Work Text:
He’s staring at you — again .
His gaze is smoldering, boring a hole into your forehead as if all he wants is to pluck the thoughts directly from your head. If only he could… But alas, he has to resort to simply stare at you — in secret.
Or so he thinks.
A soft giggle escapes your mouth; it’s kinda funny that Eijun Sawamura — soon-to-be ace of Seidou — thinks he’s being sneaky about it when he’s not. The fact that he’s not writing his essay anymore is a dead giveaway; but it’s the dreamy sighs that escape his mouth once in a while that are a telltale sign he’s totally not paying attention to his assignment.
You knew him best, after all. You had an entire year to learn his every move and you don’t need to look at him to picture his expression. His honey-brown eyes softened into gooey pools of puppy-sickness, a lopsided smile that grows wider with your every move, chin resting in the palm of his hand with his head tilted to the side.
Gods, he couldn’t be more obvious! You’re 99.9% sure Eijun Sawamura likes the hell out of you, but he’s too dense to notice why he’s acting so mushy around you. Zero awareness of his feelings. You were tempted to confess instead (since you obviously like him), but he’s not gonna get it. You pictured the scenario a thousand times in your head and every one of them ends in disaster.
“I like you, Eijun!”
“I like you, too, [name]-chan!”
“I like, like you!”
“I like, like you, too!”
UGH.
Maybe one day…
A small smile plants itself on your face as you stop writing. You’ve done this dance before, ever since you first introduced yourself to the entire team as a manager. Back then, it’s Sawamura’s expression that stuck out to you because his eyes widened slightly, surprised to see you there. Even though you were classmates, you’ve never spoken before and you doubted he paid any attention to anyone that wasn’t in the baseball team; but when your eyes met, it felt like he saw you properly for the first time.
Since you got first introduced, you’ve been inseparable, especially after you signed up as his tutor (he might be good at baseball, but he had really shitty grades). And, over time, you’ve become aware of something: that someone is staring at you insistently in class. That your every move is closely surveilled during team practice. That you can barely eat with the rest of the team without a gaze burning your back.
Every stare came from a certain junior southpaw; not like it was hard to catch him in the act. Eijun was bad at hiding, plain and simple. Either he didn’t realize you caught him so he continues to stare at you till he finally notices (which might take a while). Or he made it too obvious that he wasn’t looking because he’d keep glancing back at you to make sure you’re not looking at him anymore.
Always with a blush on his face, mind.
And it’s not just the staring. A lot of his teammates told you that he’s louder when you ’re around, like he’s trying to catch your attention (he certainly does). Or that he’s first looking in the stands to see if you’re there to watch him pitch (when he does notice you, he starts waving and shouting your name, “WATCH ME!” — totally embarrassing, but he’s a doofus so you can never be mad at him). He’s very attentive and often brings you your favorite snack during tutoring lessons. He walks you back to the dorm at night, even if it interferes with his practice. Not even a busy day can stop him — Eijun always makes time to visit you and say, “Hi” despite his teammates yelling at him.
It’s all these little things that made you develop a crush on him in the first place. You highly doubted it’s unrequited, but at the same time, what if you read all the signs wrong? Maybe Eijun is just super friendly (and he is, don’t get me wrong) and he’s treating you like any other baseball member. Getting rejected like that — embarrassing !
So, you stayed put, enjoying the time spent with your favorite not-yet ace.
Like today — you two were the only ones in class, sitting face to face, helping Eijun with an essay he forgot about. Instead of writing it, though, he was staring. Intensely , you might add, like he had something to say, but he was too afraid to actually voice it.
You almost snorted at the idea: Eijun Sawamura, afraid ? He was the most outspoken person you knew; if he had something to say, he would’ve surely said it by now. And no, you don’t wanna get your hopes up, he’s definitely not gonna confess!
What you’ve also learned in time was that you loved to tease him. After figuring out his secret, you’d purposely look in his direction but at a totally random thing, not directly at him. Seeing him all flustered was always funny to you, and it’s exactly what you want to do right now. You lift your head, pretending to look out the window at the setting sun instead of him, the tip of the pen pressed against your lips. You catch a glimpse of his love-struck expression before it quickly turns into surprise — did you see him ? he probably thinks. As an extra precaution, Eijun pretends he wasn’t shamelessly staring at your face by looking anywhere else than you, mouth hidden by his fingers, brows furrowed, a small blush staining his freckled cheeks. And yet he can’t help himself; he keeps glancing back at you to see what you’re doing, intrigued by the growing smile on your face.
