Cicadas droned hypnotically into the hot air, as the summer sun beat down mercilessly. It was already too warm for this sort of outing, but it was the only weekend they all had free, and it was a family tradition the men were too stubborn to flake on.
The surface of the lake shimmered and sparkled like diamonds, but it was blinding to actually look at. Colorful afterimages danced across his teary eyes as he stubbornly tried to anyway. Abe's mouth tugged into a frown, and he turned away from watching his father and brother steer the rental rowboat in confused circles. They were supposed to catch the fish, and then he and Mihashi would cook them, but he wasn't entirely confident that someone wouldn't get volunteered for a sunset run to the convenience store for onigiri or hot dogs or something. He swatted a mosquito against his sweaty arm and lamented that it would probably end up being him.
"Abe-kun," squeaked Mihashi next to him. They were both seated atop a grassy hill overlooking the lake. It would be shadier if they retreated to the tree line, but there were more insects there, so the direct sunlight was the lesser of two evils. They both sported their Nishiura High caps in a futile attempt to protect their faces from the unforgiving sun.
Abe leaned back onto his hands. The grass felt dry and brittle against his palms. They needed rain, not that they would get it. "Yes?" he prompted gruffly, upon seeing the pitcher's mouth work open and closed on breathless syllables. He looked a bit like a fish out of water. (He needed to stop thinking about fish, but he was hungry.)
Abe cracked a grin. "What, for inviting you along? I told you, it was my dad's idea. He takes me and Shun out camping one weekend a year, and this year he said you were welcome to tag along."
Mihashi dithered in place, blinking rapidly at the lake in front of them. His fingers were twisting together in his lap, playing with torn blades of grass. Abe tilted his face into a slight breeze, desperate for anything to take the edge off the sweltering heat. His mouth watered at the thought of popsicles and air conditioning at the store. At this rate he would volunteer to go get dinner. The idiots on the lake were going to be sunburned to a crisp.
At least I'm not in catcher's gear, he noted wryly.
"I may have told my dad you're good in a kitchen," Abe added as an afterthought to fill the silence between them. "That might be why he wanted you to come. Last year we ended up going hungry because our backup cans of beans exploded on the fire."
"Eh-eh-exploded?!" Mihashi yelped. His jaw dropped, eyes flew wide in imagined horror. "Th-that's dangerous-! Y-you could have been buh, buh, burned!"
Abe chuckled. "Yeah, we didn't think to open the cans. We're not exactly survivalists in this family. Save us from ourselves."
His father's loud voice boomed out over the lake, although they were too far off to hear the words. Abe hoped it was because they caught something, since otherwise it would spook all the fish – they did know fish could hear, right? They might actually not. He glanced back to Mihashi and was surprised to see him hunched over with his blushing face in his hands.
Wait – is he scared? Is he crying? What reaction is this? What did I do this time—?!
"Mihashi, what's wrong?" he called, then flinched when he realized his voice was too loud. Mihashi cringed down, clutching his face. A jolt of concern and annoyance caused Abe's expression to darken. He choked back his usual frustration and sucked in a deep breath, willing himself to shut up and wait. Sure enough, Mihashi began to mumble a string of barely-coherent words that Abe wished he could interpret as quickly as Tajima.
"Ah… Abe-kun… too kind… family… I'm in the way… I shouldn't have… brothers… it would be better… I can go… selfish…"
Abe sighed impatiently. "Hey, gimme your hand," he demanded. Mihashi's shoulders hunched up toward his reddening ears. He shivered despite the heat, not wanting to disobey a direct request.
After a drawn out moment of hesitation, he peeled one of his hands from his face and reached out shakily. His eyes remained screwed shut. His pitcher's calluses were rough to the touch, thin fingers trembling with nervous energy. Despite the sharpness in his tone, Abe took Mihashi's hand with surprising tenderness. It was a familiar gesture, and one Abe knew Mihashi drew comfort from.
"I asked you to come along. Obviously I want you to be here. You're never in the way." He rubbed his thumb across Mihashi's knuckles as he navigated the difficult labyrinth of phrasing. He was better at this than he used to be, but he was only human. One misstep would send Mihashi from 'a little insecure' to 'inconsolable full-blown panic mode', and it wasn't like his dad or brother knew how to talk him down. They didn't know how sensitive Mihashi was about being accepted.
