I’d hurt Kaz. That would kill me.”

Mochi thought for a second, discarding ideas as soon as they came. “Wait a second. What if I could find you a catcher? Someone who’s good, maybe even better than Kazuya? Someone Kazuya looks up to?”

“I don’t know, Mochi…” Eijun couldn’t hide the longing in his voice.

“Tell you what. I need to talk to him before I volunteer him anyway, so you think about it. I’m going to hunt him down and then see if I can find Haruichi. I’m hoping he’ll have some answers for me.” Mochi stood and helped Eijun up. “What are you going to do?”

“I should go home and help my mom. Kazuya wants to do something later; I don’t know what. Text me if you want to hang later.” Eijun waved as he headed off campus, Mochi heading towards the locker room.

Eijun let his mind drift while he skated home, thinking about what Mochi told him, what he’d seen on the field today. He wanted to pitch, he could feel his hand itch, longing to hold a baseball, but he was scared, terrified of hurting someone with his pitches. He didn’t know...he just didn’t. He decided to let it sit for a while, let his mind work through things on its own as he helped his mom with the housework.

He’d just gotten the kitchen floor mopped when his phone buzzed.

Kazuya: Where are you? Wanna hang out?

Me: @ home, doing chores. Come by whenever.

Kazuya: On my way.

“Mom? Kazuya’s coming by and we’re going to do something.” Eijun trotted down the hallway to find his mother. “Do you want me to do anything else? I finished the kitchen floor.”

“No, that’s good.” Chika smiled at her boy. He’d been so much happier the last few days, and she knew it was because he’d found Kazuya again. She didn’t know the other boy well, but she had a feeling she was going to. This is the first boy that Eijun had acted like this over, and although she worried they had a tough road ahead of them, society being what it was, she couldn’t help but love him a little bit too. “You should shower; I don’t imagine he would want to hang out with you all sweaty.”

“You’re right! Thanks, Mom.”

Chapter Text

Eijun ran up the stairs to get some clean clothes, spending entirely too long figuring out what to wear, and hopped in the shower. He spent every bit as long getting ready as he did when he went to school, deciding to wrestle his hair back into a band and swiping on eyeliner. He slid a bar through his ear—unless he was planning to wear his hair pulled back, he never bothered; no one could see it and the bar pulled painfully at his cartilage when it got tangled in his curls. Huffing out a breath, he grabbed some shoes out of the closet and headed back down to the living room.

Kazuya was already there, sitting in the living room and talking to his mom. Eijun paused in the doorway and just looked at him, thankful he’d taken the time to do what he could, Kazuya looked incredible. He wore jeans and a pullover shirt, a dark red polo that fit him like a dream. He’d eschewed gel, and let his hair fall where it may, messy and gorgeous, and earrings, gold hoops Eijun hadn’t seen him wear before, peeked out when he moved.

Seeing movement at the corner of his vision, Kazuya looked up at the doorway and felt his breath catch. Eijun stood there, looking amazing. He’d never seen him with his hair pulled back like that, and with the wavy mass contained, his face became more defined, cheekbones and jawline completely visible. The shirt he wore, green and gold plaid, made his eyes glow and the eyeliner turned them even more luminous. He didn’t even realize he’d stood up until he took a step towards Eijun.

Chika saw Kazuya’s attention leave her, and looked at the door, where Eijun had the same entranced look on his face. Swallowing a giggle, because they were so damned cute, she slipped her phone out of her pocket in hopes of snagging a surreptitious photo. Those two were so into each other, and neither was trying to hide it. Once again, she thanked the little gods they’d moved into this neighborhood, and the boys had found each other. She hated to think about how much sadder Eijun could have become, she’d already been worried enough.

“Kaz,” Eijun breathed, stepping into the room. “You look—”

“Amazing,” Kazuya broke in, moving closer. “You look amazing.”

Eijun reached up a hand to touch Kazuya’s hair. “Your hair. I like it like this.”

“Your eyes...I’ve never seen you in eyeliner.” Kazuya reached up a hand to touch, but held his hand in midair. “It looks good on you.”

Realizing they had completely forgotten there was anyone in the room, Chika closed her phone and hid it in her lap. She’d taken enough pictures, and figured she should say something before they started embarrassing themselves. She cleared her throat.

The reaction was instantaneous. Kazuya jumped back as if he’d been burned, and Eijun did as well. Matching blushes crept up their cheeks, and they looked away from each other.

“I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to startle you. I just figured you two had forgotten I was here, and I wanted to stop you before you did something that your mother doesn’t need to see.” She chuckled.

Eijun regained his composure first; he was used to his mother. “Sorry, Mom. But look at him! Can you blame me?” He knew the only way to handle Chika was to fight fire with fire.

“Don’t ask your mother to ogle your boyfriend, Eijun, that’s just wrong,” Chika scolded. “Look how embarrassed the poor boy is.”

“Mom, stop!” Eijun wailed. “We’ll be going now, see you later.” He grabbed Kazuya’s hand and started to pull the unresisting boy out of the room.

Chika stopped them, “Wait a sec, you two. Eijun, let me get you some money.”

“I’ve got plenty.” Kazuya roused himself to offer. “I asked Eijun, it’s my treat.”

“That’s nice of you, Kazuya. Let me give him some just in case, okay?” She headed towards the kitchen to retrieve her purse and heard the boys move out to the hallway.

Walking back towards them, she handed Eijun some cash and smiled at them both. “Seriously, you’re cute, both of you. I hope you have a good time tonight, don’t stay out too late, okay? Home by eleven, Eijun.”

“We won’t, Sawa—I mean, Mom.” Kazuya revised his response at Chika’s lifted eyebrow.

They slipped on their shoes and made their escape.

“Okay, that wasn’t awkward.” Eijun chuckled.

Kazuya sighed. “I hope she doesn’t hate me.”

“Wait, what would give you that impression?” Eijun inquired.

“How about almost making out with her son in the living room?”

“Which part do you think she’d worry about? The making out? Or the son?”

“Either? Both?”

Eijun squeezed Kazuya’s hand reassuringly. “Naw, she’s fine with you, and with us. The ‘rents worry about grandbabies and stupid bigots, but that’s it.” He laughed a little. “She’s probably happy I actually brought someone I liked home. I don’t know if she realizes that I’ve never been interested before.”

“Ohhhh...so I’m your first boyfriend, Eijun?” Kazuya teased.

Eijun stopped walking and looked at Kazuya. “Are you? My boyfriend, I mean?”

“Don’t you want me to be?” Kazuya asked carefully.

“Well, yeah.”

“Me too.”

“Okay, then.” Eijun said, walking again. “That’s settled.”

Kazuya was surprised to find himself laughing. “You’re such an idiot, you know that?”

“Yeah.” Eijun bumped their shoulders together. “But you like me an-y-way,” he singsonged.

“Damn right.”

“So where are we going?” Eijun asked as they strolled down the street.

“Ice cream shop. It’s the best place to show you off, and I think you look amazing, Ei, if you couldn’t tell.” He squeezed Eijun’s hand.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea? That’s where the team hangs out.”

“I know, but it’s fine. My friends will like you, and anyone who doesn’t isn’t worth our consideration. I’m going to turn all my sarcasm on them, use my powers for good for once.”

“If you’re sure, I’m in. Ice cream sounds good.”

“Good, good. I haven’t told you this yet, but I like your hair that way, both in the pony and out, the undercut suits you.” Kazuya slanted him a grin. “Nice and rebellious.”   

“Oh god, not you too. My father’s convinced I’m ‘sticking it to the man’; when I just wanted to get the crap off of my neck.” Eijun rubbed the back of his head self-consciously. “But I’m glad you like it.”

“I do. And the bar, I’ve never seen you wear that. How long have you had it?”

“Not super long, six months, maybe?” Eijun tried not to fiddle with the piercing. “I don’t wear it often, my hair tangles in it and it pulls, but if it’s back I do.”

“It’s nice. Very rebellious.” Kazuya snarked.

“Shut it, you.” Eijun laughed.

They got to the ice cream shop and Kazuya led Eijun to a booth on one side, away from the group of baseball players in the back.

“Are you sure you want to sit here?” Eijun asked, wondering about his motivation, worried he had changed his mind about being seen with him.

Kazuya looked at Eijun, eyes serious. “I do. I want to be out with you, not out with you and them. If they want to come by to talk, that’s fine, but you’re the one I brought here, you’re the one I want to be with.”

Eijun let out the breath he’d not even been aware he was holding. “Ok, that’s good. I like that plan.” He smiled and slid his hand across the table; Kazuya’s met his in the middle.

“What can I get you boys...Well hello, Kazuya!” the waitress was surprised to see him in this part of the shop.

“Hi, Ito-san.” Kazuya gave her his best smile.

“Not used to seeing you over here. Ditched that lot for this one?”

“Yup.” Kazuya grinned. “Can you blame me?”

She laughed. “Nope, not at all. He’s much prettier.” She turned to Eijun, who was blushing furiously. “Don’t mind me, honey. Blame this one, he’s shameless.” She gestured at Kazuya. “The stories I could tell you…”

“Don’t you dare, you’ll scare him off.” Kazuya protested.

