Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/1621652.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      No_Archive_Warnings_Apply, Underage
  Category:
      M/M
  Fandom:
      ダイヤのA_|_Daiya_no_A_|_Ace_of_Diamond
  Relationship:
      Miyuki_Kazuya/Sawamura_Eijun
  Character:
      Sawamura_Eijun, Miyuki_Kazuya, Minor_Everyone_Else
  Additional Tags:
      Happy_Birthday_Sawamura, Sick_Miyuki, started_off_as_something_to_get
      used_to_their_characters_and_just_got_longer, Frottage, Blow_Jobs,
      Developing_Relationship, Ambiguous/Open_Ending
  Stats:
      Published: 2014-05-16 Completed: 2014-07-03 Chapters: 3/3 Words: 17502
****** Falling Ill and Kissing Boys, Miyuki Version ******
by FleetingKisses
Summary
     What happens if Miyuki gets sick? Nothing threatening, just out of
     commission for a little while and with Sawamura at his side. Maybe
     being stuck with eager Sawamura isn't as simple as it seems...
Notes
     Also on tumblr!
***** Chapter 1 *****
It'd had been onset for a week now, and he had managed fine, as far as everyone
saw. But this week, Miyuki just wasn't so lucky. Sawamura was walking to
practise and he saw Coach Kataoka speaking with Miyuki, who was dressed and
ready to go…but notably dazed looking. He tried to hear anything from their
conversation, though they were in Field A and Sawamura was jogging the road to
Field B, but all he got was seeing Kataoka shake his head at Miyuki.
 
Sawamura slowed, eventually stopping. He saw Coach Kataoka pat Miyuki on the
shoulder then walk off. Miyuki watched him leave and then looked over and met
eyes with Sawamura, who stiffened. Miyuki only offered his usual killer smile
though. Turning and walking, Miyuki left and Sawamura had a strange, sinking
feeling. Maybe it was the way Miyuki wavered a little in his stance once
Kataoka left. Maybe it was the way he looked ready to fall asleep.
 
But there wasn't really much he could do. Haruichi called his name and he
flashed a grin, waving and running over. People, even if they're the star
catcher of their high school team, just get sick sometimes.
 
.
 
.
 
.
 
"Sawamura!" Miyuki's familiar voice came from beyond the fence and Sawamura
stopped what he was doing and looked. "Are you ready to go? It's your turn in
the bullpen with me." And before Sawamura could answer, a baseball conked him
on the head, bouncing off his helmet to the ground.
 
"Eijun-kun! Are you okay??" Haruichi called from down the field where he was
tossed the ball.
 
"You meant for that to happen!" Sawamura raised a fist at Miyuki, ignoring
Haruichi. Miyuki just laughed. It had a faint rasp to it, which didn't get past
Sawamura's ears.
 
"Hurry up, eh, we ain't got all day - my time's valuable!" He paused to cough
and Sawamura could hear phlegm. "Hurry along, I'll start heading over there,"
Miyuki began walking off, turning his head to spit. Sawamura picked up the
baseball and made sure Haruichi was ready to catch it before throwing it and
making for the exit of the field. That sort of discomfort from earlier returned
to him. He couldn't quite explain why, but it was unsettling to know that
someone as capable and integral as Miyuki was ill.
 
Even so, though, he made sure not to step in Miyuki's spit when he got around
to it, just giving it a disgusted look.
 
He saw Miyuki standing where the catcher would as he came up to the bullpen.
Sawamura watched him and saw that…he was breathing heavily? His shoulders were
rising with each breath. Coming up closer, he could hear Miyuki's breath coming
in and out of his mouth.
 
"H-hey, Miyuki! Are you okay? You're not…this isn't too much for you, is it?"
Sawamura asked, and Miyuki perked up, glancing back over his shoulder. His
laboured breathing was stopped.
 
"I'm fine," Miyuki said, wiping a thin sheen of perspiration from his forehead.
They'd only done stretches yet, Sawamura thought with a frown. Then a grin
snuck upon Miyuki's face - slow and not all there. "Awh, is my little pitcher
worried about me?"
 
"Wh-…I don't want you fainting on me or something! If you're sick, you're sick,
just take the day off…!" Sawamura made loose fists but Miyuki just put an arm
around him and mussed his hair.
 
"Just…just go over there and pitch, I already said I was fine…!" Saying that
out loud alone seemed to take effort, Miyuki giving Sawamura a shove. Sawamura
was about to whip around and press the issue further but he saw Miyuki already
had lowered his protector and was getting into position.
 
"Do you need to do a couple warm up throws or should we just get into it…?"
Miyuki called to Sawamura when Sawamura stepped up onto the pseudo-pitcher's
mound.
 
"I'm good to go…!!" Sawamura answered back, but wondered if the same could be
said about Miyuki. Miyuki punched into the palm his glove and then held it out.
Sawamura's lips pressed together tightly when he noticed Miyuki's posture: he
was leaning forward a little more than usual, and though he must have been
keeping it suppressed, his shoulders still moved with each breath, however
slight.
 
Shuffling his feet a little, he wound up and the two started practise. Miyuki
seemed to hold up just fine despite Sawamura's doubts. After a couple tosses
back and forth, they began drills of each of Sawamura's pitches, and it felt
just like any other day. Chris and Miss Takishima eventually showed up a little
ways into the session with Sawamura and Miyuki's training menu as a battery.
 
"…And on Friday, you'll be together for the last hour before practise ends."
Miss Takishima read out the last of their new schedule, which changed between
weeks. Miyuki glanced at her and nodded.
 
"Oh thanks, Rei-chan! Spending my Friday nights with Noisymura." Miyuki said
with a playful edge. He caught Sawamura's cutter and tossed it back. He then
put up a finger, calling for a pause, and stopped to cough.
 
"Remember, Miyuki, Kataoka wants you to retire halfway through today," Miss
Takishima said to him, looking up over the edges of her glasses as Miyuki
coughed. Sawamura watched him nod again - this one, like almost everything he
had been doing this Wednesday afternoon, seemingly sluggish. Sawamura noticed
Chris looking in his direction and Sawamura raised his eyebrows expectantly.
Chris just shook his head.
 
