Merry Christmas to @musicprincess655 from your Secret Santa for the @fydaiyanoace Secret Santa exchange!~
Finally finished some last touch ups on this, so I really hope you like this piece. MiSawa is my #1 OTP in the fandom, so I hope I did them justice to give them a nice Christmas together. Enjoy~
super excited to post my gift for @pandajelo for the @fydaiyanoace secret santa event!
i really hope you enjoy the 2 boyfriends enjoying a walk in autumn! i based the drawing on the prompts “autumn” and “soulmate au” and had tons of fun making it!! 😊
This is my holiday gift for @sharl0t for the @fydaiyanoace holiday exchange. I hope you like it I enjoyed making it for you! It's Christmas break at Seido and the school has been hit with a massive snowstorm. Sawamura is insistent on showing Miyuki and Kuramochi how he had fun in the snow growing up in Nagano. Mochi grumbled he'd rather play video games and Miyuki wanted to get caught up on his game notes but neither of them could ignore Sawamura who was determined to get them out. He dragged them to the equipment shed to remove the tubing from the truck tires and led them to the large hill leading down to the practice field. The snow was about 6 inches deep and felt like powder. It sparkled and shimmered and they stood at the top of the hill gazing out over their beloved field. "Let's go!" Sawamura yelled as he jumped on his tube to sled down. Miyuki couldn't help but chuckle. The things his kouhai came up with always amazed him. Mochi grudgingly followed, he wasn't a fan of heights or snow but he had to admit it was a rush flying down the hill. They kept it up for hours until too exhausted for one more trip. After dinner and a super hot bath they collapsed on the floor of room 5 into a deep sleep.
I also took part in @fydaiyanoace‘s secret santa gift exchange. This fic is for @miyukei. It was inspired by this post I saw awhile back so, I hope you like! (also available on AO3)
“And you’re sure you can come?”
“Am I sure that I can come to a wedding I said I would attend?”
“Oi.”
“Yes, yes, yes. I’m coming, I promise,” Kazuya said into his cellphone.
“One yes is fine. Don’t mock me you bastard,” Kuramochi replied.
“Ok, mother.”
“Hey, there’s nothing wrong with making sure that the guy who’s notorious for skipping out on things like this will actually show up this time.”
“You still can’t use the ‘f’ word?”
“Miyuki.”
“We’re friends, it’s okay. You can say it.”
“Miyuki.”
“And it’s not like I’m skipping on purpose. I just have things to take care of first.”
“It won’t kill you to say hi every now and then.”
“You of all people should know how busy a baseball player can be.”
“And you should’ve learned by now how important it is to balance your work and social lives. I’m not saying you’re a workaholic, and I’m not saying you’re not allowed to put in extra practice. I’m just saying that—”
“Congratulations on your wedding,” Kazuya interrupted.
“…Thanks,” Kuramochi said, reluctantly dropping the subject. Kazuya was grateful that Kuramochi knew when to stop.
“So? Who’s all invited?”
“You actually want to know? Or are you looking for a specific person?”
“Why do you bother asking if you know the answer to your own question?”
“Why are we even friends?” Kuramochi muttered. “Yes, Sawamura is coming.”
“How do you know that’s the person I was looking for? What if I was asking about Tetsu-san?”
“Haha, hilarious,” Kuramochi sarcastically retorted. “It’s funny you should mention him though. Because he should be there soon.”
“There? There where? What does that mean?”
Suddenly, Kazuya’s front door burst open with a loud blam! revealing Sawamura Eijun, just like Kuramochi predicted.
“Miyuki Kazuya! Please be my fiancé!” Sawamura shouted, bending into a deep bow.
Kazuya blinked a couple of times. “…Be your what now?”
For whatever reason, Sawamura took Kazuya’s confusion as an invitation to enter his apartment. “I need you to pretend to be my lover so we can test wedding cakes!” Sawamura explained.
“…What?”
“Kyahahaha!” Kazuya jumped at the sound of Kuramochi’s boisterous laughter. He had almost forgotten that he was still on the phone. “I’ll take that to mean Sawamura is there?”
“…You sent him here?”
“I could only book a cake tasting appointment for today, but Ryou-san and I can’t make it. So I asked Sawamura to go and to take you with him.”
“Why?”
“Because the bakery owner is expecting a couple, so I need two people to stand in for us. Ryou-san’s not too fond of sweet stuff and neither are you, so it’s perfect. And what better way for you to spend time with your secret crush?”
Kazuya blushed. “He’s not my secret crush,” he aggressively whispered.
“Oh, right. Everyone knows except the man himself.” Kuramochi laughed again. “Have fun and you’re welcome,” were his final words before ending the call.
Kazuya glared down at his phone, as if it was the source of all his problems. Technically speaking, it really was the source considering this only happened because he answered Kuramochi’s call.
“Come on senpai! Let’s go!” Sawamura grabbed Kazuya’s arm and started trying to pull him towards the front door.
Kazuya knew fighting back was childish, but he was in no mood for this. It also annoyed him how much effort he had to put into fight back. Why did this guy have to be so strong? “Hold on now, I didn’t even say I’d go with you.”
“Why not? It’ll be fun!”
“For you, maybe.”
“But I can’t go by myself!”
“Then just ask someone else! Why do you need me?”
“Kuramochi-senpai is one of the few friends you have! You can at least do something nice for him!”