Eijun had to laugh at the panicked look on Kazuya’s face. “Maybe some other time, Ito-san. I do want to hear them all.”

“Of course you do, darling, and you will. For now, though, what can I get for you, cutie-kun?”

“My name’s Eijun and I’d love a hot fudge sundae with mint chocolate chip ice cream, hot fudge on the side, please.” Eijun smiled at the waitress, who clearly seemed to love her job.

“Eijun, huh? Ok, Eijun, I’ll get that right out. What about you, Kazuya?”

“That actually sounds good; I’ll have the same, only with regular chocolate chip, not mint. And could we please have a couple of glasses of water?”

“Of course, I’ll bring that right over and the sundaes as soon as they’re done.” She looked over, towards the back of the room. “You have incoming, and I don’t think they’re friendly.” She tapped her pen against the pad. “I’ll be back.”

Kazuya looked over and saw a half dozen players coming their way, led by the worst of his ‘minions’, a reserve player who thought if he toadied up, he’d move up. Sato was a mediocre pitcher at best, but had been hot stuff at his junior high and was always bugging Kazuya to catch for him.

“Hey, Captain!” He raked his eyes over Eijun disdainfully. “Slumming tonight?”

Kazuya leaned back in the booth and draped an arm casually across the back of the seat. “I wasn’t, until about fifteen seconds ago.” He lifted an eyebrow, and slipped up a corner of his mouth in a smirk.

One of the others piped up, “What are you doing with him? You do know he was sitting with Quitamochi during the game, right?” He laughed, and the others patted his back for his witty nickname.

Kazuya just looked at them, unimpressed. “I do. They were there at my invitation. Speaking of invitations, I understand Ryou’s singled out some of you for special training.” He made eye contact with the three from the game, Ryou had told him about it in the locker room. “I think I’m going to extend the invitation to the rest of you.” He let the smirk form and then drop.

His eyes hardened, and he leaned forward, intent. “I want you to understand some things. Listen carefully.” He lifted his hand, counting on his fingers. “First of all, whether or not he’s playing, Mochi is worth two of you on the field, even on his worst day. Second. Mochi is my best friend. Remember that the next time you badmouth him. And remember I will hear about it. Trust me. Third. If you ever imply that anyone I’m with is somehow less than you, you will regret it, I promise you. Fourth. I’m sitting with someone away from the crowd, alone. Clearly I don’t want to interact with you lot. Grab a clue, get some manners, and give me some fucking privacy. The next time you interrupt my date, things are going to get exponentially worse for you. You know me. You know I can and they will.”

The hangers-on looked shocked and a little scared and stepped back, leaving the two ringleaders standing alone. Sato looked at Kazuya and sneered. “You think you’re hot shit, don’t you?”

“No, I don’t. But I can recognize a cold piece of crap when I see it.” Kazuya replied blandly. Sato’s friend tugged on his arm and he shook him off.

“You’re done, Miyuki. You think you’re invincible, but your kingdom is coming down, you’re not going to be the prince of the school anymore. I’m going to see to it.”

“Please do. It’s gotten incredibly tedious having to hang around you guys all the time. You’re welcome to the throne.” Kazuya waved them away. “Now slink away like the good jackals you are, you have school domination to plot. Good luck with that!” He turned his back on them and faced Eijun.

“Now where were we before we were so rudely interrupted?” He didn’t dare meet Eijun’s gaze, he was scared of what he’d see. Eijun had never seen this side of Kazuya before, and he didn’t quite know how he’d react.

The boys walked away, grumbling.

“My eyes are up here, Kaz.” He felt fingers under his chin, and Eijun lifted his head, forcing Kazuya to meet his eyes. There were tears in them, but there was also light and happiness and maybe, just maybe, the hint of something deeper. “That was awesome. I...thank you.”

Kazuya let out the breath he’d been holding and relaxed. “Not a problem, that’s something that’s been a long time coming. Those are some of the worst of the lot, and the less we have to do with them, the better off we’ll be.”

Just then, Ito-san returned with their order. She gave each of them their order, and let out a laugh. “This is on the house. It was worth every penny to watch you take those boys down a notch. They come in here and act like they own the place. Funny how the first string players don’t do that.”

“Thank you, Ito-san.” Eijun said, taking a bite of his oversized sundae. “This is delicious.”

“I’m glad you like it, Eijun.” She wiped at the table. “Take your time, you can stay as long as you like.”

“Thanks again!” Kazuya said with a smile.

“You’re welcome. I’m glad to see you with a real smile, Kazuya. Keep him, if he’s the reason.”

Kazuya agreed, “I’m going to do my best.”

Eijun colored and huffed. “I’m not a stray puppy.”

“You’re cute enough, though.” Ito-san said. “Ah, well. I’ll leave you two alone. Enjoy!”

She went to see to the other patrons, and left the boys sitting together in silence.

Soon, though, Eijun started talking about the game, Kazuya responded, and they fell back into the patterns they’d set over the summer, snarking and arguing, teasing and laughing. They fell silent after a while, and their eyes met, smiling shyly. Kazuya stretched his hand out for Eijun’s, and he slotted their fingers together. “I’m so glad you’re here, Ei. I missed you more than I can say.”

“Me too, Kaz. Being with you is the best. I don’t know what I would have done if we hadn’t ended up at the same school. Maybe I could have googled you, though, Mr. Catcher, Clean-up and Captain of Seido.”

Kazuya grimaced, “Don’t, Ei. Don’t call me that, not you. Please. I don’t ever want to be anything more than Kazuya to you.”

“Oh, Kaz.” Eijun looked repentant, “I’m sorry, I was just teasing.”

“I know, and someday it will be fine, but for now, don’t, ok?”

“Of course. But I still think I would have found you.”

“I hope so. I was miserable without you around.”

The bell over the door rang, and a group of the ballplayers came in and headed to the back, greeting Kazuya as they went by. One of them, Nabe, stopped at the table.

“Hello, Eijun, it was good to see you at the game today.” He nodded at the younger boy before turning to Kazuya. “Hey, Kaz. I have that data you wanted for the next team, should I bring it by tonight?”

“I’ll get it from you tomorrow, ok? Thanks, Nabe!”

“My pleasure. I’ll leave you guys alone. Enjoy the rest of your evening. Eijun, I hope to see more of you.”

“Thank you, Nabe-senpai. I plan to stick around.” Eijun smiled at him.

“That’s good. Kaz, I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” He waved at them and walked away, joining the others at the back of the shop.

“He seems nice.” Eijun commented, watching Nabe walk away.

“He is. He’s one of my best friends, but he’s scarily observant. He agreed with Mochi when he suggested I fix things with you.” Kazuya smiled. “He wasn’t wrong.”

The door opened again, and this time it was a contingent of the seniors who came through on their way to the back. They didn’t stop, though, just waved and greeted them both as they went by.

“This place is getting busy, want to go walk around a bit? Or just go hang at the park?” Kazuya offered.

“Either’s fine with me. You’re probably tired from the game; we should just go sit somewhere.” Eijun suggested. “I’m not done with this, though. Can we finish our ice cream first?”

“Of course, I just didn’t want to hang out here a long time, they’re being good now, but sooner or later they’re going to want to talk.” He ate some more of his ice cream before he continued. “I want to spend time with you, not them.”

Eijun heard the door again, only this time it was only one person, Mochi. He made a beeline for them, and Eijun slipped off his bench and slid in beside Kazuya. “Friendly Incoming.”

Mochi slid into the other side of the booth and grinned. “On a date, huh?”

“Yes, we are. Together. Just the two of us, Moch.” Kazuya said archly.

“So, on a real date, huh?” Mochi said again, obnoxiously.

Kazuya sighed. “I don’t have much snark left; I used it all on Sato and his crew.”

“You didn’t.” Mochi looked at Eijun, who nodded. “You did? Kazuya, that’s great, but are you ready to deal with the consequences? He’s going to be gunning for you.”

“I know, I told him to. I told him I didn’t want to be ‘Prince of Seido’ if it meant I had to hang around him anymore. I also added the rest of the boys who were with him to Ryou’s training. Which reminds me.” He pulled out his phone and started texting. “There. Now he knows. I’m sure he’ll be happy to add to them.”

“Kayayaya! That’s awesome. Good for you, Kaz.”

“Plus, Ito-san comped us the ice cream, said she was glad someone took them down a notch.”

“I did, but I’m not comping yours, Mochi. What can I get you?” Ito-san walked up to the table and smiled. “Good to see you, I’ve missed your smiling face.”

“Awww, Ito-san. I’ll have a chocolate malt, please. Extra malt.”

“Coming right up.”

Eijun finished the last of his ice cream, and Kazuya nudged him. “We’re going to take off before the rest of the team decides that it’s ok to come talk to me. We are, as you so brilliantly noted, on a date. And I’d like to keep it that way.”

“That’s cool.” Mochi pulled out his phone to check his texts. “You kids have fun. Eijun, I love the bar, man. You should wear it more. And Kaz, the hair is great when it’s down like that.” He made a shooing motion. “Go, get. Enjoy your date, but don’t enjoy it that much.” He laughed as they walked out, hand in hand. 