"Okay! Gimme your special fastball, hard as you can," Miyuki said when he
returned to position.
 
"M-Miyuki…" Sawamura began, but he was cut off by Miyuki.
 
"I said c'mon," said Miyuki as Sawamura glanced to Takishima and Chris for
guidance, but they were only watching intently.
 
"But I'm -" He started once more, a little more firmly. That seemed to anger
Miyuki.
 
"Now!" Miyuki's voice was raised, and Sawamura frowned. Winding up, he did the
usual: highly raised leg, foot slammed down, arm whipping forward and firing
off the ball. That was when Miyuki finally faltered; instead of catching the
ball, it narrowly avoided his mitt, skimming the edge, and smashed into his
face guard, his head knocked back as he fell backwards.
 
"Miyuki!" Miss Takishima called out as she and Chris jumped, hurrying into the
bullpen. Sawamura only looked on, stunned. He tried to say something but the
sight of Miyuki trying to catch himself only for his arm to fail at keeping him
up somehow robbed him of words. "Chris, go get help, now! Sawamura, give me
your water!"
 
Chris was already off running and it took another shout of his name for
Sawamura to grab his bottle of water and beeline to where Takishima was
removing Miyuki's headgear. She straightened him out, lying him flat on the
ground. His breathing was deep and raspy and his eyes were pressed closed.
 
"Miyuki, open your eyes. If you can hear me, I need you to open your eyes."
Takishima said, making sure his neck was straight. Miyuki's eyes fluttered open
but they were glassy and he seemed to have trouble focusing. "Tell me, are you
hurt? Can you move your hand for me?" Her voice was level and calm, but not
without urgency. He went to raise his ungloved hand but it quickly fell back to
the ground.
 
"Hey, Miyuki, are you okay!? What's wrong with him!?" Sawamura scrambled to the
ground next to Miss Takishima. He handed her the water bottle and she poured
the cool liquid onto a handkerchief, putting it over his forehead.
 
"His…his fever has gone way up since last time - he didn't tell us this. We
didn't take his temperature either, but we should have," Miss Takishima bit
out, possibly more so to herself. Down the road, Kataoka was rushing over with
some fellow players behind him, and in the distance the school medics were
driving down the lane. "Miyuki, tell me my name. Can you do that for me?"
 
Miyuki looked at her, then at Sawamura. Sawamura grabbed his hand and moved it
back and forth. "C'mon, answer her! Miyuki!"
 
"She…she's Rei-chan and you're - Noisymura…" Miyuki said dizzily. He grinned
and that's when everyone arrived.
 
"Sawamura, clear out." Kataoka commanded as he crouched next to Miyuki. "How is
he, is he hurt?"
 
"No, not from what I can immediately tell," Takishima answered.
 
"Didn't you hear me? I said to leave." Kataoka gave Sawamura a hard glance and
Sawamura looked stunned.
 
"B-but…Miyuki…"
 
"Chris, get him out of here. The rest of you, stand back!" Kataoka said with
finality and Chris stood Sawamura up, ushering him away.
 
"No! But Miyuki!" Sawamura craned his neck to look back.
 
"Sawamura, he'll be fine. Come, we'll visit him later," Chris said evenly and
Sawamura looked at him with all of his fright on his face. The medics had
arrived now and Miyuki was no longer visible through the people crouched around
him, so Sawamura stopped resisting and followed Chris to practise elsewhere. He
could hear Kataoka send away the crowd of everyone else, and that was that.
 
It was needless to say that practise wasn't going very well from then on.
Sawamura's pitch was again slow and arching. Chris raised his face protector
and looked at him, causing Sawamura to grit his teeth. "I need to know how he's
doing…" Sawamura explained before Chris could say anything. His hands were
balled into fists and he was standing how he usually did when he assumed
responsibility of everything: legs apart, head bowed, shoulders stooped.
 
"All right. Do you know where the medical office is?" Chris stood up. Sawamura
looked at him with widened eyes, ready to take off at any moment.
 
"Yes!" Sawamura shouted.
 
"Go then, I'll put away the stuff then make my way there," Chris said. He began
to undo the straps to his protective gear and only blinked before Sawamura was
off running, his glove falling to the ground. Chris looked at all the baseballs
lying around and let out a small sigh. He'll be there…eventually…
 
But none of that mattered to Sawamura. He sniffed, feeling his eyes watering as
he darted past people. He ran past the dorms and towards another building
detached from the main school. He tried to walk when he entered the main office
building, making his way past the secretary desks and into the hallway with the
medical offices, but once he heard Takishima's voice, he broke into a run
again.
 
"So we'll have him visit the doctor's tomorrow for another examination and to
receive a prescription for antibiotics, yes?" Takishima said and then Sawamura
burst into the room. "S-Sawamura? Shouldn't you be at practise?" She asked.
 
"Chris let me off early; where's Miyuki?" Sawamura said and pulled back the
light curtain separating the two beds in the room.
 
"Miyuki's fine, he only collapsed from exhaustion, so he's resting now. He
isn't hurt and he hasn't experienced any sort of heat stroke, so if you could
keep it down and let him sleep, that would be good." Said the school doctor,
looking annoyed at the noisy boy. Sawamura put his hands up and tried to become
quiet.
 
"He has the flu, ahead of season it seems. He's had it for a week now so if
anything, he should be getting well soon." Miss Takishima added, adjusting her
glasses. "Starting tomorrow, we're going to order vaccines for the school."
 
"O-oh, okay! Good! Good…" Sawamura said, then looked at Miyuki as the doctor
excused himself. Miyuki had a cool, damp cloth upon his forehead but was
otherwise sleeping peacefully in the bed. "Where's coach?? Shouldn't he be
here?"
 
"He was, but he left once the doctor said Miyuki was fine. There are forms he
needs to fill," Miss Takishima pushed her glasses up once more. What she said
next hit Sawamura hard. "We're very lucky that all it is is the flu."
 