“Stop thinking I have no friends you rude little shit!”
“I’m not little! We’re basically the same height, tanuki bastard!”
“Nosey loud mouth!”
“Antisocial loner!”
“Shoujo manga otaku!”
“Kazehaya is 10 times cooler than you’ll ever be!”
“Who the hell is Kazehaya??”
“Why are you even fighting me anyway?” Sawamura whined. “It not like you had anything to do.”
“Says who? What if I had practice today?”
“Guess you don’t pay attention to the weather,” Sawamura replied. He pointed at the balcony and sure enough, it was pouring outside.
“It’s not even typhoon season,” Kazuya angrily muttered.
“So now that we’ve proven you have no plans, can we go?”
“But I still have to do research for my next match.”
“No you don’t, your game isn’t until next week.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because you’re playing my team.”
Kazuya clicked his tongue. He had forgotten Sawamura earned a sports scholarship into university. “Then all the more reason not to go.”
“What? Why?!”
“Because you’re the enemy.”
“Oh please, you’d jump at the chance to get any information on a rival team so you can use it against them. Are you forgetting that I spent 2 years with you?”
Apparently, Sawamura was more observant that he looked and Kazuya had run out of excuses to throw at him. “Well…I’m still not going. You can’t make me,” Kazuya lamely finished. He tried again to pull himself free from Sawamura’s grasp, but it wasn’t working. What on earth was Sawamura doing that gave him such a strong grip?
“No!” Sawamura let go of Kazuya’s arm briefly, only to reattach himself to Kazuya’s chest. He wrapped his arms as far as they could go causing his cheek to mash into Kazuya’s back from the proximity. If he wasn’t trying to escape, Kazuya’s heart might’ve skipped a beat.
Kazuya was able to shuffle along the apartment floor to his bedroom through sheer will power, which was a considerable victory seeing as how he had to drag Sawamura the entire way. He clung to his bedroom door frame, hoping the open doorway could give him some leverage and used all his effort to push himself away from Sawamura.
“Senpai, it’s just a few hours!”
“I said no!”
“I promise I’ll leave you alone after this!”
“That’s not the point. I don’t want to go, so I’m not going!”
“Meanie! Cruel! Heartless bastard! Baldy!”
“I’m not bald and you’re pulling down my pants!”
“Is it that bad that I wanted to see you?”
“You…huh?” Sawamura’s question caught him off guard.
“Is it that bad I wanted to see you?” Sawamura repeated in a quieter voice.
“…What do you mean?”
“We never see each other, we don’t even talk anymore, Miyuki-senpai.” Sawamura’s head turned so his forehead was resting against Kazuya’s back. Sawamura’s grip around him slackened too, but he couldn’t bring himself to pull away. “I mean, it’s not really your fault since we go to different schools, but you still have time for Kuramochi-senpai. And I know you send Chris-senpai emails. You even saw Haruichi and Furuya a few days ago.”
“How did you…?”
“Furuya told me.”
“Ah…”
“…Do you even remember the last time we met?” Sawamura asked in an even smaller voice. Sawamura didn’t let Kazuya respond and answered himself. “A year ago. When you came to watch my game at nationals.”
“That’s not—”
“Yes it is! You didn’t even come to see me graduate.”
“…That’s just your imagination.”
“Then prove it. When was the last time we had a proper conversation?”
“…”
“Is baseball, being battery mates, really all we have?”
“…”
“If I had known that you were just going to avoid me, I wouldn’t have let you kiss me back then.”
Kazuya finally pulled away from Sawamura so he could turn around and look at the other man. Sawamura wouldn’t meet Kazuya’s gaze, his eyes downcast and his face a mixture of disappointment and frustration. Kazuya awkwardly rubbed at the back of his neck, unsure of how to proceed in this kind of situation.
No one else knew, but Kazuya had in fact been actively avoiding Sawamura for this very reason. It all started the day Seidou was in the national tournament and he had gone to support his underclassmen. He’d never forget the bittersweet memory of Seidou winning the finals and not being on the field with them. But more than that, he had Sawamura’s bright smile and glowing face forever etched into his mind and his brain telling him ‘that smile isn’t meant for you.’ He remembered going to see Sawamura privately to congratulate him, but the actual conversation was all a blur. The last thing he remembered from that day was Sawamura’s look of shock and the realization of what he’d just done.
Before he could take it back, the team had found them, giving him the chance to shake it off, as if nothing had happened. It wasn’t until he went back to his apartment that he finally understood the meaning behind his actions. It felt relieving to put a name to the feeling, but also terrifying to the point that he couldn’t, wouldn’t, admit it out loud. He knew sooner or later, Sawamura would come asking for an explanation. So, he took the easier route: he ran.
“For the record, I only saw Kominato and Furuya by coincidence the other day,” Kazuya said, breaking the silence.
“So then why do I have to barge into your life just to get you to look at me?”
“Because you want answers that I don’t have for you.”
“Why’d you do it if you were going to regret it?”
“It was a moment of impulse,” Kazuya replied. “You don’t have to take it so seriously.”
“Yes I do, you abandoned me because of it.”
“You’re exaggerating.”
“Then why aren’t I in your life anymore?” Sawamura finally raised his head, the pleading in his eyes making Kazuya’s resolve crumble. He grabbed at Kazuya’s shoulders, slightly trembling. “We don’t have to talk about the kiss. I won’t mention it again. If that’s what you want, we can pretend it never happened. Just don’t leave me!”