When Mihashi didn't respond right away, Abe pressed further. "Why did you agree to go camping in the first place? Tell me. There must have been something you wanted to do while we were out here, right?"
Mihashi peeked through his fingers. "Um," he started softly. "I. Um. Didn't think. I'm selfish… I just wanted to b… be with Abe-kun. I like you. Remember?"
Abe smiled encouragingly. "Of course. I like you too, Mihashi-kun. I'm glad you're with me, even when it's not baseball."
Mihashi squeaked and sat up straight, eyelashes fluttering as he blinked rapidly. He seemed pleased to hear it aloud, as though he never expected to. Abe's smile faltered. It was easy enough to say casually, especially when it wasn't the first time they had that conversation. When Mihashi stared at him with such unguarded admiration, though, suddenly Abe found himself tongue-tied.
He cleared his throat, and let his gaze wander to the clear sky (even though he could feel Mihashi's honey-gold stare heating up his cheeks, and damn, why was it so hot today of all days? He would have taken his shirt off already if he hadn't thought that would make this ten times as awkward as it already was!)
"Baseball's pretty good," Abe said stupidly. Mihashi nodded vigorously. Their hands clasped a little tighter despite the sweat slick between them. "But, um," the catcher muttered gruffly. He was determined to get this out while they still had time alone. "I'm happy you came here, because I… I like you even more than baseball. Thought you should know."
He didn't realize Mihashi had moved until he felt his baseball cap being pushed back, and the resultant sunlight caused him to squint. He was cautiously still as chapped lips brushed against his sticky cheek – a fast and clumsy kiss landing nowhere near his mouth, and withdrawing before he could react. He could feel his blush deepening worse than any sunburn, but he didn't move to hide it, lest he startle the trembling boy holding his hand.
"Yeah, that's pretty good too," Abe murmured in a daze.
FILL: TEAM AOYAGI HAJIME/TESHIMA JUNTA, G
Mihashi Ren/Abe Takaya, Oofuri
because
--------
Cicadas droned hypnotically into the hot air, as the summer sun beat down mercilessly. It was already too warm for this sort of outing, but it was the only weekend they all had free, and it was a family tradition the men were too stubborn to flake on.
The surface of the lake shimmered and sparkled like diamonds, but it was blinding to actually look at. Colorful afterimages danced across his teary eyes as he stubbornly tried to anyway. Abe's mouth tugged into a frown, and he turned away from watching his father and brother steer the rental rowboat in confused circles. They were supposed to catch the fish, and then he and Mihashi would cook them, but he wasn't entirely confident that someone wouldn't get volunteered for a sunset run to the convenience store for onigiri or hot dogs or something. He swatted a mosquito against his sweaty arm and lamented that it would probably end up being him.
"Abe-kun," squeaked Mihashi next to him. They were both seated atop a grassy hill overlooking the lake. It would be shadier if they retreated to the tree line, but there were more insects there, so the direct sunlight was the lesser of two evils. They both sported their Nishiura High caps in a futile attempt to protect their faces from the unforgiving sun.
Abe leaned back onto his hands. The grass felt dry and brittle against his palms. They needed rain, not that they would get it. "Yes?" he prompted gruffly, upon seeing the pitcher's mouth work open and closed on breathless syllables. He looked a bit like a fish out of water. (He needed to stop thinking about fish, but he was hungry.)
"Um!" Mihashi spit out, cheeks flushed red. "I, um, A-A-Abe-kun, th… th-thank you…!"
Abe cracked a grin. "What, for inviting you along? I told you, it was my dad's idea. He takes me and Shun out camping one weekend a year, and this year he said you were welcome to tag along."
Mihashi dithered in place, blinking rapidly at the lake in front of them. His fingers were twisting together in his lap, playing with torn blades of grass.
Abe tilted his face into a slight breeze, desperate for anything to take the edge off the sweltering heat. His mouth watered at the thought of popsicles and air conditioning at the store. At this rate he would volunteer to go get dinner. The idiots on the lake were going to be sunburned to a crisp.
At least I'm not in catcher's gear, he noted wryly.