"Y-yeah…" he agreed, realising how chilling the idea was.
 
"I've never considered it before, but I would only hope that his will to
recover would be as strong as Chris', if something like that ever did happen,"
she continued. Sawamura just swallowed hard.
 
"Chris is coming too," Sawamura said after a few beats. "He was just going to
put away our gear and stuff,"
 
"Oh? Good - you two can help me bring him back to his room later," Miss
Takishima said, then rose and moved from the chair beside the bed to the table.
"You may sit, if you want,"
 
Sawamura didn't really pay attention, guiding himself to the chair without much
looking away from Miyuki. He watched as Miyuki breathed in and out through his
mouth, as his chest rose and fell. He felt the tears build at the corners of
his eyes again and tried his best to keep them back. Chris didn't even comment
on Sawamura nearly crying again when he finally walked in the door.
 
Half an hour came and went before Kataoka showed up again, and they decided to
try waking him. Better that he get to his room and sleep deeply there. One of
the medical staff came to collect the forms that both Takishima and Kataoka
completed and brought Miyuki a face mask, putting it on him as he groggily
awoke.
 
"Come now, sit up? There we are," the nurse said, guiding Miyuki up, then to
the edge of the bed. Miyuki put on his glasses and refused assistance when it
was offered help him stand.
 
"Chris and Sawamura are here, they'll help walk you to your room," Kataoka
said. Miyuki looked at both of them. "We're going to have a talk tomorrow about
being ill and overworking yourself. Now go, get rest," Kataoka left, turning
towards the doctors' offices.
 
"I'm not so sick," Miyuki complained, voice papery behind the face mask. His
eyes crinkled at the corners like how they did when he smiled.
 
"Okay, well, lead the way," Miss Takishima nodded and gestured and the four of
them left the office, thanking the nurse and staff on the way out.
 
"How long was I out for?" Miyuki asked as they made their way to the dorms.
Down in the fields, practise was still going on like it normally did.
 
"One hour," Chris said, walking at Miyuki's side. Sawamura was just beyond
Chris, glancing at Miyuki every so often. Once or twice Miyuki met his glances,
and he quickly looked at the ground.
 
"Yeesh, I may as well have been in a coma!" Miyuki said with a light laugh, and
then a light cough.
 
"…Miyuki, we turn in here," Chris said and Miyuki stopped, looking back
confusedly. Then he looked up, seeing the sign. He had begun walking past the
entrance to the dorms.
 
"Oh…right…I wasn't paying attention," Miyuki blinked and turned in with the
rest of them. It was quiet then the rest of the way. Miyuki had fumbled once or
twice coming up the stairs - at first he missed when he went to grab the
railing and the second time he thought he saw another stair when really he was
at the top already.
 
"Ah, maybe I am…kind of sick, haha," Miyuki said as Chris helped him along.
Chris had since taken Miyuki's arm to guide him. Sawamura, who was silent the
whole way, looked at Miyuki's hand, the one slung over Chris' shoulder.
Miyuki's fingers moved so slightly, curling up the smallest amount then
relaxing again. Once more, Sawamura looked at the ground.
 
"Your key?" Miss Takishima asked and then let them in. "All right, so the
doctor said that it was not anything serious, you simply have a flu. He said to
get plenty of rest, eat much, and drink lots of fluids. Tomorrow we're going to
arrange for you to see your personal doctor…" She began her exposition.
Sawamura only shuffled in as Chris helped Miyuki onto his bed.
 
"Does he seem that bad…?" Chris asked in his soft voice. Sawamura jumped a
little.
 
"What do you mean?" Sawamura responded. Miss Takishima was talking about how
she and Kataoka will tell everyone of his condition, and to not crowd his room
until he was better.
 
"I mean that, you hadn't said a word that entire walk here. And when he made
mistakes, such as coming up the stairs, you seemed like you wanted to jump to
his side. I'm asking, does he seem that bad for you to be like this?" Chris
looked at Sawamura with those gentle, distant eyes, always the same. Sawamura's
lip almost quivered as he tried to gather a response in his head.
 
"It's just strange that someone so important can be so…helpless," Sawamura's
voice was low, and he looked at Miyuki again, who was waving his hand at
Takishima's fussing.
 
"Well, boys, I think he's good to go. You don't need any of us to stay behind
for whatever reason, do you think? We'll just be at the field and practise
won't go on for all that long before your roommates return," Miss Takishima
said.
 
"Nah, I can manage!" Miyuki reclined with his arms folded behind his head. You
could tell he had his easy smile on.
 
"Well, all right, we'll let you rest," Takishima said and let them out.
Sawamura, who was last, hesitated just at the door, glancing at Miyuki. He
looked back at Sawamura without the show smile he just had on and seemed like
he was about to say something, but Sawamura only closed the door behind him, no
words coming to stop him.
 
And practise resumed like it did before, not spectacularly, and with Sawamura
notably distant. What did bring him back to earth, though, was when Chris, who
brought him to Kataoka, asked:
 
"Can Sawamura have the day off, to help tend to Miyuki?"
 
Sawamura of course was shocked, his gaze snapping up, his mouth trying to form
some sort of response. What stunned him even more was Kataoka's agreeing to it.
So here he was now, finished bathing, changing into his regular clothes, and
walking to the dorms with two icy cool bottle of waters in his hands. What
would he say…?
 
He looked over the balcony to the fields and saw all the people, small as ants,
scrambling around, hustling across the field, throwing balls. Inhaling, he
turned to the door, and knocked. Making a move for the knob, he opened and
spoke out, "Miyuki…? I'm coming in…!"
 
Miyuki was asleep, of course. He was all tucked in bed with the covers up to
his chin. Sawamura closed the door quietly behind him and walked in, putting
the water bottles on the desk with the homework he brought. Then it was silent
again, save for Miyuki's elevated breathing. Even though he just sat down,
Sawamura stood up again and walked to the side of Miyuki's bed, looking him
over.
 