The seriousness started to make Kazuya uncomfortable. “Why so dramatic, Sawamura? Where’s the kouhai who insults me and flips the bird?”
“He’s still here, but so am I. I left my hometown just so I could play baseball with you. I got a scholarship into university so I could find you again, even though I’m terrible at studying…I’ve been chasing you down for 4 years trying to make you look at me. I’m not going to stop now.”
Sawamura’s firm gaze sent chills down Kazuya spine. Not out of fear, but from nostalgia and excitement. He had missed the intensity, the fire glowing inside Sawamura’s eyes. The fight and determination emanating from them. The look he always had right before they would face a skilled batter. Kazuya loved these eyes so much that he hated himself for how much he loved them.
“Alright. You win,” Kazuya sighed in defeat.
Sawamura’s face lit up. “You’ll come?”
“Sure, why not? Apparently, I don’t have a good enough excuse to not eat cake until I throw up.”
Sawamura threw himself onto Kazuya, enveloping him in a bear hug. Kazuya had to quickly brace himself for the extra weight before they toppled over. “You won’t regret it, I promise!”
“I don’t know about that,” Kazuya muttered. “It’s just you, me and the owner for a few hours, right? It can’t be that bad.”
“If there’s a god, he hates me,” Kazuya mumbled as he stared up at the ceiling.
He made a mental note to chew out Kuramochi later, because clearly there was no reason for them to pretend they were a couple. As it turned out, it wasn’t just Sawamura, Kazuya and the bakery owner. The cake tasting session wasn’t private and was shared with three other groups: a man and woman, a couple of ladies and an elderly man who had come by himself. Much to his growing dismay, the two women were giggling about how ‘adorable’ he and Sawamura were and congratulated them on their engagement. As if adding salt to the wound, Sawamura bashfully held Kazuya’s hand when thanking the girls, even going so far as to intertwine their fingers. His only small consolation was that the other young man looked just as uncomfortable with the whole ordeal as he was.
“Next, we have a more traditional western style vanilla cake infused with rose water, coated in a champagne buttercream frosting,” The bakery owner said as plates of cake were passed out. “We decorate the cake with chocolate covered strawberries so we’ve included a few of those to try as well.”
Kazuya was thankful that this one wasn’t as sweet as the last few they had tried. It gave his taste buds at least a little break.
“Miyuki-senpai! You have to try the strawberries!” Sawamura excitedly held one up to Kazuya’s face.
Kazuya tilted head back and put a hand up in front of the strawberry. “I’m good, thanks.”
Sawamura used one hand to grab Kazuya’s and hold it down on the table, bringing the strawberry right in front of Kazuya’s mouth with the other. “You’ll like it, I promise! Look, this one has dark chocolate on it so it not as sweet.”
Kazuya glanced over at the other tables to see that all eyes were on them. Even though he was so used to being in the spotlight, he had never felt so uncomfortable from people staring at him. “Okay, okay. Just put it on my plate. I’ll try it later.”
Sawamura tilted his head as if to say, ‘Come on, it’s just a strawberry,’ letting Kazuya know he wasn’t backing down any time soon. Kazuya heard the giggling, but he also knew he couldn’t win against Sawamura’s stubbornness and reluctantly took a bite of the fruit.
“So?” Sawamura asked.
Kazuya hated that smug smile that said Sawamura already knew the answer. So like any childish man in his twenties, he got even. “It was good, thanks babe. Here, you try.” He took the half-eaten strawberry from Sawamura’s fingers and turned it around so it was facing Sawamura.
Sawamura’s face went a light shade of pink and Kazuya smirked in satisfaction. “I…I already tried it.”
“But not this specific one. This could be the best strawberry in the entire world and you’ll never know.”
“I can feed myself.”
“But I need to return the favour.”
The combination of Sawamura’s blush and pout was just too adorable, Kazuya almost gave in. Luckily for him, Sawamura squeezed his eyes shut and took a bite before he did. Sawamura wouldn’t look him in the eye as he chewed and Kazuya could feel those dumb lovesick feelings of his bubbling up again. He silently cursed his past self and the day he started thinking Sawamura was cute.
“Our next cake is more suited for those who like things less sweet,” The shop owner explained. “Similar to a green tea swiss roll cake, it is a green tea sponge cake with whipped cream and red bean paste in the centre. The top we decorate with a thin layer of dark chocolate, some more whipped cream and dusted with some green tea powder.”
Sawamura dove right into the cake as soon as it was set down on the table. “Mmm, this one is good too!”
“You think they all taste good.”
“But they do! Man, this is going to be a tough decision.”
“Thanks for your input, Captain Obvious.” Kazuya shook his head and took a bite of his own slice. He thought this cake was milder in flavour when compared to the other cakes they tried, but the one with the champagne frosting tasted better. He made a mental note of it so he could tell Kuramochi later.
“I think I like the first one better,” Sawamura said.
“We’re not getting that one,” Kazuya immediately answered.
“Do you even remember which cake is the first one we tried?”
“No. But I remember it was really sweet. So we’re not getting it.”
“But it was pretty too…,” Sawamura whined.
“Would Ryousuke-san like it?”
“…He’d probably want the champagne one,” Sawamura reluctantly replied.
“That’s what I thought too.”