"I may have told my dad you're good in a kitchen," Abe added as an afterthought to fill the silence between them. "That might be why he wanted you to come. Last year we ended up going hungry because our backup cans of beans exploded on the fire."
"Eh-eh-exploded?!" Mihashi yelped. His jaw dropped, eyes flew wide in imagined horror. "Th-that's dangerous-! Y-you could have been buh, buh, burned!"
Abe chuckled. "Yeah, we didn't think to open the cans. We're not exactly survivalists in this family. Save us from ourselves."
His father's loud voice boomed out over the lake, although they were too far off to hear the words. Abe hoped it was because they caught something, since otherwise it would spook all the fish – they did know fish could hear, right? They might actually not. He glanced back to Mihashi and was surprised to see him hunched over with his blushing face in his hands.
Wait – is he scared? Is he crying? What reaction is this? What did I do this time—?!
"Mihashi, what's wrong?" he called, then flinched when he realized his voice was too loud. Mihashi cringed down, clutching his face. A jolt of concern and annoyance caused Abe's expression to darken. He choked back his usual frustration and sucked in a deep breath, willing himself to shut up and wait. Sure enough, Mihashi began to mumble a string of barely-coherent words that Abe wished he could interpret as quickly as Tajima.
"Ah… Abe-kun… too kind… family… I'm in the way… I shouldn't have… brothers… it would be better… I can go… selfish…"
Abe sighed impatiently. "Hey, gimme your hand," he demanded. Mihashi's shoulders hunched up toward his reddening ears. He shivered despite the heat, not wanting to disobey a direct request.
After a drawn out moment of hesitation, he peeled one of his hands from his face and reached out shakily. His eyes remained screwed shut. His pitcher's calluses were rough to the touch, thin fingers trembling with nervous energy. Despite the sharpness in his tone, Abe took Mihashi's hand with surprising tenderness. It was a familiar gesture, and one Abe knew Mihashi drew comfort from.
"I asked you to come along. Obviously I want you to be here. You're never in the way." He rubbed his thumb across Mihashi's knuckles as he navigated the difficult labyrinth of phrasing. He was better at this than he used to be, but he was only human. One misstep would send Mihashi from 'a little insecure' to 'inconsolable full-blown panic mode', and it wasn't like his dad or brother knew how to talk him down. They didn't know how sensitive Mihashi was about being accepted.
When Mihashi didn't respond right away, Abe pressed further. "Why did you agree to go camping in the first place? Tell me. There must have been something you wanted to do while we were out here, right?"
Mihashi peeked through his fingers. "Um," he started softly. "I. Um. Didn't think. I'm selfish… I just wanted to b… be with Abe-kun. I like you. Remember?"
Abe smiled encouragingly. "Of course. I like you too, Mihashi-kun. I'm glad you're with me, even when it's not baseball."
Mihashi squeaked and sat up straight, eyelashes fluttering as he blinked rapidly. He seemed pleased to hear it aloud, as though he never expected to. Abe's smile faltered. It was easy enough to say casually, especially when it wasn't the first time they had that conversation. When Mihashi stared at him with such unguarded admiration, though, suddenly Abe found himself tongue-tied.
He cleared his throat, and let his gaze wander to the clear sky (even though he could feel Mihashi's honey-gold stare heating up his cheeks, and damn, why was it so hot today of all days? He would have taken his shirt off already if he hadn't thought that would make this ten times as awkward as it already was!)
"Baseball's pretty good," Abe said stupidly. Mihashi nodded vigorously. Their hands clasped a little tighter despite the sweat slick between them. "But, um," the catcher muttered gruffly. He was determined to get this out while they still had time alone. "I'm happy you came here, because I… I like you even more than baseball. Thought you should know."
He didn't realize Mihashi had moved until he felt his baseball cap being pushed back, and the resultant sunlight caused him to squint. He was cautiously still as chapped lips brushed against his sticky cheek – a fast and clumsy kiss landing nowhere near his mouth, and withdrawing before he could react. He could feel his blush deepening worse than any sunburn, but he didn't move to hide it, lest he startle the trembling boy holding his hand.
"Yeah, that's pretty good too," Abe murmured in a daze.