“Eijun…” you say, amusement clear in your voice. Your eyes shift towards him as the boy flinches, body frozen like a deer in the headlights. “You’re staring again.”
“Urk!” he chokes, his blush deepening slightly. “No, I wasn’t!” You give him a serious stare that makes him even more flustered. He quickly jumps in with excuses, gesticulating and stuttering with each word, “I—I wanted to see if you were working on your homework and then I got distracted by your beauty and I started thinking about practice, you know, and how Wolf Boy wants to catch for me and—”
The more he went on, the less sense he made. But you weren’t listening anymore, stuck on something he fleetingly said: “You think I’m beautiful?” you interrupt him, brushing a few loose strands of hair from your face in embarrassment, cheeks flaming. You’re trying to tease him but at the same time, your voice is quivering with emotion, heart racing — he never called you beautiful before .
“GAAAAAHHH!” Eijun suddenly yells, playing his speech back and noticing his slip-up. “YOU DIDN’T HEAR ANYTHING!” The southpaw pitcher stands up abruptly from his seat, slamming his books close and pointing an accusing finger at you. “FORGET I SAID ANYTHING!” When you start laughing at his reaction, he gets even redder and more (playfully) annoyed. “LOOK!” He gestures vaguely in the window’s direction at the sunset, toning down his voice while obviously trying to distract you. “It’s already late, we should go back to the dorm!” He doesn’t wait for your response, shoving his papers and notebooks and books into his bag haphazardly.
“But, Eijun, you didn’t finish—” you start, following his lead at a slower pace.
“LATER! We have to go!”
Oh, a flustered Sawamura Eijun was always a treat for the eyes. He was just so adorable! You could watch him for hours as he tries to find excuses for his behavior with those red cheeks of his — but he sees you’re ready and gently grabs your wrist, tugging you after him. You can barely keep up with his brisk step and you call out his name, begging him to slow down. “Sorry,” he mumbles, avoiding looking you in the eyes but still keeping a tight grip on your hand.
Ah, his hand is so warm… It almost feels like you’re a couple as you’re walking down the empty corridors of the school; but no, it’d be a mistake to get your hopes up. You’re just holding hands as friends, right? Platonically. People do that. You’re sure Eijun doesn’t even realize what he’s doing. But wait — he reads shoujo manga, no? He must’ve been aware of —
No. NO! Don’t fall into the rabbit hole. The only thing that matters is that you’re actually holding his calloused hand in yours, after all this time pining. You’re not even worried about people seeing you, that’s how happy you are. They can make fun of you two as much as they want, you’re not gonna let Eijun go.
At the same time, you’re wondering: what is he thinking? Does he even realize what this means? You’re starting to get suspicious, especially when he suggests going the long route to the dorm by the river. He slows down the pace and you take the opportunity to admire the scenery before you, a slow summer breeze ruffling your hair and skirt. You two walk in silence, which was highly unusual for Eijun, but you enjoy the moment of peace, the warmth of his palm searing your own. He looks thoughtful, brows furrowed slightly, eyes focused on the ground — now’s your turn to stare at him, admiring his fluffy brown hair, the golden tint of his eyes, the softness of his lips.
It would be so easy to stop him in his tracks and confess. You can picture it: he’d turn his cute little head to look at you, inquiring and kind. You’d tiptoe to reach him, a warm hand on his shoulder, and press your lips against his — the clearest sign you can think of that you’re romantically interested in him. Eijun’s face would explode into a blush and he’d stammer something incoherent…
You snap out of the daydream, a soft laugh bubbling up your throat. This entire thing felt ridiculous, like a scene from one of Eijun’s favorite shoujo manga.
If only he’d use that in real life…
The moment is coming to an end, though; with a sinking heart, you realize you’re getting closer and closer to the dorm. Your anxiety hikes: you don’t want this moment to ever end. In your panic, you squeeze his hand. Eijun immediately senses it and turns his head to give you a curious look, to which you explain hurriedly with the first thing that pops into your head, “It feels like we’re in a shoujo manga.” You don’t want to tell him the real reason, but at the same time, this isn’t any better.
Eijun tilts his head cutely to the side, inquiring. “What do you mean?” Great, now you have to find a semi-decent reason. ‘ Here goes nothing ,’ you think, an idea popping into your head. As an answer to his question, you lift your entwined hands to his line of sight; when he sees it, he balks.