“Next up is an entremets dessert inspired cake. The base is our chocolate coffee cake, a devil’s food cake with espresso buttercream coated in chocolate. On top we have a croquembouche and decorating the sides of the base, we have little macarons in an assortment of flavours. We have a few for you to try, but if you select this cake, you are free to choose whichever flavours of macarons you’d like.”
“Why so many different parts to this one?” The woman with the man asked.
“We thought this one was a way to please both young and old. The little ones can enjoy the sweetness of the profiteroles and macarons while your more mature guest can savour the richness of the coffee cake.”
Sawamura turned to Kazuya. “That’s pretty clever. Maybe we should consider this one, Miyuki-senpai.”
“It’s food for thought,” Kazuya agreed.
Sawamura bit into one of the profiteroles and his eyes immediately lit up. “Miyuki! It tastes like a cream puff!”
“That’s because it is a cream puff.”
“I thought it was a…pr-profit-pro…whatever she said.”
“Yeah…that’s what a cream puff is called.”
“Ooooohh…we should get this one!”
“You haven’t even tried the actual cake.”
“But cream puffs are great! And I don’t know what these are, but they look pretty,” Sawamura said as he held up a macaron. “You know what would be fun? If the colour of these things didn’t match the flavour, so it’s like a guessing game.”
“I think that’s asking a little much from the bakers.”
“Oh, oh! And switch it up between the colours too! Like one yellow macaron is cherry flavoured and a different yellow one tastes like vanilla!” One of the girl’s chimed in.
“That way, no one can figure out which macaron is which. They just get a surprise every time!” Her friend finished.
“Yeah! See? They know how to have fun, senpai,” Sawamura chided. “You know what would be even better? If we put in some bad ones, like that ‘Bean Boozled’ game where the jelly beans taste like boogers and…” Before Kazuya could stop him, Sawamura had migrated to the next table over to discuss…grass clipping flavours cookies? He didn’t even know.
Even so, Kazuya couldn’t help but watch Sawamura as he so joyously chatted with the ladies at the table next to them. He didn’t even realize a smile was growing on his face until he turned his head and noticed the elderly man smiling warmly at him. He quickly straightened out, hoping the man wouldn’t say anything.
“That lovebug got you pretty hard, didn’t it?”
Kazuya sighed. Today was just not his day. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“When a man likes watching someone else have fun more than enjoying himself, that’s when he’s a goner.”
“To be fair, I’m not big on sweets.”
“So then you’re whipped enough that he can sucker you into things you hate.”
“I’m not whipped,” Kazuya said defensively.
“If I had one of them fancy smartphones, I’d be using that whip app right now.”
Kazuya grumbled as the elderly man just softly laughed at him. “Now, now. I’m just teasing. It’s always nice to see a young love like yours.”
“It’s not what you think it is.”
“Nonsense. Believe me, I understand it well. Loud, impulsive, unpredictable, but charming in his own way. Someone special who you can’t seem to take your eyes off of.”
“…Maybe you do get it.”
“Because it’s just like when I first fell in love with my husband. We were just so different, no one thought we were a good match. And yet here we are, 60 years later.”
“Husband?”
“Is a gay couple really that shocking? Have you not noticed who you’re here with?”
This wise-cracking old guy was starting to get on Kazuya’s nerves. Was this how people felt when they got angry with him? “I’m aware, I just didn’t think there were people so open about homosexual relationships. And for the record, we’re not together.”
“That’s called ‘denial’. And I wasn’t at first, it terrified me.”
“Of the prejudice?”
“Of falling in love.” Kazuya stayed silent, allowing the old man to continue. “I mean sure, the stares are uncomfortable and some people are just down right awful. But the real scary part was letting him in.”
“Him?”
“My partner,” said the man. “As a calculated person, he was the wild card in my life. He was full of surprises, but not unpleasantly so. That was the fun part: seeing how he would surprise me next.”
“The day I realized my feelings, I kissed him on impulse…only to run away because I panicked. But he just came right back, barrelling himself into my life. And we’ve been together ever since.”
The elderly man leaned in and put a hand on Kazuya’s back. “Listen here, son. Life is a long journey. Now, you can go down the highway and have a nice, fast trip to your destination, there’s nothing wrong with that. But if you don’t take the long way every now and then, take an unexpected detour, you’re going to miss out on the beautiful scenery. You might even find a gem, something better than you ever anticipated.”
“Sometimes, it’s okay to stray off the path a little. Don’t think too hard and just enjoy the ride.”
Kazuya found himself looking at Sawamura as he soaked in the elderly man’s words. It was a weird coincidence how this man’s life seemed a lot like his own, and yet it also felt like a sign. A nudge towards a choice he never thought he’d take, but wanted a lot more than he thought he did.
“We are now onto our final cake of the day and it’s our newest recipe,” the owner said, shaking Kazuya out of his deep thought. “It is a cherry blossom infused angel food cake with whipped cream and strawberries in the centre. We drizzle the top with chili infused chocolate and decorate with more whipped cream and strawberries.”
Kazuya sat back up and thanked the employee who passed out the cake slices. Now wasn’t the time to get life lessons from strange old men. Not when there was just one cake between him and freedom. His taste buds were probably numb by now but who cared? He had at least a few cakes he could recommend to Kuramochi.