He looked at his phone, planning playing some silly game or another until his malt came. It was loading when he heard someone slide onto the bench in front of him. He looked up to see Chris watching him.

“Hello, Chris-senpai.” Mochi closed his phone. “How are you?”

“I’m well, thank you,” He responded with a nod. “Was that him?”

Mochi nodded. “Yes, that’s Eijun. He’s...I honestly don’t know what kind of player he is, but he’s hurting, he misses pitching. He’s never found anyone who can catch his pitches when he’s pitching full out, and...” Mochi sighed. “Well, I don’t think it’s my story to tell, but he’s been scared. He needs to learn that there are people who can catch for him, that want him to pitch to the best of his ability.”

“Why don’t you ask Kazuya? I can’t imagine he’d be happy if Eijun pitched to someone other than himself.”

“Eijun won’t. He’s terrified he’d hurt him. With you, there’s at least a little less investment. I don’t think he’s dangerous, per se, but you’ll have to work up to it if you want him to pitch full out.”

“I see.” Chris thought about it for a few minutes. “I’m not sure this isn’t going to blow up in your face, Mochi. I’ll do it, if you do something for me.” He grinned at Mochi, who knew better than trust the innocent look.

“If I can, Chris-senpai.”

“I want you back on the team. I don’t know what happened between you and Ryou, but I do know he’s miserable, even if he won’t admit it. We don’t have a good shortstop, and it’s telling. So here’s the deal. I’ll catch for Eijun, if you try out for the team Monday.”

Mochi thought about it for a few seconds. “I’d kinda already been planning on it. You have a deal. See if you can convince Eijun to try as well, if he’s any good.”

“I will.” Chris stood up. “So we have a deal, set it up for tomorrow morning, if you can. Seido dropout, go back to baseball,” he threw over his shoulder as he walked away.

Kazuya walked with Eijun up the walkway to his house. It was getting late, they’d hung out at the park for hours, just talking and being together. Eijun stopped shy of the steps and the porch light, and turned to Kazuya.

“This has been a great night, Kaz. I’m so glad you asked me out.”

“I’m glad you came.” Kazuya smiled softly at his boy, “I love spending time with you.”

“Me too. Plus, you look amazing. I really like your hair like that.” Eijun reached up and gently touched the strands hanging on Kazuya’s cheek.

Kazuya stepped closer to Eijun, and ran a finger over his cheekbone. “Your eyes look brilliant like that.”

They stared into each other’s eyes, searching and finding something there, something they were both hoping to see.

“I’d really like to kiss you,” said on a sigh.

A whispered response, “Please do.”

Their mouths met, and hands rested on shoulders and hips, dragging them closer. The kiss was light and soft, surprisingly sweet. A meeting of hearts and minds, their feelings finally coming into alignment with their reality. They stayed that way for a few minutes before breaking apart but stepping into a hug, heads resting on shoulders, arms tight.

Eventually, Eijun reluctantly stepped back. “I’d better go in before they come out here to see what we’re up to. Do you want to come in and say hello? They’re bound to still be up.”

“Naw, I’ll come in next time, after I haven’t been making out with their son.” Kazuya snarked.

Eijun laughed. “Oh, I see. The great Miyuki Kazuya is making his poor innocent boyfriend run the parental gauntlet alone. Thanks for throwing me to the wolves, Kaz.”

“You’re welcome.” Kazuya smiled. “I do have to get back, though, curfew’s in twenty minutes.” He pulled Eijun into another hug, whispering in his ear, “I missed you so much, I never thought I’d be able to do this.”

“I know.” Eijun responded, not needing to say anything else.

Kazuya kissed Eijun one more time, softly, and then walked away.

“Text me when you’re home!”

“I will!”

Eijun watched him until he turned the corner, and went into the house to deal with the interrogation.

As soon as he was able to escape the questions of nosy relatives, Eijun headed up to his room. He changed into sleep pants and a t-shirt, did his nightly routine, and checked his phone to see if he missed Kazuya’s text, but he hadn’t. He did have one from Mochi, though.

Mochi: He’s agreed to catch 4 u. How about 2morrow morning @ 10?

Me: I dunno. I don’t want 2 hurt him

Mochi: U wont. He’s good. Maybe better than Kaz. Eijun sighed. He really wanted to pitch.

Me:  ok. Plz tell him 2 wear all the gear.

Mochi: I will. I’ll pick u up at 9:15.

Me: ok. Thnx.

Mochi: good date? Real boyfriends?

Me: yup on both counts.

Mochi: good. Everyone was looking at me strange. What did K tell Sato?

Me: tell you 2morrow. Long.

Mochi: kk. C U 2morrow.

Me: Night.

Eijun had just put the phone down when it dinged again, this time the text was from Kazuya.

Kaz: Here safe. Miss you already.

Me: Glad u r safe. Miss u 2.

They continued to text, flirting and snarking and just talking far into the night, until Eijun fell asleep with his phone open on his chest.

Kaz: Night, Ei. Sleep well.

Chapter Text

The next morning, Eijun was up early, showered and breakfasted and ready by 9:15, as instructed. He had his glove and cleats in his bag by the front door, and waited anxiously for Mochi.

“Eijun, what’s got you so bugged?” His mom slid into the seat in front of him.

He fidgeted a little, but knew that look and tone, and knew she wouldn’t let it go. “I’m going with Mochi; we’re meeting someone from the team. He’s going to catch for me.” Eijun sighed. “I want to play, but I’m scared, Mom. Mochi says the catchers here are better than the ones in Nagano, and I believe it, but still.”

“What about Kazuya? Is he alright with this?”

“He doesn’t know. He’s asked me to pitch to him, but I just can’t. The idea of hurting him is so scary, I don’t know what I’d do if I did.”

“I understand, but he’s the starting catcher for a reason, Ei. You may want to think about that, try to disconnect the catcher from your boyfriend.”

“How? I have no idea how to even do that.”

“Think about it, and you’ll figure it out.” Eijun hummed, not convinced.

“Does Kazuya understand why you won’t pitch to him?”

“No, I haven’t told him. The only one who knows is Mochi.”

“Sawamura Eijun.” Chika gave him a look of disapproval. “He deserves to know.”

“I know, I know. But I don’t want him to pity me. Or pressure me. Because I know I’d give in, and if I hurt him, I’d never forgive myself.”

“Don’t you think you’re hurting him by not telling him what’s going on?”

Eijun ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “Possibly? I just don’t...we just found each other again. I’ll tell him, but not yet.” It was Chika’s turn to hum, unconvinced.

The doorbell rang, and Eijun sprang to his feet. “That’s Mochi; I’ll see you later, Mom!” He kissed her on the cheek, grabbed his bag and ran out the door, leaving her sitting at the table, a contemplative look on her face as she sipped her coffee.

Eidan walked into the kitchen and took one look at his wife. “What are you plotting now? Don’t interfere with Eijun, Chika. He needs to figure stuff out on his own.”

“Oh, I’m not going to interfere. But if the opportunity presents itself, I might have to...nudge.” She smiled. Eidan shook his head, feeling badly for Eijun, but glad that look wasn’t turned on him.

Eijun and Mochi walked to the school—they’d left their boards behind because Mochi wanted to talk, and that was harder to do when riding.

“So spill, Eijun. What did Kazuya say? The team was giving me looks the whole time I was there, especially Sato and his crew.”

“It was insane, Mochi. I’ve never seen him like that,” Eijun laughed. “He was all over them. Let me make sure I get this right. We were sitting, talking and stuff, when they came over. It was the three we saw at the game, and a few others. They asked him if he was slumming, and he said he hadn’t been until they came over, then they said I was sitting with you—you have a new nickname, by the way, Quitamochi.”

“Well, at least that’s different,” Mochi snorted.  

“Yeah, anyway, he then told them that he was adding the others to Ryou’s training, and I quote, ‘Whether or not he’s playing, Mochi is worth two of you on the field, even on his worst day’, and that you’re his best friend, and if they ever badmouthed you again, they would be sorry.”

Mochi whistled, “Wow. I’m impressed. Was that it?”

“Nope,” Eijun continued. “He then told them that if they ever implied that anyone he was with was somehow lesser, they’d pay for it, and that he was on a date, clearly wanted privacy, and to catch some manners.” Mochi laughed.

“That sounds like him in his worst ‘Big Man on Campus’ mode.”

“And he wasn’t done. Sato said he was going to end his reign as ‘Prince of the School’ and Kazuya told him to do his worst, that he was tired of having to socialize with them anyway. Then he told them to slink away like the jackals they were.” Eijun laughed, “You should have seen it, Mochi. It was incredible.” Eijun didn’t mention the brief insecurity he’d seen in Kazuya, that was a glimpse behind the mask, and Eijun felt intensely protective of that part of Kazuya.

“Again, I say ‘Wow’. He was serious about reclaiming his life, wasn’t he? Those were the worst of the minions, and if he’s dumped them he’ll be all the better for it.” Mochi appeared lost in thought. “I’m not sure it’s going to work out like Sato wants it to, though. If Kaz changes what he doesn’t like and keeps the things that are important, he may become even more popular, just not as the head of the Mean Girls.”

