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It hadn’t been planned like this. Then again, getting injured was barely anything anyone would plan. Miyuki had expected that all his experiences with getting hurt would be connected to baseball. On the field he was reckless, sometimes careless when it came to his own safety if neglecting that could bring them closer to victory. Everything for the team. That was so much imprinted into his personality that no one was surprised anymore about how far Miyuki would go for baseball.
He wasn’t reckless off the field. He lead a rather quiet, calm life, enjoyed cooking and to spend time with his friends. About this Miyuki was picky — or they were picky about becoming his friends. Whatever the case, Miyuki was pretty content with the life he had built for himself from an awkward teenager without social skills to an adult with a few more social skills, but more importantly with the right people around. Seido had been that turning point for him. It was the place where Miyuki had learned what being in a team really meant. He had also suffered his first more serious injury that had put him on the bench for a bit. Before that he had never much thought about how quickly his career could be put to a halt or even an end. Sure, he had seen what had happened to Chris with his injury, but Chris had made a full recovery as well and was now playing in the Majors in the US.
Despite his quiet, calm life Miyuki found himself in a situation that rocked that quietness to the core. His memory was jumbled at best when he was poked at and talked to. Just before Miyuki had crossed a street and then, suddenly, his world had spun around. Or maybe he had been the one spinning. Everything had happened so quickly, he wasn’t quite sure if even anything happened. If he had been in an accident like his mind thought he very much had been, there should be pain, right? Yet, he didn’t feel any. Not right away, at least. When his body registered that hitting the pavement like he had should hurt, he wished to be back to that painless, oblivious state. There were people around him, more touches, questions. Miyuki tried to listen, tried to respond, but with the shock taking hold of him, his senses slipped away.
When Miyuki woke again, he was no longer on the street. The brief hope, that what he meant to remember might just have been a dream, was quickly replaced by the sounds and scents of hospital rushing in. His head hurt, his left hip and knee. With all the discomfort awakening — however muted by the meds Miyuki was sure he had been given — his first coherent thought was about baseball. About his team. They had a game tonight. He needed his phone. He needed to know what time it was.
“Miyuki-san,” a female nurse with shadows under her eyes, and brown hair pulled into a short pony tail moved the curtain surrounding the bed to the side. Behind her Miyuki could see the hustle and bustle of an emergency room. “Good to see you woke up! What do you remember?”
“Where is my phone?” asked Miyuki. “I need to know what time it is …”
“First you will answer my questions, then I will give you your phone. Deal?”
Miyuki didn’t think that was a deal at all since that was the only option. Unless he wanted to risk the nurse to just leave again. And that would not be helpful. So he told the nurse what he remembered, answered questions about pain levels and personal data, and then he actually received his glasses and his phone. It luckily looked intact, which was a bigger relief than Miyuki had expected. “Thank you.”
“Not too much time on the phone, though,” the nurse said. “We’re monitoring you for a concussion. You also have some severe bruising on your hip and knee. Everything else is just scrapes and scratches. You were lucky today, Miyuki-san. After a bit of recovery time you will be as good as new.”
Miyuki didn’t feel that lucky when the injuries meant he wouldn’t be able to play baseball anytime soon. Still he said, “Yeah, lucky me.”
The nurse didn’t say anything to that comment of his, instead informed Miyuki that a doctor would be in shortly to talk about keeping him overnight, and then she left.
Miyuki rubbed his face, regretting that motion the moment he felt how sore parts of it were. Probably there would be some bruises coming, too. He slid his glasses on, and winced when he saw a bunch of notifications; missed calls and messages alike. Most of them were from Sawamura, but also from his coach and a few other teammates, even one from Kuramochi who was in the team they would play against tonight — or, well, now, given the time.
Shit.
First Miyuki typed a message to send to their coach about what had happened, that he was sorry he didn’t let the team know earlier, but that he very much just came to.
Already after that rather short text Miyuki felt his headache grow worse. So the nurse hadn’t been joking about the phone use. He should really make it quick and then try to doze some. Before that, though, he needed to text Sawamura. The southpaw wasn’t only his battery partner but his partner in other ways as well. This accident was perhaps also Miyuki’s sign from the universe to update his emergency contact. But not now. Now he needed to find the right words for Sawamura that wouldn’t have him freak out.
»Sorry I didnt make it to the game. I was in anaccident. Am at the hospital«
»But I’m ok«
»Crsuh them«
Miyuki’s vision swam bad enough for him to ignore the typos. He only sent one more text to Sawamura.
»Love you«
Despite the sounds around him, Miyuki found it quite easy to drift off again. Partly this sure was thanks to whatever meds he had gotten when they initially had treated him. There was not much he could recall about what had happened still. That wasn’t important now, though. Now he just wanted to sleep.
***
The next time Miyuki came to there was no nurse by his bedside. There was another familiar face instead. He frowned, unsure if he was imagining things upon just waking up. “Sawamura? Don’t you have a … a game?”