Kazuya cut a bite of cake with his fork and placed the cake in his mouth. And all he felt was disappointment that this wasn’t the first cake they tried. If it was, they wouldn’t have needed to waste their time with all the other cakes. It wasn’t overly sweet, the strawberries added a nice tartness, and the touch of heat from the chili made an excellent combination. It was the first time Kazuya could genuinely say he liked cake.
“This one,” Sawamura blurted out. Kazuya didn’t even realize Sawamura had slid back into the seat next to him. “This is the one. We have to get this one!” The little bit of chocolate smeared on Sawamura’s face only added to the charm of his childlike glee. This damn lovebug.
Kazuya smiled. “I’m glad we agree on something.” He reached out for Sawamura’s face to wipe off the chocolate by Sawamura’s mouth with his thumb. Without even thinking, he pulled his hand back to lick off the chocolate off his finger. It was only when he saw Sawamura’s blush that he clued in to what he had done. Kazuya felt a blush of his own creeping onto his face that only grew darker when he noticed everyone was looking at them.
Praise the lord this session was over.
Kazuya walked out into the streets feeling a little sick. They had tried over 10 different cakes in the span of 2 hours, plus all the extra little treats that came with some of the cakes. That was way more sugar than he could stomach in one sitting. He just hoped he could make it back to his apartment without throwing up the cakes he just ate. He leaned against the building to support himself until the nausea went away.
“Rookie mistake. You don’t need to finish the slice, just eat a couple bites to get the flavour.”
Kazuya felt a firm pat on his back and turned to see it was the elderly man from before. “Well, seeing as how I’m never going to do this again, thanks for the advice I won’t be using.”
The man laughed. “No problem. Always glad to be of help.”
Kazuya hoped Sawamura didn’t take much longer. He really didn’t want to chat with this guy anymore.
“Hey now, make sure you take a good look at what kind of eye-catching flower Eijun grows to be, you hear? And I don’t just mean as a pitcher.”
“Right, right…sure thing,” Kazuya dismissively nodded, more focused on his gut than the words of a stranger. But then it suddenly clicked in his head. When had he mentioned Sawamura was a baseball player? Kazuya quickly spun on his heel. “How’d you know—.” Kazuya stopped short because the man was nowhere to be found, his words (and body) gone with the wind. He frantically swiveled his head from side to side, scanning the streets for the man, but didn’t see anyone who bore a resemblance.
“Miyuki-senpai?” Sawamura called out. “Are you looking for someone?”
“Did you see where the old guy went?”
“What old guy?”
“The old guy at the cake tasting.”
Sawamura looked confused. “That man may have been older than us, but I don’t think it’s very nice to call him old. Middle-aged at least.”
“Not that guy. The one that was sitting next to us.”
Sawamura looked even more confused than before. “There were only 3 guys at the cake tasting. You, me and the other guy.”
“But I…”
“Did you get high off the sugar? Are you hallucinating right now?” How many fingers am I holding up?” Sawamura made a peace sign in front of Kazuya’s face.
“I’m fine,” Kazuya snapped, swatting Sawamura’s hand away. “Just…forget it. Let’s just go home.” He started walking down the sidewalk, not bothering to wait for Sawamura to catch up.
“When you say home,” Sawamura began once he caught up to Kazuya, “Do you mean your apartment, your house, or…?”
Kazuya looked at Sawamura like he was stupid. “Of course I mean my apartment. You dragged me out here so it’s only fair you take me home before you leave.”
“Are you sure you didn’t want to go to the park? Or look for a wedding gift? Or maybe we could—”
“Sawamura, I just ate more sweets in the past 2 hours than I have in my entire life. My stomach might actually explode. Please don’t prolong my pain.”
“Oh…right, sorry.” Sawamura visibly deflated. If Kazuya looked hard enough, he could almost make out the drooping dog ears on Sawamura’s head. “I just thought it’d be nice to spend some more time together…it’s kind of…been awhile.”
“I missed you a lot,” Sawamura whispered.
“I’ve been…busy.”
“Doing what?”
“Thinking.”
“About?”
“You…me…us.”
“Well could you think less?”
“Could I…what?”
Sawamura stopped in his tracks and forced Kazuya to look at him. “We’re not a battery trying to take down a batter. Right now, it’s just you and me. Just say what you want to say! Don’t think about it too hard.”
“What if I say the wrong thing?”
“Then I hit you until you get it right!”
“Wow, what great persistence you have,” Kazuya said, his words dripping in sarcasm.
“What I mean is, I’m not going anywhere.” Sawamura grabbed Kazuya’s hands and held them in his own. “Instead of running away from me, just face me head on. I’ll take in everything you have to say.”
Kazuya blinked a couple of times before he burst into laughter, smiling as he shook his head. “You never fail to amaze me, you know that?”
“What did I do?”
“You’re the wild card in my life, and I’m going to enjoy the ride.”
“What ride?”
“Nothing, just talking to myself.” Thank you, mysterious, strange old man. “Hey Sawamura, I have an extra room in my apartment.”
“…And?”
“Well, it’s just for storage right now, but I don’t have a lot of stuff. So I was thinking…maybe I could empty out that room.”
“For…what?”
“So someone can stay in that room.”
“You thinking about getting a roommate?”
“I am. And I think I found a good one.”
“Are you sure? Actually, are they sure? Do they know what kind of person you are? Are they aware of what they’re getting into?”
“For Christ’s sake, I’m asking you to move in with me.”