“I just want him to be happy, and not feel like he needs to front.” Eijun said softly.

Mochi sighed. “I know, and I think he’s getting there.”

They turned into the school grounds and headed back to the third practice field. The team didn’t have formal practice today, but there were always players who did it on their own. As they approached, Eijun saw someone stretching. He looked up when he heard their footsteps, and Eijun recognized him from the group of seniors. He was handsome, and seemed to be the kind to either gently support you or kick you when you needed it. Maybe both.

“Chris-senpai. This is Sawamura Eijun.” Mochi introduced him.

Eijun bowed. “Thank you for doing this for me.”

Chris nodded and smiled. “I don’t mind, I can use the practice. What kind of pitches do you have?”

“I don’t know, to be honest.” Eijun admitted. “I think it’s a fastball, but even my coach couldn’t name it. Maybe you can help.”

“Okay.” Chris looked intrigued, and exchanged a glance with Mochi, who shrugged. “Let me stretch you, and we’ll start.”

Eijun nodded and sat down on the ground, and Chris started moving him around, asking questions, monitoring his condition. “You’re flexible, that’s good.” He allowed Eijun up, and motioned to the diamond. “Let’s see what you can do.”

“I’m...Chris-senpai, I’ll try. I’m afraid to throw all out, but I’ll do my best.”

“That’s all anyone can ask, Eijun.” He donned all his protective gear and moved into the catcher’s box. “Let’s warm up a bit, first.”

“Okay.” Eijun held out his glove, and Chris tossed the ball to him. They passed it back and forth for a bit, before Chris was satisfied that he’d warmed up enough.

Crouching behind the plate, Chris waited, signaling for Eijun to pitch whatever he wanted.

Eijun threw, pulling the pitch, and Chris caught it easily. “Is that your best pitch?”

“No, it’s not. It’s the one people on my team could catch.”

“Ok, good. It’s not bad, but it’s nothing special. Let me see you pitch your best.”

Eijun frowned, and nodded. “Ok, let me try.” He wound up and pitched. Chris’s eyebrows raised as he saw the strange form, and watched the ball curve, barely catching the pitch.

“That was better. You have a good cutter there. Is that your best?” Chris called, passing back the ball.

Eijun rubbed the back of his head. “No, not really. I’m still pulling it.”

“Ok, let’s throw some more like that. Your form is unique; it’s hard to see what you’re doing. I like it.”

“Thanks, Chris-senpai!” Chris looked over at Mochi, who was hovering on the sidelines. He nodded, and Mochi let out a breath and left, off to do what he could to meet his obligation.

Across the campus, Kazuya was sitting at his desk, phone to his ear. He’d just finished his homework, and was trying to get in touch with Eijun to see if he wanted to hang out. Eijun didn’t answer his phone, so Kazuya scrolled through his contacts and called his house, hoping he could catch him there.

“Hello? Sawamura-san? This is Kazuya, is Eijun available?”

“I thought you two figured that out last night?” Chika teased.

Kazuya felt his face redden and he cleared his throat. “You’re right. Is he there, then? He’s not answering his phone.”

“I’m sorry, Kazuya. He’s gone; he left with Mochi a while ago. They said something about tossing the ball around at the school. You can probably track them down there.”

“Ok, thank you. If you see him before I do, please tell him I called.”

“I will. And Kazuya? Please try to be patient with him. I know it’s not easy, but try.”

Kazuya was confused, but agreed. “Okay, I will. Thank you, Sawamura-san.”

“Mom.”

“Mom. Thank you, Mom.”

Chika hung up the phone and turned to find Eidan glaring at her. “You just had to meddle, didn’t you?”

“Eijun needs to tell Kazuya the truth; they’re not going to get anywhere otherwise. It’s going to get harder to talk about, not easier. You know that as well as I do.” She defended herself.

He walked into the kitchen and wrapped her in his arms. “I know you’re worried about him, but don’t be. They have to find their own way; we can’t do it for them.”

“I know,” she sighed, “but I just wanted to give them a nudge, I’m out of it from now on.”

“I understand, really I do.” He pulled her closer, she rested her head on his shoulder, and they both worried about their son, who was so full of life and light, who was more fragile than he’d ever know.

Mochi headed into the main baseball building, wanting to catch Coach Kataoka in his office. He knocked on the door, and when bid to enter, he did.

Entering the room, he saw Kataoka and Rei looking over some datasheets, they were preparing for the tryouts the next day. He bowed when they looked up.

“Coach, Rei-san. How are you today?”

“We’re well, Kuramochi-kun. What brings you here?” Rei asked, curious.

Mochi squared his shoulders. “I wanted to clear something with you, Coach. I’m planning on trying out for the team tomorrow, and I wanted to make sure that was alright with you, after the events of last season.”

Rei’s eyes widened a bit in surprise, but the coach’s expression stayed the same, impermeable. He looked at Mochi for a minute before he spoke. “Don’t bother; you don’t need to waste our time.”

Mochi’s heart fell, but he wasn’t terribly surprised. “Thank you for your time, Coach, Rei.” He bowed and turned to go. His hand was on the door when he heard Kataoka speak.

“So we can expect you at practice tomorrow morning, right?”

Mochi froze, wondering if he heard correctly, but afraid to ask for clarification. Before he could frame the correct words to ask the coach, he continued. “You’re going to have to fight for your position back, but I have confidence you can do it.” His voice hardened. “Don’t ever let me down like that again, you understand? I can forgive once, but if it happens again, you’re off the team permanently.”

Mochi turned to the coach and bowed. “I won’t, I promise.”

“Good enough, we’ll see you tomorrow.” Kataoka dismissed him with a wave, and Rei smiled at him.

“It’s good to have you back, Kuramochi-kun.”

Eijun had a dilemma. He was pitching harder than he’d normally pitch to someone on his team, and Chris was having no issues catching his throws. He wanted more than anything to pitch all out, to see if Chris could handle it, but he was still afraid.

Chris could see the hesitation and longing in the way Eijun eyed the ball, in the way he pitched. He needed to break through that, to see if he had something interesting, a new weapon that could be honed for Seido’s use. “Eijun. I know you want to pitch your normal to me, and I know I can handle it.” Chris crouched back down. “Just throw one, just one, at full speed. If I don’t catch it, you don’t have to try again.”

Eijun thought about it for a minute, thought about how it would feel to find someone, anyone who could catch his pitches, and decided to try it. One pitch wouldn’t hurt, and Chris was suitably protected, Eijun had checked all his gear himself. “All right. One pitch.”

He wound up and pitched his best throw. Chris managed to catch it, but barely. What was with that insane curve? Was that purposeful?

“There we go, nice pitch. Do you have any control over the curve?”

“I can adjust the curve based on my grip, that’s it.”

“Ok, show me, please.”

And Eijun did. With a fire in his belly and nerves on edge, he pitched as many different pitches as he knew, and Chris caught them all.

Standing up, Chris walked over to Eijun. “You have an interesting form, and your pitch has enormous potential. If I were you, I’d consider trying out tomorrow. Seido could use a southpaw like you.”

Eijun smiled, and bowed. “Thank you for the kind words, Chris-senpai. I will consider it carefully.”

“You do that.” Chris said, grinning at his formality. “I hope to see you later.” Chris walked off the field, passing Kazuya, who gave him a curious look.

“He’s good.” Chris said in passing. “You should talk to him.”

Kazuya stopped and stared at Chris. “He pitched to you?”

“You need to talk to him.” Chris reiterated before walking away.

Chapter Text

Eijun sat down where he was, on the pitcher’s mound. He thought about the feeling of his pitch being caught, tempted by the idea that there were people who could help him, could catch for him. But then he remembered. Kazuya. If he joined the team, he’d have to pitch to Kazuya, and his whole being shrank from the idea.

He felt someone sit down beside him and lean into his side. “Hey, Eijun.”

Eijun jumped a little, he’d expected Mochi. “Hi, Kaz. How did you know I was here?”

“Your mom told me that you and Mochi came here to toss the ball around.” Eijun groaned.

“Of course she did,” He sighed. “Meddling woman.”

“What were you doing, Ei? Where’s Mochi, and why was Chris-senpai here?” Kazuya was trying not to get upset, but it was hard.

“I don’t know where Mochi went off to, Kaz. Chris-senpai and I…” his voice trailed off, and he drew up his knees and wrapped his arms around them.

“Ok, then let’s try this. Why would you pitch to him but not to me?” Kazuya tried desperately to keep the hurt out of his voice.

Eijun felt the tears flood his eyes. “I can’t pitch to you, Kaz. The thought makes my stomach hurt.”

Kazuya lost the fight with his temper, and knew he had to get out of there before he said something he’d regret. “I’ve got to go.” He made to stand, but Eijun grabbed his arm.

“No, please. I’m sorry. Please don’t go, Kaz,” Eijun pled.

Kazuya’s voice rose. “Then explain to me exactly why you won’t pitch to me, why the thought of it makes you nauseous?” He wiped at his face, turning his glare on Eijun. “I’m trying here, but Eijun. WHY?” He yelled.

“BECAUSE I DON’T WANT TO HURT YOU!” Eijun finally broke, yelling as the tears streamed down his face. “I don’t want to hurt you, I can’t. It would kill me if I did.”