“ACK!” the southpaw shouts, letting go of your hand quickly, which is not what you intended. “SORRY! I DIDN’T NOTICE!!”
You interrupt him by giggling out loud, amused by his reaction. “Hey, if you want to hold my hand that badly, Ei-chan, you can just ask.”
“WHAT?!” His eyes are wide as saucers, his mouth a perfect ‘O’, his face burning. Then, he notices your smile and simmers down; a smile mirroring your own. “You’re teasing me, aren’t you?”
A shrug. “It could be real.”
He opens his mouth. Closes it. He laughs slightly, unsure how to react, how to respond. After a few seconds, he replies with: “...What are you talking about?” It’s cute how he looks at you, with that soft, but confused gaze. Even now, he can’t seem to imagine that you two can be more than classmates, that he cares about you romantically.
Can you make him realize?
You step up to him, invading his comfort zone, your hands behind your back. Surprisingly, Eijun doesn’t flinch or pull away, but he still gives you that confused look. You don’t say anything as you stare into his golden-flecked eyes, only making him more nervous. After a few moments, you can see his eyes widening slightly as he searches your face for a hint at what you want; but more often than not, his gaze rests on your lips as if he’s seriously considering kissing you…
Your mouth curls into a smile, which only deepens his blush — just what are you planning? He doesn’t know, but it’s still a wake up call for him because he loves your scent, he adores the way your eyes sparkle, he’s enamored with your smile. It’s not the first time these thoughts crept into his head, but it’s the first time he’s ever acknowledged them in his mind.
And it tilted his world.
“I loved holding your hand, Bakamura,” you whisper, your breath tickling his lips funnily. But before he can protest, you shut him up by pressing your mouth against his sun-tanned cheek. A spark goes through his entire body and he feels faint — he’s been kissed on the cheek before by his mom, by his friends, but it never felt like this. Your lips were so close to the corner of his mouth, if he tilted his head just slightly, he’d…
Kiss you…?
Butterflies in his stomach, he’s very aware that he wants to kiss you badly . You smell so sweet, it overloads his senses and all he can focus on is you and your rosy cheeks, shiny lips, perfect hair, rising chest. Eijun slightly raises his hand, aiming to grab your arm and pull you closer, but it hovers uncertainly —
And then the moment ends way too soon. You pull back, that same teasing smile on your face, “Do it whenever you like, ‘kay?”
“Huh?” The southpaw snaps awake, realizing you’re not close to him anymore and he can’t smell or touch you. It feels like a gap opened in his chest and he’s missing your presence (though you’re right there!) as if nothing else matters in the world. You’re awaiting his responses, he knows it, but he can’t form any coherent thoughts other than, “Yeah, uh-huh.”
A giggle leaves your mouth; you totally broke him! You wonder if he started considering you as more than friends, but you don’t wanna linger. “My stop’s here. I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”
Eijun just nods; with one squeeze of his hand that he barely registers, you skip away to your own dorm, leaving him to his thoughts. His golden-tinted eyes follow your form till you disappear from sight — it’s only when he can’t see you anymore that his body starts moving on autopilot towards his own room. He can’t even hear people calling out to him, his only thought being your lips, your lips, your lips —
Eijun arrives in front of his room and opens the door, closing it with a loud THUD behind him. The noise attracts his roommates’ attention, who stare at the newcomer with confused faces. Because the first thing they expect for Sawamura to do when he sees them is to grin widely and yell “LET’S PRACTICE!” at the top of his lungs.
But he’s not; instead, the southpaw is resting his back on the door, a hand pressed to his chest to still his fluttering heart. He’s breathing hard, the spot where you kissed him burning his skin — he just can’t understand what the fuck’s going on! Why does he feel this way? It’s like he’s seeing his classmate in a whole new light, yet these heartwarming feelings felt familiar, not unknown. Like he nurtured them for a while.
‘ Why didn’t he kiss her? ’ He finds himself thinking, feeling sick and nervous and anxious. Because he’s fucking stupid, that’s why. Now what he’s supposed to do?
“Oy, Sawamura, are you okay?” Kuramochi asks, a worried expression on his face. The brown-haired boy lifts his head, his gaze unfocused for a second, before he realizes that both the hitter and the junior pitcher are looking at him with confused expressions.
“You look out of it, Senpai,” Amada supplies helpfully.