His brow was ever so lowered, as if just sleeping and breathing was work
enough, and his hair had the barest sheen to it, no longer light and feathery
as he styled it. And his chest rose and fell with every breath. Sawamura felt
his hand close tightly on reaction to taking Miyuki in, so he turned and went
back to the desk to do his assignments.
 
.
 
.
 
.
 
It was about twenty minutes until practise was over when Miyuki woke up.
"Sawamura…?" He asked tiredly as he rose to a sitting position and reached for
his glasses.
 
"Y-yeah? I was…sent over to help you if you needed anything or something…"
Sawamura said, turning in the chair.
 
"Sent over…? By who?"
 
"Well…Chris suggested it…and coach agreed, so," Sawamura explained and looked
away. "I brought some water for us! You, I mean. It was cold when I bought it,
but it kinda warmed up," Sawamura said and grabbed them, holding the two water
bottles out.
 
"You bought these? Aren't there water fountains you could have just filled
bottles with?" Miyuki blinked.
 
"They're mineral waters - I thought they'd be healthier or something for you,"
Sawamura felt awkward now.
 
"Oh, well, sure! Bring 'em over," Miyuki said with pep and Sawamura scurried
over, kneeling beside Miyuki's bed. Miyuki's Adam's apple moved with each gulp
and he polished off half the bottle in one go. Sawamura only took a small swig
of his own. "Did it have to be you, though?" Miyuki continued after screwing
the cap back on.
 
"Wh-what??" Sawamura almost leapt to his feet.
 
"No, I mean, you're missing practise, aren't you? I'd rather you not," Miyuki
explained smoothly as he laid back down.
 
"I…I wasn't in the zone today," Sawamura moved from kneeling to sitting on
folded knees. "Chris thought it would be better if I did this to clear my
head," and at that, Miyuki perked up a little.
 
"Clear your head, huh…?" Miyuki said more to himself.
 
"I'm…" Sawamura began, and Miyuki could hear the strain in his voice. It was
that tone again, the one where he was getting choked up and about to say
something dramatic. "I'm sorry for that last pitch, the one that hit you. I
promise I'll get better at control!" Sawamura said, his voice loud. Miyuki
turned his head and looked at him almost incredulously.
 
"Hey, good pitches are something the pitcher AND catcher make, remember? I
should've been able to catch it," Miyuki offered in response. He saw Sawamura's
head was bowed, and that only made him speak more urgently.
 
"Still! I'll do whatever I can to help you get better!" Sawamura was shouting
at this point. Well, not fully shouting, but more like his version of indoor
shouting.
 
"H-hey now…!" Miyuki moved up and leaned on his elbow. Then he stopped, a
thought striking him. Sawamura's amazing will for improvement and his
amazing capacity for taking on responsibility were hard to curb, after all.
"How about you come by tomorrow too?"
 
"H…huh?" Sawamura looked up at Miyuki.
 
"If you feel so bad, why don't you take care of little ol' me tomorrow as well?
I mean, if practise doesn't happen well tomorrow either, might as well spend
your time usefully," Miyuki has his wicked grin on for effect.
 
"Yes! Okay! I will, definitely!" Sawamura said enthusiastically.
 
"But only if you can't focus at practise," Miyuki said with firmness. "Like I
said, I'd rather you be practising then up in here doing nothing,"
 
"I will!" Sawamura was basically ready to fly away, the way he was leaning
forward.
 
"O-okay then! It's a deal then…!" Miyuki said, leaning back a little. He almost
felt like Sawamura was going to throw his arms around him from such a simple
suggestion. Though he didn't, of course. "Say, what time is it? You should be
going soon, eh?" Miyuki looked at the clock. Practise was done five minutes ago
and the first of the team would be coming back any moment now.
 
"Oh! You're right…is there…is there anything you need, before I go? Are you
hungry? Do you want soup? Broth?" Sawamura stood, but the way his legs were
apart and his hands in fists only kept up the image that he'd blast off at the
slightest spark.
 
"Uh…n-no, I think I could get it myself…" Miyuki leaned back against the
headboard.
 
"But the doctor said for you to get rest! I'll bring it for you if you need
it!" It was astounding how fast his moods changed.
 
"Sawamura, it's okay, I'll just ask someone else when I get hungry. Just…gather
your things, I'll be fine…" Miyuki felt odd at Sawamura bustling around for
him.
 
"A-all right, understood!" Sawamura got up and went to the desk to gather his
papers and pens. Before he went to open the door, he stood up straight, chest
out, "See you tomorrow, Miyuki-senpai!"
 
"Y-yeah, sure…" Miyuki picked at a thread unconsciously with one hand. "Hey,
what about your water??" He piped up just as Sawamura was halfway out.
 
"You can have it!" Sawamura called and closed the door. It was suddenly so
quiet without him in the room.
 
"But you already drank from it…" Miyuki looked it over. He put his own water
bottle next to it though, and laid back down. And he grinned, despite himself.
Maybe tomorrow he'll see how devoted Sawamura can be. Hmm…he did think it might
be a little mean to use his guilt against him like that, Miyuki knew that
Sawamura wouldn't even notice in the first place. Eh, decisions, decisions. All
that was left now was the ticking of the analog clock as Miyuki rolled over and
tried to fall back asleep as fast as he could before his roommates returned.
***** Chapter 2 *****
Chapter Notes
     Also_on_tumblr!
Sawamura sat quietly outside of Miyuki's room, leaning against the wall next to
the door. No one was in there, as far as he could tell, Miyuki included, so he
waited. Everyone else was at practise, obviously, but where Miyuki was,
Sawamura didn't know. He must be at his doctor's exam, probably…yeah. So
Sawamura waited.
 
He kicked a pebble that was down near his foot. His right arm was still feeling
stiff from this morning with a very dull ache at the core of his muscle
whenever he'd lift it. He wondered how this would affect practise; would it be
a simpler or easier menu until everyone was good to go? The second years were
administered the flu shots before lunch, not as classes started like the first
years, while the third years had theirs after lunch.
 