“I don’t understand. Why would you hurt me?” Kazuya reached over and touched Eijun’s shoulder, and Eijun buried his head in his knees as he wept.

Kazuya scooted closer, wrapping his arms around Eijun, pulling him close. “Oh, Ei. It’s ok, whatever it is, we’ll talk about it.”

“I just don’t want to hurt you; I’m terrified of hurting you.”

“Why would you hurt me, though?” Kazuya traced soothing circles in Eijun’s back.

“I did it to my last catcher. I put him in the hospital. I never want to pitch again.”

Kazuya pulled back a bit. “Can you tell me what happened? Please? I want to understand.”

Haltingly, through the tears, Eijun told Kazuya the story. After he was done, he wouldn’t look up, kept his head buried in his knees. He couldn’t bear to see the look on Kazuya’s face.

“Ei. Eijun. Look at me, please?” Eijun shook his head. “Ok, then. Listen. I understand why you’re upset, but honestly, I’m the best catcher at one of the best schools in the country. I can catch your pitches.”

“I can’t. I can’t take that chance. If I hurt you, I’d never forgive myself.”

“I know. But you won’t.”

“You don’t know that.” Eijun lifted his head and met Kazuya’s eyes.

“I trust you.” Kazuya ran a soothing hand through Eijun’s hair. “You didn’t hurt Chris-senpai. Did you pitch hard to him?”

Eijun looked down and fiddled with his glove. “Yes, I did. But he’s not you; I don’t care about him like I do about you.”

“He said you’re good. Are you trying out?” Kazuya bent his head, trying to see Eijun’s face.

“I don’t know. I don’t know, Kaz. Pitching is scary, and pitching to you is even scarier.”

“All right. Let’s let this rest for now, please think about it. I’d love for you to try out tomorrow.” Kazuya turned Eijun towards him. “How about that?”

“I can do that, sure.” Eijun raised his eyes and smiled at Kazuya, tears drying. “I’m glad to see you, Kaz. I was hoping to surprise you, but not like this.”

“I’m sure.” Kazuya said, wiping his cheeks. “I wanted to see you as well. I finished my homework, are you free?”

“I thought we established that yesterday, Kaz. I thought I was taken?” Eijun teased.

Kazuya groaned. “You and your mom.” He grinned. “You’re most definitely taken. And I’m completely taken by you, too.”

Eijun leaned in and kissed Kazuya on the nose. “I’d love to spend the rest of the day with you. What were you thinking?”

“Maybe grab some food, wander through some shops, and maybe buy some clothes? I need some that are better for boarding, and you need some that are better for school. I’d love to see you in chinos.”

“Wait a second. You want me to start dressing like you?” Eijun asked, confused.

Kazuya smirked. “No, idiot. I want you to dress like you, but I’d love it if you’d consider wearing something other than skate gear occasionally. I don’t expect you to dress like me. I just...want to widen both of our horizons. I want to dress more casually; I’d like you to dress more preppy. I don’t want either of us to be tied to some stereotype. I guess I’m just excited to break out of what’s been holding me down, and would love for you to join me.”

“I don’t know, Kaz. I’m not sure they’d look right on me, with the hair and such.’

“Who cares if they ‘look right’? What does that even mean? If you want to wear something, wear it. Fuck the haters.” Kazuya stood up and offered a hand to Eijun. “We can at least go try stuff on, and you can see how it would look. Would you like that?”

“That sounds fun, Kaz.” Eijun agreed. “I need to go home first, though. Drop my stuff off, shower and change.”

“I should change too. Want to come back to my dorm, and then we can go by your house? It will only take me a minute, and I don’t want us to separate.” Eijun nodded, and hand in hand, they walked to Kazuya’s dorm room.

Eijun looked around in interest; this was the first time he’d been in the dorms. “This isn’t bad, do you share?”

“I did, last year. But he graduated, and nobody was assigned this year.” Kazuya moved to his closet to find some clothes. “Sit wherever, I shouldn’t be long.” He’d just stepped into the bathroom when there was a knock on his door. Exchanging a confused glance with Eijun, he opened the door to reveal a frazzled looking Mochi.

“Hey, Kaz, can I...oh! Hello, Eijun. Actually can I talk to both of you?” Kazuya stepped back and let Mochi in.

“What’s up Moch?” Kazuya asked. “Are you alright?”

Mochi toed off his shoes and stepped inside. “I’m fine. I think.” He looked at Eijun, and glanced at Kazuya. “Eijun, how did it…Never mind, I’ll—” Eijun interrupted him.

“Mochi, he knows.”

“Ok, whew. I’m glad you told him.” Mochi relaxed for a second, and then he started to vibrate again. “What I wanted to talk to you about. Chris agreed to catch for Eijun, but I promised I would do something for him in exchange. What he wanted me to do was to try out for the team tomorrow.”

“Moch, that’s great!” Kazuya stepped forward. “You’re not going to have any problems making the team.”

“About that.” Mochi continued. “I went to the coach today to make sure that it was ok for me to even try out, and he told me that I didn’t need to waste his time, not to bother.”

“Oh, no!” Eijun said sadly. “I’m sorry, Mochi.”

“I thanked them for their time, and I was on my way out when he said something else. He said ‘So we can expect you at practice tomorrow morning, right?’ I didn’t understand what he said, but then he said that I was going to have to fight for my position back and that if I ever let him or the team down again, he wasn’t going to let me back on.” Mochi blinked back tears. “Kaz, I’m back on the team. I can’t believe it.”

Kazuya smiled, the blinding real smile that Eijun was just coming to realize was rarely seen. “Welcome back, Moch. I’m so glad.” He hugged Mochi tightly. “I missed you so much.” Mochi hugged him back, laughing.

“I’m glad to be back, I missed it. But Kaz, what about Ryou?”

“He’s going to have to figure his shit out, that’s what.” Kazuya was unsympathetic. “He’s been miserable since you’ve been gone, and if he gives you any shit, you let me know. I’ll sic CJT on his ass. They’re tired of it too.”

Eijun was observing, happy for both of them. Mochi remembered Eijun was there, and turned to talk to him. “So how did it go with Chris?”

Kazuya took that opportunity to go change, he didn’t want to hear this conversation, he still felt a twinge whenever he thought about Eijun pitching to someone other than himself.

Eijun and Mochi spoke quietly, Eijun telling Mochi what happened with Chris and some of what happened with Kazuya. Mochi was happy he’d pitched, but when he asked, Eijun said he still wasn’t sure if he was going to try out.

Kazuya came out of the bathroom, ready to go, and Eijun smiled. “Ready?”

“Yup, let’s go.” Kazuya grabbed his wallet and phone, offering his hand to Eijun. “Moch, we’re headed to Eijun’s so he can change, and then out, maybe do some shopping. Wanna come?”

“I’ll walk with you to Eijun’s, but I need to go home, tell my mom and find my practice gear.”

They walked together, Kazuya bringing Mochi up to speed on the team gossip and statistics, Eijun listening as well. Waving to Mochi as he turned down his street, the pair continued to Eijun’s house.

Entering, Eijun called, “we’re home!” and Chika came out of the kitchen, wiping her hands.

“Welcome home boys!” She smiled at them. “I see you found him, Kazuya.”

“Yes, he did.” Eijun glared at his mom. “Meddler.”

“Don’t pout, Eijun.” She ruffled Eijun’s hair. “Are you boys hungry?”

Eijun looked at Kazuya, who shrugged. “Sure, we were going to go get something, but if you’re cooking, that would be great.”

“Can I help?” Kazuya asked. “Eijun wants to shower and change before we go.”

“Come on in, Kazuya. If nothing else, you can keep me company and I can tell you stories about Eijun.” She smirked.

Eijun puffed up his cheeks. “Moooom! I want to keep him around, not drive him off!”

“Don’t worry; I’ll save the embarrassing ones for later.”

Eijun groaned and headed up the stairs, determined to take the quickest shower ever.

Kazuya followed Chika into the kitchen, “Thank you for having me.”

“You’re always welcome here, Kazuya.” She smiled at him. “I think I’ve decided to adopt you.”

Kazuya didn’t know how to react to that, “How can I help?”

“Sit down, and talk to me.” Chika motioned him to a chair. “I take it Eijun’s told you about what happened?”

“Yes, he did.” Kazuya said with a sigh. “I understand, I do, but I think I would be fine.”

“I’m sure you would, it’s not that he thinks you couldn’t handle it, it’s that he’s terrified that he’d hurt you. Try to put yourself in his shoes. No one has ever been consistently able to catch his pitches. Ever. It’s tough, living for sixteen years with the knowledge that the one thing you love to do the most is something that’s not only useless, but potentially dangerous.” Chika sat down at the table with Kazuya.

“But that’s not true.” protested Kazuya.

“Maybe, but he doesn’t know that.” Chika debated with herself for a second. “I’m going to tell you this, something I don’t even think Eijun realizes. After he hurt his friend, he sank into a dark place, depressed. We were very worried about him, but we couldn’t think of any way to help him.” Kazuya watched her, listening intently. “One of the reasons we followed his dad here for the summer was that we thought it might do Eijun good to get away. It did, but not how we thought it would.” She reached over the table and patted his hand. “He met you, and he slowly came out of it. When he lost his phone, he started to sink again. You have no idea how relieved we were when he brought you home.”