Eijun opens his mouth, trying to find his words — “I—” but it’s hard when he doesn’t know exactly what he’s feeling. So, he does the one thing he’s good at: ask for help. “Cheetah, can you help me with something?” His voice is low, barely audible; the anomaly of it immediately raises Kuramochi’s alarms and he straightens his back, ready to listen.
“...What is it?”
Yoichi doesn’t expect this : “Why do I feel this strange tickle in my chest whenever I think of [name]?” Eijun rubs at the spot, brows scrunched cutely, as if to emphasize his point. “My stomach feels funny, but I’m not sick, I swear! When I think of kissing her, my face starts to burn and my heart’s beating faster, I—” He stops, taking a deep, shuddering breath. “I don’t understand.”
His hand is still warm from touching you. It felt so natural to hold your hand and — dare he admit it — he wanted to do that for some time now. Lately, his head’s been filled with thoughts of you, not baseball, like you’ve invaded his mind and never left. It was weird, but he’s always thinking of your sparkly eyes and shiny hair, your rosy cheeks and ruby lips.
His slip-up was only a small fraction of what he actually thought of you. But even if he did grab your hand in embarrassment, it felt right.
Why?
“...” Mochi and Asada glance at each other for a few seconds, then the batter heaves a deep sigh. “You’re in love,” he tells Sawamura matter of factly, as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world.
“Yep,” Asada nods, smiling encouragingly as Eijun’s eyes widen in shock, as if the concept of loving someone is foreign to him. “Sounds like you’re in love with [Last Name]-san.”
A heartbeat as Eijun’s brain processed his roommates' words. Then —
“EEEEEEH?!”
Kuramochi immediately bristles, yelling, “LOWER YOUR VOICE, BAKAMURA!”
“I’M IN LOVE WITH [NAME]?!” It made so much sense; why didn’t he think of that before? But it’s like a weight lifted off his chest and a bright, sunny smile spread on his face. “I’M IN LOVE WITH [NAME]!”
“SAWA—”
The door suddenly opens, pushing Eijun out of the way. Miyuki, Haruichi, and Furuya enter the room, curious to see what the fuss was all about.
“What’s going on?” the pink-haired boy asks, cringing at Eijun’s loud voice.
“I’M IN LOVE WITH [NAME]!” The southpaw was repeating the same stuff, but he just couldn’t believe it was true — it opened new doors in his world and he was so happy, the southpaw started doing a little dance, jumping and throwing punches in the air. “HAHAHA!”
“YOU’RE BEING TOO LOUD!” Kuramochi couldn’t take it any more and grabbed Eijun, grappling him on the ground. Not even that could dampen Eijun’s enthusiasm, as he continued to laugh maniacally.
“Well, well,” Miyuki sighs, a shit-eating grin on his face. “Sawamura is all grown up now.”
“...Too loud.” Furuya mutters, feeling sleepy.
“LET ME GO, CHEETAH!” Eijun is fighting for his life, struggling more than he usually does when in Kuramochi’s embrace. “
“WHY FOR?”
“I WANT TO TELL HER I LOVE HER!”
“Idiot,” the catcher clicks his tongue. “You have to choose a better moment. Girls like romantic stuff.”
Sawamura glares at his teammate, mumbling, “As if you’d know…” Miyuki Kazuya was always indifferent to other females, so what did he know of confessing? Eijun read hundreds of shoujo manga before, he knows every pattern, every scenario to a wonderful scenario. And one of them involves the main male character going after the female love interest when he realizes he loves her.
“Miyuki’s right, you can’t rush to her dorm right now without a proper confession,” Haruichi adds, sitting down on the bed.
Eijun huffs, settling down. “But why wait? I just need to tell her I love her, right?”
“It’s not that simple, Eijun-kun…”
“Girls love it when you do a big gesture, like give her flowers or declare your love in a grandiose way,” Miyuki says, grinning slyly. He knew what makes Eijun tick and he was right: the last part seems to make Eijun perk up, an idea forming in his head.
“YOSHI!” Eijun suddenly slips out of Mochi’s grasp and closes his fists, pumped up. “Thank you, guys! I’ll think of something.”
“Aren’t you afraid of rejection?” Asada asks, his last desire to dampen Eijun’s enthusiasm.
He doesn’t succeed, though. “No way!” Eijun’s grin is bright and sneaky, as if he knows something the rest don’t. “How can [name] resist me?”
Everyone: “...Right.”