“Move in?”
“Yes.”
“With you?”
“You want to spend more time together don’t you?”
Sawamura looked shocked at first, but it quickly went away and was replaced with doubt. “I thought you didn’t like me.”
“I never said that.”
“Didn’t you regret what you did before?”
“You said that, not me.”
“…Then why did you avoid me all this time?”
“Because I was young and immature.”
“It was a year ago.”
“So that makes me a year older and a year wiser.”
“And more annoying.”
“Hey.”
“You started it,” Sawamura mumbled.
Kazuya grabbed Sawamura and pulled him into a hug. “Because I don’t really know how to do...this,” he whispered. Kazuya clenched his hands into fists to try and stop the shaking. “And that scares me.”
“The great Miyuki Kazuya? Afraid?”
“More than you could ever know.”
Sawamura went silent and Kazuya thought his heart might stop. But eventually, Sawamura’s hands slowly snaked their way around Kazuya. “I don’t really know how this works either.”
“What about all those shoujo manga you read?”
“Well, we don’t exactly fit the mold of what a shoujo manga couple is like.”
Kazuya couldn’t help but chuckle. “No kidding.”
“But that’s okay, we don’t need to be. We can figure it out ourselves. Together.”
“…Yeah…together.” Sawamura hug got just a little bit tighter as he nuzzled his head into Kazuya’s neck. Kazuya couldn’t fight the smile that crept onto his face as he squeezed right back.
“Also…that last cake…” Kazuya trailed off.
“What about it?”
“We should tell Kuramochi to get the champagne one instead.”
“But I thought we agreed that the last one was the best.”
“Exactly, which is why we should save it for our wedding.”
Sawamura jumped away from Kazuya, his face bright red. “Our what?”
Kazuya didn’t answer and instead pulled him in for their second, but certainly not last kiss.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
here’s my entry for @fydaiyanoace‘s secret santa exchange! @starianprincess requested a superhero!au and i finally got to write one of my favorite characters! hope i did him justice, pls enjoy 🙏
Todoroki Raichi getting invited places is usually a mistake.
He’s pretty sure he’s a nice enough guy. He is a superhero, after all, even though some people call him a vigilante sometimes without explaining the difference to him or if it makes him a villain. He doesn’t think he is, because just the other day he rescued a cat out of a tree and it scratched him and didn’t say thanks and he wasn’t mad at all.
Imagine a world where soulmates are a thing. But unlike the usual tattoos, or coloue changing, or the general ideas. We have a whole new comfusing one based on music.
Every person, at the age of 17, will wake up with a song. Now on it’s own it’s fine, but it leaves the person and any listeners incomplete. But if they find the person who’s song “fits” with theirs, then you have…soulmates.
But, what if three is better then two?
Music slipped through the crack between the door and wall, and begun traipsing down the hallway. It danced around people, pulling smiles onto frowning faces. But even this music, beautiful as it was, felt empty. There was a feeling of loneliness and despair in the musician’s art.
However, just as the, now enraptured, audience began to give up hope for the music to become whole, another instrument suddenly joined in. With its abrupt entry many were shocked, but that feeling soon disappeared as they heard the harmonies blossoming between the instruments.
The newcomer added life to the music that hadn’t been there from the beginning. But the longer they listened the more the people could hear the underlying pain each musician strives to hide from the other. The longing and pining, the shyness and hesitation, but most of all the affection and love. To each other or to others, they could not see but each sound that left the room was drowning in emotion.
And then, the piece ended.
Sometimes the first musician played alone, leaving melancholy in his listener’s hearts. When the second joined in it was a joyous moment for their audience, but only at the surface for they knew to expect the pain and longing soon.
But every now and then, a third sound would join them. A third musician, whose entrance was less abrupt and much softer. It brushed across the rough joining of the other sounds, making them gentler. The listenership did not leave melancholic not in pain.
It couldn’t be named happiness, not just yet, but if it had to be described by the limited spoken word, only one phrase would suffice.
New hope.
—
As the final notes on the piano softly played, he desperately hoped to hear the final sound. But it was not to be heard just yet as it was replaced by a shrill ringing sound. Even with his focus remaining on the piano, the bell would not be silenced, leaving him only one choice.
He awoke in the classroom, the ringing now no longer in his ears, but instead the sound was around him, coming from the bell. He had managed to sleep through his morning classes, listening to the song. A quick glance around showed that no one had noticed his sleeping, not even the teacher.
Well, almost no one. He felt the glare from Kuramochi bearing down on his head, but gave no attention to it. Hei was used to Kazuya’s continuous falling asleep in class, but Kuramochi didn’t know how often Kazuya had to resist the urge to sleep at practice. He only heard the music when he was asleep, which was both a blessing and a distraction.
Glancing around, Kazuya causally stood up, and walked towards Nori to talk about practice that afternoon. Snickering at the exasperated look on Kuramochi’s face, Kazuya made sure to look back at him occasionally to piss him off. By the time class had begun, Kuramochi had given up glaring at Kazuya, only to warn him when he sat back down.
“Miyuki, I’m not covering for you again in class - stop falling asleep! There’s only so many ‘the captain’s been pushing himself too hard recently’ that the sensei will accept.” With that, Kuramochi huffed and turned back around to face the front, and ignore Kazuya.