“I don’t want to try to make you stay with him; I honestly believe that he’d be fine if you two tried and it didn’t work, he was mostly upset that he’d lost the ability to even try. That’s kind of what’s going on with baseball. He’s never had the chance to try, in a place that would be able to use him to his potential.” Kazuya started at that, and started to speak, but she waved him back.  

“There’s a reason I’m telling you this. There are two things I think you should know, and they may not make sense immediately, but think about it.” She looked him in the eye, willing him to accept what she was telling him. “If Eijun refuses to pitch to you, it’s not that he doesn’t think you’re a great catcher—he has no doubts about your abilities—it’s that he doesn’t have any faith in himself. But if, when, he wants to pitch to you, that means he believes in you. He has faith that if you say you can catch for him, you will, that you’ll compensate for his inconsistencies and that you’ll be safe. Please don’t take this lightly; if he hurt you, I think he would break permanently. I know he’d walk away from baseball, and never look back.”

Kazuya nodded, deep in thought. “Thank you for telling me, I never thought about that. I’ll watch out for him.”

“I know you will. He’s not the smartest kid around, but he’s an excellent judge of character. He wouldn’t have fallen for you if you weren’t a good kid.” Chika stood up and moved back towards the stove. “He’s been out of the shower for a few minutes, he’ll be down soon. Tell me about the game yesterday.”

They chatted for a while, waiting for Eijun. He finally clattered down the stairs and into the kitchen. Chika smirked when she heard him, and started talking loudly. “So here’s Eijun, running down the street, stark naked at 3:00 in the morning. Luckily, one of the neighbors was up so we—”

“MOOOOOMMMM!!!” Eijun skidded into the kitchen. “I wasn’t even two, seriously.”

Kazuya was laughing his head off at the table, and Eijun glared at him as well. Kazuya raised his hands in surrender. “Sorry, sorry. It’s funny, you have to admit that.”

“It wouldn’t be if it was about you,” Eijun grumbled.

“Aww, I bet you were a cute baby.”

“He was,” Chika answered. “I wonder what happened to him?” She ruffled Eijun’s hair, and set a plate in front of both of the boys. “Eat up, and tell me what you’re plans are.”

“We’re going shopping.” Kazuya said. “I need some casual clothes.”

“Oh, Eijun. We’ve been so busy with the move; we didn’t do any school shopping.” She got up and disappeared for a minute, returning with a credit card. “Here, go get what you want.”

“Thanks, Mom!” Eijun smiled.

“Except.” She smirked, and Eijun groaned. “No skate shoes. You already have twenty pairs.”

“You have more pairs of shoes than that!” Eijun responded.

“Yes, but they’re not all the same type. Get dress shoes, boat shoes, penny loafers, even Big Bird Slippers, for heaven’s sake. Just no more skate shoes.” Chika commanded.

Eijun rolled his eyes as Kazuya snickered.

“And no more black jeans. You have more of them than any normal person needs.” She continued.

“Really, mom?” Eijun groaned. “Could you stop?”

“No, please. Continue.” Kazuya snarked.

“Oh, I like this one, Ei. You should keep him.”

“He’s not a stray, Mom.”

Kazuya continued to chuckle as he ate, listening to them bicker. He could hear the affection and love between them, and was happy to bask in the reflected warmth for as long as he could.

Chapter Text

Monday morning, Kazuya stumbled out of bed and into his practice uniform, sliding on his shoes. He rubbed his eyes and sat down on his bed to check his phone, he had a few minutes before he had to leave. He and Eijun had texted late into the night, as he looked over the data Nabe had given him and Eijun worked on his homework, so this morning he was yawning.

Me: Good morning. Off to practice, come by my room before school? We can walk to class together.

Kazuya didn’t expect an answer; he hoped Eijun was still asleep. Dropping his phone on the bed, he grabbed his gear bag and opened his door, finding Mochi standing on his doorstep with his hand raised to knock.

“Morning, Moch! Ready for this?” Kazuya smiled.

Mochi groaned. “I can’t believe I’m so freaking nervous.”

“It’s ok, you’ll be fine. Run a few laps and you’ll feel right at home.”

“Yes, captain.”

Kazuya clapped him on the shoulder, and pushed him towards the stairs. “Come on, cheetah-sama, your adoring public waits.”

“Thanks, Kaz.”

“Anytime.”

They walked together into the locker room. As the team realized Mochi was in the room, they fell silent. Kazuya snickered and elbowed him. “I wish we were recording this, we’ll never see this lot so quiet again.”

That broke the tension, and the first string surged forward, clapping him on the back and welcoming him back.

“Welcome back.” Chris walked up to Mochi after the crowd had gone back to getting ready. “I’m glad you’re here.”

“Me too,” Mochi said. “I’m glad you kicked my ass in gear.”

Kazuya walked up to them. “Chris-senpai, can I talk to you for a second?”

“Of course, but first let me talk, and you can ask me anything I don’t cover. Yes, he’s good. And yes, he’s rough, not a lot of control. But he’s a southpaw with a strange form and an amazing natural cutter that curves differently based on his grip. He’d be well worth cultivating, Seido could use him.”

“Is he dangerous?”

“Not for a catcher who knows what he’s doing. If he agrees to pitch to you, you should have him start with his easier pitches and work your way up, at least until you understand his form. It may throw you at first, otherwise.” Chris smiled kindly. “He’s fascinating, and I’ll bet any catcher worth his salt would be itching to catch for him. Good Luck!” He followed the rest of the team out to practice, with Kazuya right behind, thinking. 

Mochi noticed, of course he noticed, how Ryou buried himself in his locker as soon as he walked in and didn’t come out until they were all heading out to practice. He told himself he wasn’t disappointed at the lack of reaction, but then he did two things: stopped lying to himself and realized Ryou did react. It may not have been in the way Mochi hoped, but it was most definitely done because of his presence. Mochi squared his shoulders and started running.

He knew he hadn’t kept up with conditioning over the summer, so he expected to be winded by the end of practice, but he didn’t do too badly. Running was all right, and the fielding and batting wasn’t that hard, it was all just a bit of a push, more so than he remembered it being. He’d get back into it soon enough, it hadn’t been long.

Kazuya slid into place beside him while they were batting to check on him. “How’s it going, Moch?”

“Kyahahahaha! I’m getting beat to hell, it’s great!”

“Good, good. Keep it up, you’ve got this.”

“Thanks, Captain!”

“Ugh. Stop.”

“Yes, Captain.”

“Asshole.”

“You too, Captain.”

Kazuya snorted out a laugh. “Alright, you win. By the way, I know he hasn’t said anything to you, but Ryou’s been watching you all morning. Don’t be surprised if he says something to you later.”

“Really?” Mochi asked, resisting the urge to look around. “Thanks for the heads-up.”

“No problem, I’ll talk to you later.” Kazuya patted his shoulder and strode off, headed for the bullpen.

After practice, they showered and ate breakfast. Mochi was already dressed for school, so Kazuya left him in the lunchroom after finishing his meal, heading back to his room to get ready for the day and to meet Eijun. Mochi was scooping the last bits of his rice into his mouth when someone slid onto the bench across from him.

“You’re out of shape, you’re going to have to push it if you want your spot back,” Ryou started.

Mochi shrugged. “It wasn’t as bad as I expected it to be. I’ll be fine.”

“Maybe, but are you willing to fight for it?”

Running a hand over his face, Mochi sighed, “Ryou. I have no idea what you want from me. I never did. Can you just, for once, say what you mean?”

“Come with me.” Ryou paused for a second, and then added, “Please, Youichi.”

Mochi got to his feet. “Alright.” He returned his tray and joined Ryou at the door.

Ryou led him outside and around the corner, stopping behind the practice building. He turned and leaned against the wall, and Mochi joined him, propping up one foot behind him.

“I’m glad you came back to the team,” Ryou began. “You’re going to have to work to get your position back, right?”

“Yeah. That’s ok, I’m just glad to be playing again.”

“Why did you quit?”

“What? Seriously?” Mochi stood up, away from the wall, incredulous. “You of all people know exactly why I quit.”

“So that’s it, you just gave up?” Ryou turned his head to face him.

Mochi was flabbergasted. “How are you supposed to fight ‘We were a mistake, I regret ever having started a relationship with you’? I...I just want to play baseball, Ryou. I don’t know what you want from me, and I’m not sure I can survive any more of your games.”

Ryou turned his head back, looking up to face the sky, and sighed. “It wasn’t supposed to be like this.”

“I don’t understand you. You’re impossible to read.”

“You understand me fine on the diamond.”

“That’s...that’s different, we’ve worked that out together.” Mochi leaned back on the wall, resuming his former position.

Ryou huffed out a laugh. “We did. And I thought we were going to continue to do so.”

Mochi shook his head, trying to clear his mind. “I’m so lost right now; all I know is that you told me we were a mistake. Now you’re acting possessive and protective and I just...I don’t know what you’re playing at. Just tell me, straight out, what you want.”