He would be down in the fields practising too, but he told Chris about Miyuki's
proposal for him to come by again the next day, so the two appeased Kataoka by
saying Sawamura would catch the latter half of practise. With Chris' word on
his side, Sawamura ran off, having already planned to bring Miyuki some of
today's chicken noodle soup. He even stopped to cut up some vegetables
personally to bring as a side dish! Looking over at the plastic bag that had
the thermos of soup, plastic bowl, and container of vegetables made him feel
like he was duped.
 
"Argh, he pisses me off!!" Sawamura ruffled his own hair, leaning his head back
against the wall. It was such a Miyuki thing to do to get Sawamura to rush
around only to jettison off to some illustrious family doctor. The soup
probably wasn't even hot anymore. At least the veggies would stay fresh for
some time…
 
Standing up, Sawamura stepped forward and leaned on the railing, staring at the
practise far away. Then he slumped over and let his arms dangle over the
railing. The breeze was nice, and maybe he should just go to practise any ways?
Miyuki wouldn't even care, surely - maybe he could just leave the foodstuff by
the door…he stopped his idle thoughts though with a jump and turned to try the
door. It actually gave way; he didn't expect to be open, so shocked, but
grinning despite himself, he let himself in. He didn't know why he didn't try
it earlier but he'd think about that later.
 
"Miyuki, I'm coming in…!" He whispered to no one and stifled a giggle, closing
the door behind him. He took in the sight: Miyuki's (and Miyuki's roommates')
room, all to himself. Never mind the foodstuff, his homework, and the issue of
a baseball magazine he had yet to read that were all now placed and forgotten
about on the desk.
 
He didn't have any intention of doing anything vandal, but that didn't stop him
from peering in the closet. Of course, Miyuki had a collection of about ten to
fifteen hats on a neat little door rack. Sawamura almost considered trying on
one, but bristled at the very idea and closed the closet. Then dropped to the
floor, lifted the covers, and looked under Miyuki's bed. His excitement was met
with glorious nothing.
 
Thinking that that was no fun, he stood up and looked around again. Maybe he
should start on his homework…or maybe he should jump around on Miyuki's bed.
The choice was obvious, and he was giggling happily as he bounced on the bed
for more than a couple minutes, and congratulated himself. Falling to his butt,
he let himself off and quickly made it again so no one would know. He padded
back to the desk, but at the last step, he stopped...he was compelled to turn
and glance back. Miyuki's bed…
 
And then, for whatever reason, he stood at the foot of it and tensed up a
little in preparation, then took a magnificent leap much like a parachuter. His
fantasy was broken of course when he landed flat on his belly with a small
rebound. And, surprisingly, the blanket let out a small puff of air as it
welcomed him, and any intention of getting up was quickly forgotten as the
mattress molded to his body - Miyuki, the bastard, had a memory foam
mattress…of course he did, Sawamura thought. Lying there, he thought idly that
the bed smelled like him, and that it was damn comfy.
 
"It's comfy, isn't it?" Miyuki asked while smiling with the paper face mask
around his neck, and closing the door behind him silently. Sawamura never got
up so fast, flying out of the bed quicker than the first day of practise when
his roommates, the asses, let him sleep in.
 
"Miyuki, I - !!" Sawamura began to yell but he was cut off when he abruptly
soared straight into the floor. Miyuki jumped.
 
"Oi, Sawamura, are you…watch yourself!" Miyuki looked around the edge of the
bed as Sawamura scrambled to collect himself. Of course it was only natural
that he would leap AWAY from Miyuki and towards the footboard - which he
tripped over - and not simply off the bed like a sane person.
 
"Ah, that hurt…" Sawamura winced, rising on his arms.
 
"Well of course it hurt, there's concrete under the carpeting -" Miyuki
started, but Sawamura was already up and at him again.
 
"Miyuki!! I'm sorry about the bed! I don't know what came over me, I just had
to try it…" he started, his apology tumbling out faster than Miyuki could keep
up with.
 
"No, it's fine -" then Miyuki was spoken over once more.
 
"But I brought you soup this time! And vegetables too! Though I think it's
probably cold by now…" Sawamura turned around and held up the thermos proudly
for Miyuki to see. "See, see?"
 
"You know, you didn't have to -" Miyuki for the third time in less than a
minute was cut off in the middle of speaking.
 
"I asked Chris for help convincing the boss to let me off for today, but he
only let me off for half a day, so do you need anything?! I'm ready!" Sawamura
stood up proudly. His big smile slipped away though when Miyuki started
laughing.
 
"It's good to hear you again, crazy as that is to say," Miyuki said between
laughs, and then he stopped to cough briefly. "I think being at practise with
you all the time has gotten me accustomed to all your yelling around - this
news just might put down for the count worse than my flu!" After he finished
coughing, he laughed again.
 
"What a rude thing to say," Sawamura muttered to himself, turning away and
looking over his shoulder at Miyuki dramatically. "So you want it or not…?"
 
"What, the soup?" Miyuki finally settled down, moving to sit on the edge of his
bed. "It isn't chicken noodle is it??" Sawamura pouted and rubbed his finger in
a circle on the lid in response. "Everyone's been feeding my chicken noodle
soup! Yesterday that's what they brought me, and this morning too, then again
at lunch…I'M going to become a chicken noodle!"
 
"So…so you don't want it, then…?" Sawamura hadn't moved, and may as well have
not heard Miyuki at all either.
 
"It's not that, just don't you think you could have…" then Miyuki saw Sawamura
didn't stop pouting, and seemed to have no intention of it, so he forfeited,
"Agh, give it here, let's go warm it up," he said and held out his hand to be
passed the thermos.
 
"No no! I'll carry it! The doctor did say not to expend any unnecessary energy
after all," Sawamura perked up suddenly and scurried to open the door for
Miyuki.
 
"That…that's not really…" Miyuki started to speak but didn't even know where to
begin. At least he seems happy? Miyuki thought as he stepped out and made for
the stairs. "You're not going to ask to carry me down the stairs too, are
you…?" He had a faint smile but it quickly shattered when he realised Sawamura
just might take him seriously - and he did.
 