A little chagrined that he had been caught before, Kazuya forced himself to stay awake, though any time Kuramochi moved he would pretend to softly snore to piss him off. Eventually the class finished, and slowly the day came to a close. With practice starting soon, Kazuya headed back towards the dorms to drop off his bag and then grab his practice uniform. As he was walking, he began unconsciously humming, the song coming from the recesses of his mind. Lost in thought he didn’t notice the girls, who’d been silently listening to him, sigh and turn away disappointed.
Now that he was 17, everyone wanted to hear if their song would match up with his. They didn’t care that he had no interest in finding the supposed “perfect match” and only continued to pester him to let them listen.
By the time he turned 10, Kazuya no longer saw the benefits of finding “the perfect one” if they couldn’t stick around long enough. When he was 8-years old, he woke up one morning with his mother humming a beautiful song, but something about it made him feel empty and sad. He had quickly realized that there was something missing in the song. It was only when his father had come up behind her in the kitchen and hugged her did Kazuya hear the music begin to change. His father began singing alongside her, and suddenly there was new life in the song. When he’d asked, she’d explained to him about how his soulmate would match Kazuya’s own song one day, but that he would have to wait till he turned 17 for the song to come to him in a dream. It would be heard every time he went to bed till he found his match.
At first he’d been annoyed that he’d had to wait for so long, because after all, he wanted to hear the pretty music again! But that excitement slowly faded away when he had come home to find that his mother was no longer with them; a hit-and-run had ripped her away from him and his father. Now, Kazuya simply figured if he found the person meant for him, he’d keep them at a distance. He didn’t want to fall so hard for someone that their disappearance would destroy him. If fate couldn’t even keep soulmates together, why would he want to risk that pain?
By the time Kazuya turned 16, he’d seen some of his senpai’s humming their song, as if it was their lifeline. Some of them even seemed to pair off, though no one was absolutely sure about Tetsu-senpai and Jun-senpai, but it made sense.
Still walking towards the field, Kazuya’s humming could be heard quite easily as the team remained silent, listening to him. Kazuya was known for keeping his emotions clamped down strongly, so none of them had heard his song yet though they had attempted to wheedle it out of him before. Kazuya continued walking, heading towards the bullpen when he heard a loud crash to his right. This snapped him out of his stupor and he turned his head towards the sound.
Kuramochi had managed to fall over while holding his baseball bat and mitt. Just as he was about to laugh, Kazuya froze when he saw the panicked expression and wide-blown eyes on his face. Forcing a chuckle out, Kazuya walked over and pulled Kuramochi upright, acting as if the panic he’d seen hadn’t happened. But before Kazuya could let go, or even tease him, Kuramochi pulled him towards the storage shed.
“Kuramochi, what are you doing man?” Receiving no response, Kazuya tried again. “Mochi, seriously,” he reached out and placed a hand on Kuramochi’s arm, “what’s going on? What happened back there?”
Kazuya watched as Kuramochi began pacing around, before taking a deep breath. “Kazuya, just shut up for one second. I need you to listen without making a single sound. Understood?” He crossed his arms; waiting for Kazuya’s silent nod.
Kazuya’s attention was piqued but unable to say anything lest Kuramochi get upset, he sat back and watched as Kuramochi nother deep breath. When he opened his mouth again, it wasn’t to reply to Kazuya, at least not directly. Instead he began to sing. At first, Kazuya’s only thought was that Kuramochi had a beautiful voice. But the more he listened, the more he felt it was missing something. It felt incomplete.
Without realizing, Kazuya stood up and begun humming along. Not the same song, but his own. They matched. He hadn’t noticed but his eyes had closed while singing so when the songs finally came to a close, Kazuya slowly blinked them open.
Kuramochi had a soft smile on his face but Kazuya could see the worry in his eyes. Kazuya took a step back, his hands coming up to run through his hair. He only just realized what had happened and slipped into shock.
Kuramochi was his fated soulmate.
In hindsight it made sense, what with the way they behaved around each other. But in that moment Kazuya was unable to say anything.
The smile on Kuramochi’s face melted away, leaving only concern as he stepped closer to Kazuya. Involuntarily he took a step back as Kuramochi advanced. Before long his back was pressed against the door and Kuramochi had stopped a bit away from him.
“Kazuya. I get that this wasn’t exactly what you wanted…and we can pretend we never found out. But I just…” The helpless look on Kuramochi’s face was enough to snap Kazuya out of his shock.
He reached forward and grabbed Kuramochi’s arm, forcing him to stop speaking. “You really think that highly of yourself Baka?” Kazuya tried to pull off his usual snark, but found a rare vulnerability inside. “Why wouldn’t I want you as my partner. We’re already friends, you’ve stuck by me through thick and thin, right?” At that, he gave a hesitant smile before taking a big breath and stepping into Kuramochi’s space.
Hesitantly, Kazuya raised his arms and wrapped them around Kuramochi’s waist. Resting his head on Kuramochi’s shoulder, he slowly let his tensed body relax. He felt Kuramochi’s arms wrap around him and couldn’t hide the smile bursting out completely. As much as he had been terrified about his soulmate leaving him, if it was Kuramochi, Kazuya couldn’t even begin to feel scared.
Now he understood why his father was so devastated after his mother’s passing.
After Kuramochi pulled a promise out of him to meet up later that night, Kazuya left the shed with a grin on his face. His mood was bright enough that he didn’t even bother throwing any sarcastic comments out at Sawamura or Furuya. Baseball practice continued without a hitch, though he noticed that his teammates were confused, and almost scared by his happy expressions which only further amused him.