“You. That’s what I want. Is that direct enough for you?”

“I...what do you mean? You said we were a mistake.”

“I was wrong. I was scared. I’ve never felt like this before about someone, and I didn’t know how to deal. If you remember, we started having issues right after you got hit by that ball and had to sit out a couple of games. It was terrifying, and I didn’t know how to react, so I ran.” Ryou slid over, closer to Mochi, and bumped his shoulder. “I thought that if you really wanted us, you’d argue, you’d fight, you’d force me to acknowledge what we had. Instead, you walked away, and I was left wondering if it had only been me that was rattled, if it had only been me that was in deep. And then you quit the team, and I was totally lost.”

Mochi leaned a little into Ryou. “I couldn’t stay. It hurt so much to watch you play, to see you act like it was no big deal, like you hadn’t shattered my world. I had to quit before I broke any further.” He let out a harsh laugh. “Not that I wasn’t broken completely, and not that it did me any good.”

Straightening, Ryou stepped in front of Mochi. “You, look at me.”

Mochi met his gaze, surprised Ryou had his eyes open wide, and stared into the beautiful red irises that he had only occasionally glimpsed in the past.

“I’m sorry. I fucked up, and I’d like to try again. Can you forgive me?” The eyes spoke volumes to Mochi, regret and loss and sorrow, but some hope, too, and maybe even some joy.

Mochi melted against the wall. “Yeah, I can. But Ryou, we have to set some rules, you can’t do this to me. It’s not right, nor is it fair.”

“You’re right. We do. What do you propose?” Ryou asked, stepping closer.

“I...you have to talk to me, tell me what you’re thinking. We got good on the diamond because we communicated; we need to do that if we’re together.”

Ryou stepped even closer. “I can see where that would help. I think I can handle that. But I have conditions, too.”

“Yeah?” Mochi asked, tilting his head as he slid his hands around Ryou’s waist.

“Yeah. Don’t give up on us. If I get like that again, push, fight. I’ll try my best, but I’ll probably need your help.” He slid his arms around Mochi’s neck, bringing him in for a kiss. “Welcome back.”

Kazuya was slipping earrings in when he heard the knock on the door. “It’s open!” he called, pretty sure it was Eijun. It could have been Mochi, but he’d seen Ryou stalking into the lunchroom with a determined look on his face.

Eijun opened the door, and stepped into the room. “Morning, Kaz!” He chirped, dropping his book bag by Kazuya’s.

Kazuya put the back on his earring, and turned to get a look at his boy. They’d both gotten new clothes the day before, and he wanted to see what Eijun had chosen to wear. “Morning, Ei.” He felt a slow, burning smile spread across his face.

Eijun had on khaki chinos and boat shoes—once he’d tried them on and seen how similar to skate shoes they were, he was all over them—but had eschewed the traditional tops, opting instead for a long sleeved forest green tee with a graphic design on the front. His hair was back in the ponytail, bar in his ear, eyeliner setting his eyes alight.

Eijun grinned wider when he saw what Kazuya was wearing.

Black jeans, tight enough to look good but loose enough to be comfortable. He’d paired them with a green and gold plaid shirt, the citrine studs that reminded him so much of Eijun’s eyes in his ears. No product was in his hair, and checkered vans for his feet waited by the door.  

They met somewhere in the middle of the room, arms went around each other, and lips met.

“You look amazing.”

“You too, everyone’s going to be jealous.”

“Yeah, of me.”

Smiling at each other, hands intertwined, they walked to class, book bags hanging over opposite shoulders. They caused a bit of a stir in the hallways, but it was mainly because Kazuya had never dated anyone, and the idea that the standoffish captain would allow—no, would choose to hold someone’s hand was hard for them to grasp.

Kazuya was pleasantly surprised at the ease of his morning. It was obvious, from some of the stares and whispers, that his confrontation with Seto was common knowledge, and there was enough animosity to know he’d already started his campaign, but it wasn’t much, it wasn’t even distracting. The teachers treated him no differently, and his peers only reacted with approval to his hair and clothing choices.

Lunchtime found Eijun alone at the end of a bench. He figured Mochi would eat with the team, he needed to rebuild that bond, as would Kazuya and Haruichi, and he was fine with it, he really was. Kazuya didn’t need to neglect his other friends. He sighed into his bowl of rice, and began to eat. As he brought his chopsticks to his mouth, he was startled by a loud bang, and three—no, four trays landed on the table at the same time.

Kazuya slid into the spot beside him. “Hi, Ei!” He leaned into him for a second before turning his attention to his food. Across the table, Mochi sat on the end, with Ryou beside him. Eijun eyed Mochi, who gave him a broad smile and a nod. Haruichi was on the other side of Ryou, eyeing his rice with concern.

“Heya, Eijun.” Mochi said. “How’s your day been?”

“Fine, good. What about you?” Eijun responded.

“Well, it’s been...eventful, that’s for sure.” He laughed loudly, and Ryou elbowed him.

“I need that ear, You, if you don’t mind.” Ryou snarked.

Haruichi just watched them with a soft smile, and Eijun leaned into Kazuya. “When did that happen?”

“I’m not exactly sure, sometime between breakfast and first period.”

Eijun snorted a laugh and asked Haruichi about practice, and the conversation became general.

All day, Eijun had been debating with himself about the tryouts. He did want to play, but he didn’t trust himself enough not to hurt someone, and that someone could be Kazuya. That was a chance he wasn’t willing to take. He fell silent near the end of lunch, wondering if Kazuya would be mad at him if he didn’t try out, he didn’t want to disappoint his boy, but…

“What are you thinking so hard about?” Kazuya slid their hands together.

Eijun shook his head. “It’s nothing, nothing important.”

Narrowing his eyes, Kazuya glared. “Don’t lie to me. If you’re thinking that much about it, it’s important.”

“It is, but...I don’t know how to even talk about it,” Eijun sighed.

“Ok, I’ll start. I really would like you to try out, Eijun. Chris says you’re good and you’d be an asset to the team.”

Eijun stared at him. “How did you...never mind. Ok. I want to play, but I’m scared, Kaz. I’m also afraid of disappointing you if I don’t try out. I don’t ever want to make you upset with me.”

“It was obvious; it’s been on my mind all day too.” Kazuya answered his half-asked question. “Honestly, I wouldn’t get mad at you if you didn’t try out. I would be disappointed, but not in you, in the circumstance that keeps us from playing together.” He squeezed Eijun’s hand, dropping a kiss on his cheek. “I wouldn’t break up with you or get mad at you or any of those things; it wouldn’t affect how I feel about you in the slightest.”

Eijun sighed. “Ok, I’m going to trust that you’re telling the truth. I don’t know if I’m going to try out, but I won’t base my decision on your potential reaction.”

“You can trust me, Ei.” Kazuya said. “I will never lie to you about anything. And I know I could handle your pitches, I’m a good catcher.”

“I know you are, you’re amazingly talented. It’s not that.” Eijun frowned.

“‘It’s not you, it’s me?’” Kazuya joked, nudging Eijun with his elbow.

Eijun smirked. “Exactly.”

Chapter Text

That afternoon, Kazuya sat and watched tryouts, disappointment leaching into his bones when he realized Eijun hadn’t come.

Afterwards, he walked towards the gates of the school, vaguely planning to track down Eijun, but not quite sure what to say to him. As he walked by the practice building, he heard someone call his name.

“Kazuya! Where are you off to?” Mochi bounded over. “How did tryouts go? Did Eijun…” He stopped, seeing the look on Kazuya’s face. “Oh, man. I’m sorry. I...for what it’s worth, he’s really torn up about this.”

“I know he is. And I know he thinks I’m going to be mad, or break up with him or something. I’m not, I’m just disappointed. I was planning to find him, talk to him. He needs to know I’m not going to do any of those things, but I’m kinda sad right now, and I don’t know if I should get over it before I see him.” Kazuya shoved his hands in his pockets, frustrated.

Mochi smacked him in the shoulder. “Listen, idiot. You need to find him right now. He needs to know how you’re feeling, and as long as you’re honest and open, it will be fine. I’m sure he’s every bit as disappointed as you are, but he’s probably aiming his straight at himself.”

“You’re right, I’m sure he is,” Kazuya agreed. “I’m off; I’ll chat with you later.” He turned to go, and then turned back around. “One more thing, congrats on the Ryou thing, and I want to know what happened. Later, though!” He spun back around and trotted off the school grounds, phone at his ear.

Eijun wasn’t answering his phone, but his mom told Kazuya he’d said he was going to skate, so that’s the direction he headed. He was walking through the park when he saw Eijun’s backpack and board lying under a tree. Not seeing Eijun, he stepped closer and heard the sound of sobbing coming from behind the same tree. Hurrying around the trunk, he saw Eijun curled up in a ball, crying so hard that he didn’t even hear him approaching. Kazuya dropped to his knees in front of him, wrapping him in his arms and holding him as tightly as he could.

Eijun felt Kazuya’s arms wrap around him, and moved into him, burying his face in his shirt, getting comfort from his boy. Kazuya rubbed his back and spoke softly, nonsense and praise and anything he could think of as Eijun cried himself out. At some point, he did just that, tears turning to sniffles, and Kazuya dug in Eijun’s pack to find the tissues he knew were there.