"W…why, are you that weak…?" Sawamura stepped back as if appalled or
disappointed. Just where did all that enthusiasm go?? Miyuki shook his head in
frustration and in incredulity and kept walking.
 
.
 
.
 
.
 
In the lunchroom, Miyuki and Sawamura stood beside the table with the
microwave, waiting as the soup was warmed inside.
 
"You've had it for a week but the symptoms have only just now become onset? It
makes utter sense…" Sawamura said while holding his chin, as if he knew all
along.
 
"Yeah, I'm fine though, just tired a lot," Miyuki was leaning against the wall
next to the table. Sawamura had insisted on doing everything for him, which was
welcome, even if Miyuki wouldn't say it, given that he had once again walked
past the dorm entryway earlier. He nearly missed the shuttle service provided
by the school as well; sitting down to rest himself, he almost fell asleep in
the doctor's office just before leaving. Looking away, the floor seemed wavy
and smooth.
 
"Well, I'm sure with me by your side, you'll be better by tomorrow!" Sawamura
smiled and held out a thumbs up. Miyuki grinned but waved it off.
 
"Or maybe dead!" He teased, and Sawamura gave him an overblown glare.
 
"I'm doing this for you, you know!" Sawamura barked. Miyuki lifted off the wall
and stood readily in front of the microwave as the numbers counted down from 8,
7, 6…
 
"Haha! Well, why thank you! Your devotion is flattering!" Miyuki smiled easily
to Sawamura for effect, and he pulled back just as expected. And look, the
microwave even dinged just as this went down. Opening the microwave, the
ceramic bowl steamed on the rotating plate. Touching the centre of the soup
with his finger, Miyuki's hand shot back instantly and he hissed. "How long did
you put it in for?!" He asked under his breath.
 
"I didn't know how long, so I put it in for five minutes! Hey, here," Sawamura
grabbed Miyuki's wrist and brought his hand forward, going to dab at his finger
with a napkin. Miyuki tore his arm back though.
 
"It's fine," Miyuki said, waving some of the steam away from the bowl and
fanning the soup with his other hand.
 
"But…" Sawamura began, the looked down with a small grimace. He heard Miyuki
suck the soup off of his finger beside him. Opening his water bottle, Sawamura
dampened the napkin and held it out to Miyuki. "Here, at least wet it a little
in case it's burned or something," Sawamura said in a tentative voice.
 
"Thanks," Miyuki's reply was short. He took the napkin, wrapping it carelessly
around his finger, and then with more napkins, brought the scalding bowl onto a
tray. "Come, let's go," and with that, he began walking. Sawamura frowned, not
knowing why his mood changed so suddenly, but grabbed their waters and followed
a couple steps behind him.
 
The walk was mostly quiet. When they got to the stairs, Miyuki tripped a little
over a stair, but caught himself fine.
 
"Should…should I carry it??" Sawamura was ready to catch him if he hadn't been
able to steady himself.
 
"No, I can," Miyuki didn't even spare Sawamura a glance, but that didn't seem
important to Sawamura, who watched him a little more closely as they made the
final stretch to Miyuki's room. Outside the door, Miyuki stopped to rest his
forehead against the wall…
 
"Hey, are you…Miyuki, are you okay?" Sawamura peered at him, worried. Miyuki
nodded, but didn't move, didn't stand up straight again, only breathing heavily
through his mouth.
 
"I'm just, feeling drained again," what little energy he had stored was
depleted within the few minutes he returned to his room and came across
Sawamura destroying it like a bull in a china shop. "Come," Miyuki said though
and pressed on, opening the door for the two of them.
 
"Are you going to eat at the desk…?" Sawamura asked, not sure if he should
clear his things or…
 
"There's a folding table under the bunk bed, bring it here?" Miyuki said,
placing the tray on his bed and sitting with his head down.
 
"S-sure," Sawamura did as he was told, standing it at Miyuki's bedside. Miyuki
put the tray on it and then moved his pillow, sitting cross legged at the head
of his bed. He took the soup in his lap and moved it around with his spoon,
blowing on it. "How are you feeling??" Sawamura asked suddenly. It was a shock
to the both of them it seemed, but Sawamura seemed like since he said it, he
was going to stand by it.
 
"Uh…I'm just fatigued. Being outside tired me out," Miyuki said, looking back
from Sawamura to his bowl of soup. There were little English letters floating
around in it, which was different… "It's kinda hard to eat with you staring at
me like that," he could see Sawamura stiffen from his peripheral.
 
"Well…I…" Sawamura began, looking down at his hands. He was kneeling on the
floor beside Miyuki's bed.
 
"You don't need to be so worried, I'll be fine. It's just the flu, you know,"
Miyuki said.
 
"Still," Sawamura said, and looked up at Miyuki. Miyuki looked back at him, at
Sawamura's eyes, full of determination and resolve. Miyuki glanced away again.
When he spoke, he didn't speak with resentment or anything like that, he just
said one word in a soft voice.
 
"Fine," and he broke some crackers into the soup. Moving around some more, he
pushed the bowl away, putting it on the folding table. "I don't feel like
eating right now. I think I'm going to try to sleep. Are you going to stay or…?
It might be better if you just go to practise now,"
 
"I want to…I'm going to stay," Sawamura said, and built his case. "I brought
some homework I gotta do, so it won't be a waste of time,"
 
"I think you should go." Miyuki said plainly. "You'll probably get sick any
ways if you stay around me,"
 
"Today…this morning…we had vaccinations. The first years got them in the
morning before classes started," Sawamura began explaining. "So I won't get
sick, I promise!"
 
"…Well, stay then." Miyuki said and when Sawamura looked up with a brightness
in his eyes, Miyuki was looking away at the wall. "You probably won't get very
good practise any ways, if your arm is stiff or sore. Or something."
 
"Yes!" Sawamura almost shouted. Miyuki was already under the covers though and
getting comfy, lying facing the wall. So Sawamura got up as quietly as he could
and tip-toed over to the desk, getting out his pencils, and beginning on his
homework.
 