Once he was finished practice and the rest of the team had left, Kazuya headed to the baths to soak for a bit. He allowed himself to mull over the fact that he had found his, for a lack of a better word, other half. But as he rested, Kazuya began humming his song while envisioning Kuramochi’s. It still felt incomplete, unlike his parents’. Confused, Kazuya got out of the baths and changed before heading back to his room. Kuramochi had promised to meet him there so he wasn’t surprised to see his door unlocked.
Walking in he saw Kuramochi lying on his bed and tossing a baseball up and down. He looked lost in thought so Kazuya decided to surprise him by jumping on him. Being talented in baseball meant Kazuya had a good judgement of his body when he jumped so he landed directly on Kuramochi, but instead of a shout of surprise, apparently Kazuya had been noticed. Kuramochi immediately grabbed him by the waist and flipped them over so that now Kazuya was under Kuramochi.
“Kazuya, do you think my wrestling with Sawamura is a joke? Kyahaha! Try again pretty-boy!” Cackling, Kuramochi sat back so that he was straddling Kazuya’s waist. He didn’t seem to realize the position they were in, though Kazuya’s steadily reddening face showed that he had.
He cleared his throat uncomfortably before shoving Kuramochi off him with a forced chuckle. “If you’re done messing around Kuramochi,” Kazuya’s lips formed a smirk at that before continuing. “I noticed something earlier so I wanted to check if it was just me.” He watched as the joking smile on Kuramochi’s face faded into a serious look as he listened to Kazuya speak.
“First off, I…you need to understand that I’m not sure how this works fully. Soulmates isn’t something that is brought up at home too often.” Kazuya glanced away, a little awkward to admit that such a common topic was barely present in his house. Feeling a hand squeeze his knee in silent support, Kazuya continued speaking. “Second, I’m really happy…that you’re my soulmate…Youichi.” Chuckling at the blush which spread across Kuramochi’s face he finished the last of his statement, bringing his final concern up. “I was thinking back to our songs together and as beautiful as they sound, did it not sound a bit empty? As if something was missing?”
Kuramochi’s face became contemplative as he considered Kazuya’s words and it was plain to see when he came to the same conclusion. Kazuya didn’t know if something was wrong, but from what he’d heard, Kuramochi knew quite a bit about soulmates from his mother. “Youichi, do you know what that could mean? Is there something we’re not doing?”
Kuramochi stood up and began pacing, running a hand through his gelled hair as he thought about a response. Hesitantly he brought up one idea, “Kazuya have you heard of the story about the 3 musicians?”
Shaking his head no, Kazuya gestured for Kuramochi to speak.
Shrugging he began, “to make long story short, they were three people who actually had more than one soulmate. In fact, they were the first triad. Since then there have been a few, but rare triads scattered through history though no one is sure if this is true or not.”
Kazuya scratched the back of his head, unsure about the idea of there being a third person, yet somehow he felt it was the correct idea. “Then, will it be someone near us, like on the team? Or are we waiting till we find them in the future? What if they’re not even 17 yet?” Seeing Kuramochi shrug helplessly, Kazuya couldn’t help but feel disheartened.
Still, he hoped it was someone on the team. Nearly everyone had shared their songs at one point or another, so he began trying to remember each one. At first he thought maybe Chris-senpai would go well, but it just didn’t seem to balance with Kuramochi’s in his head. In the end, he could only imagine Nori’s song going well with theirs. Bringing the idea up to Kuramochi, that perhaps it was Nori, only brought a frown to his face.
“Kazuya…isn’t he paired with Shirasu? Nori’s song was light and uplifting, it would fit with any song really, including Shirasu.” Kuramochi’s words, while said calmly, held a bit of regret since if it was anyone else on the team, the both of them would love to be with Nori. “Maybe, we should listen to Nori a bit more, he’s always singing his song after all.”
Over the next few days, both of them listened to Nori’s humming, agreeing that it felt the best with their song. But his constant association with Shirasu, and their closer than friendship relationship made them hesitant. Luckily for them, they weren’t as inconspicuous as they’d hoped. Both Nori and Shirasu had realized they had a couple avid observers, but only Shirasu had correctly connected the dots.
About a week after Kazuya and Kuramochi had figured everything out, they were in Kazuya’s room talking about the game they had in a couple days. After some experimentation, they’d figured out that Kazuya liked to be hugged and cuddled and that Kuramochi found it soothing to do so. As the chatted, there was an insistent knock on the door, which was odd considering the time, but Kazuya simply called out that it was unlocked.
In walked Shirasu, pulling Nori by the wrist. Kazuya and Kuramochi untangled themselves from each other, noting the amused smirk on Shirasu’s lips.
“Shirasu, Nori, is there something you needed?” Kazuya crossed his arms across his chest, staring confused at the pair. His confusion increased when the smirk steadily grew into a grin before Shirasu spoke in his normal measured tones.
“I think you both and Nori need to talk. And just so you know, he’s not my soulmate.” With that, Shirasu left the room, excited to hopefully hear some good news the next morning from his best friend.
—
The music flowed out, the three instruments harmonizing together to create a new sound unlike any other. Simple and elegant, yet powerful and brash all at once. Instead of three different sounds, they were now one. It was now truly music.