Eijun mopped at his face, and Kazuya held on to him, wanting to make sure he was ok, watching that he didn’t withdraw from him. Finally, it seemed the crying was over, and Kazuya spoke. “What’s the matter, Ei? What happened?”

“I’m so sorry, Kazuya! I tried, I really did, but I just can’t. I can’t.” Eijun apologized, tears streaming again.

Kazuya hooked a finger under his chin, and raised Eijun’s head so he could see his eyes. “Wait. This is about you not trying out? Eijun, I told you I was ok with that.” He cupped Eijun’s face and ran his thumbs along Eijun’s cheekbones. “I’m disappointed, yes. But I understand, and I’m behind you.”

“I just...you’ve never asked me for anything, and this one thing, the only thing you’ve asked for, I can’t give you. I feel so bad.” Eijun ran a hand over Kazuya’s hair. “I can’t believe you found me back here.”

Kazuya smiled, and kissed Eijun on the nose. “I’ll always find you, idiot.” He leaned against the tree and straightened his legs out, patting his lap. “Come here, Ei.” Eijun slid his legs on either side of Kazuya’s, and slipped into his lap. “That’s better. Now listen to me, please.” Kazuya wrapped his arms around Eijun, who rested his head on Kazuya’s shoulder.

“You don’t owe me anything. You didn’t do anything wrong, Ei. If you can’t play, you can’t. Maybe one day you will, but I told you that you could trust me, and you can. I know how much you want it, and I know that if you could, you would.”

Eijun raised his head and cupped Kazuya’s face with his hand. “How are you even real right now, Kaz? You’re amazing, you know that?” He leaned in and gently kissed Kazuya, pulling back to rest their foreheads together.

“I don’t know, Ei. I think you’re pretty incredible, too.” Kazuya smiled at him. “I...just...even if we were on the same team, there’d have to be a disconnect between Kazuya the boyfriend, and Miyuki the catcher. That’s something that’s true even without you playing. I’m disappointed you’re not playing with me, but I’m here to support you all the way. You’re too important, I have to do it.”

“Thank you. You don’t know how much this means to me, Kazuya.” Eijun dropped his head back onto Kazuya’s shoulder and they sat, snuggling and warm, together. 

The following day, Eijun was dozing in math class when he got a note, requesting he visit the coach’s office immediately. He was confused, how did the coach even know who he was? Maybe he meant another Sawamura? Eijun didn’t know, but he did know that the teacher was glaring at him, so he gathered his things and left the class.

Finding his way to the coaches’ office, he knocked on the door, and heard a voice tell him to enter. He walked into the office and bowed. “Sawamura Eijun here as requested.” standing up, he continued, softly, “Although I’m not sure I’m the one you wanted.”

“You’re exactly who we wanted.” The woman standing behind the coach stepped forward, holding out her hand. “Takashima Rei, I’m one of the assistant coaches here at Seido. I’m also responsible for recruitment.”

“And I’m Coach Kataoka.” The head coach inclined his head from behind his desk. “We did ask for you to be sent in. Please, sit down.” He motioned to the seats in front of his desk, and Eijun sat.

“I’m sure you know why we asked you in.” Rei began, but Eijun shook his head,

“No ma’am, I have no idea.”

“Ok, then. Let me explain.” Coach Kataoka leaned forward in his seat, placing his elbows on the desk. “You pitched Sunday morning to Chris, is this right?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Chris came to me Sunday afternoon with a very interesting story about a southpaw pitcher who could be a great asset for the team. He told me he’d encouraged you to try out, but you weren’t there yesterday. Can you explain why?”

“Coach Kataoka, I don’t...I can’t pitch anymore. I’m afraid I’m going to hurt someone. You don’t know what happened—” The coach cut him off.

“I do know what happened. After learning about you from Chris, I called your middle school in Nagano and spoke to your coach, and one other person he gave me the telephone number for, Nao Kenta.”

Eijun sat in shock. Kenta was the boy he’d put in a coma. Why were they talking to him? “Then you know exactly why I don’t pitch anymore.”

“Yes, we do. But I want you to hear what they told me. Your coach told me that his biggest regret was never finding anyone who could properly catch your pitch.” Eijun felt the tears well up, Coach Ito had done the best he could, and Eijun knew it.

“He was a good coach; he did the best he could.” Eijun defended him.

Coach Kataoka nodded. “Yes, he is, I could tell by the way he talked about his team. He spoke highly of you, said that you would be an asset to Seido and that the catchers here would be able to help you.” Eijun squirmed. He knew Kazuya could catch for him, but could he trust himself? “He also wanted me to tell you something. He said, ‘Take advantage of that school, Eijun-kun. You have the ability to soar, if you can just learn to trust those who can help you.’”

Eijun swallowed and nodded, letting the words sink in. They were getting mixed up with Kazuya’s words the night before about the difference between a captain and a boyfriend, and he realized his mother had said the same thing. Could he do that? Trust the ones who could help him? Could he trust Kazuya when he said he could handle it?

“On the recommendation of Coach Ito, I also spoke to Nao-kun. He confirmed what the coach told me— the injury was because of faulty equipment and not your fault. He also told me to tell you that you better get yourself on the mound, and he expects to see you at Koshien.’”

Feeling his eyes well up, Eijun faced the coach, unwilling to look away. “Why are you telling me all this? I didn’t even try out yesterday.”

“There were no players yesterday who have more potential than you do. I’ll be frank; I want you on my team. You could be a tremendous addition to our bullpen. Will you consider playing for Seido?”

“But Coach, I…” Eijun started, before he was cut off.

“Sawamura, I understand your hesitation. But it’s time to trust someone, and you can trust our catchers. I understand you have something of a relationship with our current captain?” Eijun nodded, helplessly. “That’s fine. He’s the best catcher we have right now, so you should work with him.”

“I...but…” Eijun was cut off again.

“Trust us. Trust our equipment. Trust him. You can work with him away from the others for the first week or so until you’re comfortable, until you’re sure he can catch for you and you won’t hurt him.”

Eijun’s objections melted under the onslaught from the coach. “Ok, Coach. I’ll do it.”

“Good. You won’t regret it. I’ll have Takashima-san take you to the supply closet and kit you out. Practice begins at three, be in the solo dugout at the other side of the practice field then. I’ll send Miyuki to you, there’s no need for you to join the main team until you’ve been convinced.”

“Yes, coach.” Eijun stood and followed Rei out of the room, bowing to the coach as he left. Rei pointed out the various rooms as they passed, showing him the gym and the indoor training facility before arriving at the supply room. She gathered a week’s worth of practice uniforms, and assigned him a locker, before showing him the bathing facilities. She left him at the entrance to the locker room, it was already 2:30, so he changed and made his way to the bullpen he’d been directed to, deciding to stretch and warm up a little, hoping to take the edge off.

Kazuya went to the coach’s office to get the day’s instructions. Bowing as he entered, he waited until the coach finished what he was doing and motioned him forward.

“Good Afternoon, Miyuki.”

“Good Afternoon, Coach.” Kazuya bowed his head.

“We’ve acquired some new players after yesterday’s tryouts. One of them is a pitcher, but I’m not sure if he’s worth the effort it would take to bring him aboard. I’d like you to work with him exclusively, away from the team, for the rest of the week. Report to me on Saturday with your opinion. He’s waiting in the single bullpen. Suit up and get started.”

Kazuya was confused, this wasn’t something he’d ever done before, but it sounded simple enough. “Yes, sir.” He bowed his way out of the office.

Changing into his practice uniform, he grabbed his gear and trotted out to the single bullpen. He saw the person stretching when he entered. “Hey, there. Coach Kataoka said we’d be working…” his voice trailed off as the person turned. “Eijun?” He felt a smile forming, and he had no desire to stop it. Eijun stood and faced him with a similar smile and he bowed.

“I’ll be in your care, Miyuki-senpai.”

Omake

Kazuya squatted behind the plate, sun burning down on the field. He glanced at the scoreboard, and then at the runner on first base. Meeting the pitcher’s confused gaze, he called for a timeout.

He jogged to the mound, waving back the rest of the team.

“Sorry about that.” Kazuya spoke from behind his glove. “I was just thinking about how great this summer’s going to be, and I had to come out here to tell you how much I love you.”

“Seriously?” Eijun scowled, even as he blushed. “I thought something was wrong, idiot.”

“Naw, it’s good. Let’s get this guy out, win this tournament, and give the senpai a good sendoff. What do you say, Partner?” Kazuya smirked at him over his glove.

“I say get back behind that plate, and do your job.” Eijun snarked back. “And I love you too; this summer’s going to be amazing.” Kazuya grinned and tapped Eijun's chest with his glove and ran back towards the plate.

“If you called a timeout to do something mushy, I’m going to kick your ass!” Mochi called from the infield.

Kazuya waved at him as he crouched, and looked at his pitcher. Eijun’s eyes were intent, waiting for his sign.

He signaled, Eijun nodded, eyes flashing.

Kazuya raised his glove, ready to catch.

He smiled.