.
 
.
 
.
 
Miyuki slept for an hour and a half. The room was getting warm, so Sawamura had
since turned on the rotating fan, keeping it on the quietest setting possible
that still actually blew air around. Sawamura closed the curtains too. When he
was wrestling with a problem in his mind, he heard Miyuki cough a couple times
behind him, and that's when Miyuki was awake.
 
"Where's that…soup now. I think I'm ready to eat," Miyuki said groggily as he
rose. He looked groggy too, slipping on his glasses.
 
"It's still there…!" Sawamura answered, then scampered over to hand him the
bowl. Miyuki went to grab it, but he didn't succeed. His hands groped the air.
"Miyuki, are you…"
 
"I…on second thought, just…just gimme a moment," Miyuki said, blinking hard a
couple of times. "Maybe I'll eat it later…" He continued, looking at his hands.
 
"What's happening…?" Sawamura asked, getting anxious and tensing up.
 
"…My vision's blurry." The simple answer didn't help ease Sawamura's fear.
 
"Do you need to go to the school nurse…?" If Sawamura was trying to hide the
growing urgency in his voice, it wasn't working.
 
"No! I don't. I'll be fine, it's happened before, it'll pass," Miyuki said,
frowning hard.
 
"All right…" Sawamura said, backing down a bit. Miyuki's stomach grumbled
loudly, though, and Miyuki flinched, gripping it. It was dinner time after
all…the team would be eating about now. "H-here!" Sawamura said, holding the
bowl forward. Miyuki looked at it, his eyes still a little red in waking.
Reaching for it, he almost had it, but lost his grip somewhere along the way.
 
"H-hey!!" Miyuki began when the bowl nearly left both of their hands, Sawamura
catching it. Miyuki sneered, looking at the room temperature soup on his hand.
 
"Aaaah!! Sorry!" Sawamura hurriedly placed the bowl on the table, and ran to
grab some napkins from the desk. He made a move to grab Miyuki's hand and clean
it, but memory made him pause. Miyuki looked up from his hand to Sawamura,
seeing the hesitation. "H-here," Sawamura said, glancing away and holding out
the napkins for Miyuki to take.
 
"Th…thanks…" Miyuki said, and wiped his hand clean. "It's…it's not your fault,"
he added on when the silence dragged on a little longer than what was
comfortable.
 
"Should…should I have just gone to practise…?" Sawamura asked, and that made
Miyuki stop what he was doing. He caught what Sawamura was getting at without
the boy even needing to explain it.
 
"No…I appreciate you staying and helping," Miyuki said, resuming wiping up the
last of the soup from his wrist and putting the napkins on the table. He
garnered no response though. When his stomach rumbled again with a hunger pain
crunching away in his stomach, he began, "H-hey, Sawamura,"
 
Sawamura looked at him expectantly, and Miyuki seemed just as if about to ask
something that was the biggest risk he'd taken in a long time, "Could you…feed
me…?"
 
"Yeah…!" It took a couple seconds for Sawamura to process what was asked of him
and answer. The whole while Miyuki didn't look at him once.
 
So there they were, Sawamura sitting at the edge of Miyuki's bed and lifting
spoonful after tentative spoonful for Miyuki to eat.
 
"It…it tastes better than it did before," Miyuki offered as conversation when
they were almost done the bowl. He spoke between bites, his blanket clutched in
his hands unknowingly as he stared downwards.
 
"I forgot to bring salt and pepper," Sawamura said as if mentioning the flavour
reminding him of what he had forgotten to do.
 
"It's good how it is," Miyuki responded, taking another spoonful. "Thanks,"
 
"Yeah, o-of course," Sawamura said, and scooped the last of it all together
into one last spoonful and fed it to Miyuki.
 
"Aren't you going to have something to eat as well?" Miyuki asked when he noted
that there was only food brought for him.
 
"I ate before I came here, right after classes got out," Sawamura said, looking
down at the empty bowl. Miyuki shifted in his bed.
 
"Dig in the drawer on the left over there and grab some money - get me some
banana bread, for dessert," Miyuki said, his fist near his mouth as he burped
quietly.
 
"Ah, sure…!" Sawamura said and found the (designer) wallet, taking out just
enough. "I'll be back quickly," he said as he left, Miyuki only sitting there.
 
It was of course a quick trip, and walking back, he heard Miyuki retching in
his room. The two small loaves of banana bread were nearly dropped. "M-Miyuki!!
What's wrong?!" He asked, bursting in the room. Miyuki was kneeling over the
garbage bin. After a few heaves, he puked into it again. "Miyuki!" Sawamura
tried to get his attention, but dropping to his knees beside him, Miyuki only
reached over and grabbed the hem of Sawamura's shirt. Was he crying?
 
Miyuki was about to say something but vomiting again interrupted him, and his
grip on Sawamura's shirt tightened. Sawamura didn't know what to do so, in
panic, he put one arm around Miyuki, rubbing his back. "A-are you okay…??" The
faint horror was there in his tone. Miyuki only nodded and puked one more time.
 
"I think…I think that's all of it…" Miyuki said, finally, his raspy voice
sounding torn. Without realising it, he let go of Sawamura's shirt, grabbing a
napkin and wiping at his mouth. He wiped at his eyes first, though.
 
"H-here!" Sawamura said, jumping up and grabbing a bottle of water. Miyuki took
and swished some around in his mouth, spitting it out, then taking a long gulp.
"Is your stomach settled…??"
 
"Y-yeah…I don't feel the urge…" Miyuki breathed and shut the lid to the trash
bin. He rose, then, taking a moment to seemingly balance himself and then began
to move back to his bed.
 
"You got it…?" Sawamura asked and tried to help Miyuki there, but Miyuki shoved
off from him.
 
"I'm fine…!" Miyuki bit out, looking back. The expression of confusion and
worry turned angry on Sawamura's face.
 
"Why do you keep saying that! No you're not!" Sawamura raised his voice, making
fists.
 