“You think I would finish that after I heard my partner is at the hospital?” Sawamura said. “The team will handle that.”
Miyuki blinked slowly. He was aching, drowsy, not quite himself.
“How are you feeling?”
“Like I want to go home and sleep,” Miyuki said with a bit of a delay.
“The doctor was in while you were out. He said you can be discharged if someone is at home with you instead of them keeping you overnight.”
“Oh.” Miyuki licked his lips, leaving them just as dry as before.
“Would you be more comfortable in your apartment or mine?” Sawamura’s eyes moved up and down and back and forth, probably taking in all the bruises and scratches Miyuki could feel.
“You …,” Miyuki started, stopped, tried again, “You would … do that?”
“Of course, you idiot,” Sawamura said as if offended. He probably was. “You’re my partner on and off the diamond.”
Miyuki’s smile pulled at his tight skin, and yet he couldn’t stop himself. “Sappy.”
Sawamura shrugged, unfazed. “You know I imagined it differently to move in with you, but I’ll take what I can get.”
Miyuki chuckled at that, trailing off onto a gasp. “Me, too. But I don’t mind.” He frowned. “Or I do mind the accident, but not the … the moving in part. Maybe to your place? Damn, my head hurts …” Miyuki closed his eyes, and felt Sawamura’s hand cupping his cheek so gently it made him almost tear up.
“Rest a bit, Miyuki Kazuya. I got ya.” The rustling of clothes and then Sawamura’s warm lips met Miyuki’s forehead. “I’ll get the paperwork, and arrange everything.”
Miyuki hummed, exhaustion pulling on him yet again.
“And, Kazuya?”
“Hm?”
“I love you, too.”
***
“You look like someone punched you really bad,” Kuramochi said upon entering the living room. Since coming back from the hospital Miyuki spent his time either on the couch or in Sawamura’s bed when he was too sleepy to stay awake. True to what the doctors had said he felt impossibly more sore the days after the accident, and where he had been certain they were just exaggerating, he found they very much gave a realistic outlook on things.
“You’re just mad it wasn’t you,” Miyuki replied, not missing the way Kuramochi took in his state with a worried crease between his fine brows.
“The only one allowed to punch you is me. Best friend bonus and all.”
“What about me? I think I have a boyfriend-bonus,” Sawamura said. He carried in the pizza cartons that undeniably Kuramochi brought.
“So I am suffering and all you do is talk about punching me? I need new friends.” Miyuki watched Sawamura sit down next to him.
“You love us,” Kuramochi said.
“I will deny that.”
“Should I get your meds before we eat?” asked Sawamura, unfazed by the whole exchange.
Miyuki frowned. “What time is it? Didn’t I just have some?” He looked around the room to find the digital clock next to the TV. With squinted eyes he tried to decipher the digits. “Oh, it’s already afternoon?” In his peripheral vision he saw Kuramochi and Sawamura exchange a look which had him wonder just how out of it he appeared to be. “I guess then I’d like some with the food.”
“Good.” Sawamura got up again, kissed Miyuki on the forehead before heading to the bedroom where they kept Miyuki’s prescriptions for now.
“I knew that car did a number on you, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen you quite like this,” Kuramochi said quietly.
Miyuki snorted. “Not even after the fall tournament?”
“That was a different kind of out of it for you,” Kuramochi said. “Does it hurt bad?”
“Not when Sawamura doesn’t forget to give me my pills,” answered Miyuki. “It sucks. Sucks that I worry the two of you as well.”
“That’s what friends are for.” Kuramochi reached for the pizza cartons on the table and opened them. The scent of the food had Miyuki’s stomach growl. “And you can always pay me back with making omurice.”
Miyuki chuckled at that. “All you have to do is ask.”
“Ask for what?” Sawamura wanted to know when he returned from he bedroom. “It smells so good in here!”
“I told Miyuki he can pay my kindness back with omurice once he is all healed and shit.”
“Ah! What do I get as payment?” pouted Sawamura. He dropped the pills in Miyuki’s hand, gave him a glass of water next. “Drink.”
“So bossy.” Miyuki half-heartedly complained. “I could buy you natto.”
Sawamura sputtered while Miyuki took the meds as if he hadn’t just brought up Sawamura’s arch enemy in the food department. “So mean even when you’re injured!”
“I’m always mean,” Miyuki said with a lazy grin. “Especially when I’m hungry.”
“You must be hungry a lot,” Sawamura grumbled while he started to cut the pizza for them all. “All. The. Time.” Despite his complaints Sawamura gave Miyuki the first slice of pizza, only then serving Kuramochi and himself. “Eat up, eat up! And then back to bed for tanukis.”
“Thank you for the food!” Kuramochi and Miyuki said at the same time, and after exchanging a small grin they all started eating.
Despite Miyuki’s world currently being turned upside down, this moment of normalcy tilted it a bit back towards normal. He knew that with his partner and his best friend he would get ever closer to normal with every passing day, and soon the memories of the accident would be faded like the bruises on his skin. Until then he would simply take one step at a time.