"…I'm going to go back to bed. Isn't it almost time for you to join practise?"
Miyuki asked. If he could feel Sawamura's glare, he was ignoring it by lying
down and facing the wall again. Sawamura was just about to yell a 'fine' at him
and leave but he noticed Miyuki was…shaking. Not just shaking, he was
trembling.
 
"Miyuki…?" Sawamura crouched at the edge of the bed and reached his hand out to
touch Miyuki's arm.
 
"What do you want?" Miyuki said, pulling his arm in. That didn't hide the
tremors though. Sawamura didn't answer him and instead sat on the edge of the
bed, which Miyuki was about to turn and berate him for if not for the fact
that...Sawamura began rubbing slow circles along his back with his hand.
 
"My…my mum used to do this when I was sick," Sawamura said slowly, as if
offering whatever he could as an explanation for this unexpected, to the both
of them, action. Miyuki's trembles eased a little, but he curled in against his
pillow. "S-sometimes she'd end up falling asleep in my bed, doing this,"
Sawamura himself couldn't help but awkwardly look away. Miyuki still didn't say
anything.
 
But, wordless as he was, the fact that he shook less was reason enough for
Sawamura to continue, even if he himself was unsure about it. "She used to hold
me too sometimes, but I obviously won't do that! Haha!!" His tone for the
latter half was forcedly happy.
 
"…Why not?"
 
When Miyuki said that, Sawamura was shocked into stopping for the briefest of
seconds before he continued circuits along his broad back, no less languid. "W-
well…I mean…if you want, I guess…I just thought that it would be weird to you
or…"
 
"Forget it, never mind."
 
But the chord Miyuki's words struck in Sawamura inspired him to stop those
comforting circles and instead moved him into lifting the blankets and
shimmying up next to Miyuki. Sawamura's arms came around him and pulled Miyuki
loosely against Sawamura's chest. He moved around a bit and the rest of him
came to press lightly against Miyuki too. "It's…it's cool, I've done it with
friends before…" Sawamura spoke quietly in something resembling shame (for
once). He saw Miyuki's head lower.
 
If Miyuki had any reservations, he didn't act on it. And soon enough, Sawamura
found that Miyuki was asleep. His trembles continued on though, very faint,
very small, just enough so that when you had your arms around someone as snugly
as Sawamura did would you feel them, and no other time. Shifting on his elbow,
he looked over at Miyuki's face. He looked stern, stressed…his frown was heavy,
and his mouth open as he breathed through it.
 
With the hand on top of Miyuki, he reached up and felt Miyuki's forehead. With
all the heat he was radiating, his hot, hot forehead came as no surprise.
Sawamura considered getting up to get a face cloth to dampen, but then he'd
have to move Miyuki, and potentially waken him…Sawamura was surprisingly comfy
too, though that was just a background observation, something he wouldn't even
consider before duty. As if sensing Sawamura's intentions, one of Miyuki's
hands grabbed Sawamura's, holding it tightly in moist palms.
 
"Miyuki…?" Sawamura whispered. Miyuki didn't respond. Lying back down, Sawamura
went to hold him again when Miyuki stirred and sat up. "Miyuki??"
 
He sat there for a bit, wavering, before looking back at the other person
sharing his bed. "Sara…Sawara…" He stopped to close his eyes, though they were
only half open to begin with, and finally got it right. "Sawamura?"
 
"Y-yes?" Sawamura got ready to get up at a moment's notice to bring Miyuki
whatever he needed - water, food…
 
"I were…who…" Miyuki's words were a little garbled, slurred. He rested his hand
against his forehead, as if concentrating on collecting his words. "I
can't…think,"
 
"Go back to sleep!" Sawamura said and Miyuki looked at him far more dazed than
he ever had yet. "You're…delirious. You should go back to sleep," Sawamura
blinked, looking at Miyuki with big concerned eyes. That must have gotten
through to him, because Miyuki began to lie down again.
 
Only…Miyuki pulled Sawamura into what must be called an embrace, wrapping
himself around the boy. Sawamura stiffened but didn't fight it, Miyuki's face
coming to rest in Sawamura's hair, his nose against Sawamura's forehead.
Sawamura didn't move. With his breath caught in his throat, he couldn't even
get himself to breathe.
 
"D-do you need anything…?!" Sawamura asked dumbly, not knowing what to do with
himself.
 
"Nnmm, no…" Miyuki answered.
 
"A-all right," Sawamura said, and let himself be held by Miyuki. His eyes were
becoming a tiny bit watery, and he didn't know why.
 
"Thanks any ways," Miyuki mumbled and then kissed Sawamura's hair. Sawamura's
chest was already filled with some strange feeling, something deep in him that
made his chest feel tight, but this made his face hot, made his stomach
flutter, and his heart skip.
 
"Y-yes," He didn't know why he replied, probably just to do something,
anything, and then he leaned into Miyuki, resting his hands on Miyuki's chest.
Miyuki's hand rubbed Sawamura's back a few times before he relaxed again and
fell back asleep.
 
Sawamura didn't realise he fell asleep too, but heavy fists slamming against
the door jolted him awake. His eyes immediately found the clock and he saw
practise was over. He had slept for hours. Untangling himself from Miyuki, who
let him go easily, he quickly gathered his stuff. Miyuki's roommates were
yelling for Sawamura to open up or for Miyuki to wake up, and Sawamura called
for them to wait a minute. With his hand on the lock knob, just before he
opened it, he put his stuff down and leaned over Miyuki.
 
"Hey…Miyuki…I'm going now," Sawamura said, and Miyuki nodded slowly in his
sleep. Sawamura raised his hand, but stopped, not knowing what he was going to
do with it. And then, on impulse, he leaned forward and kissed Miyuki's cheek.
The sensation made the fiery tightness in his chest return full force, and made
his stomach turn upside down, and his lips tingled too. Unlocking the door, he
slipped right past the aggressive and impatient roommates, offering quick
apologies and running to his room. They probably didn't even notice the strange
mix of elation and frightened confusion that painted his face.
***** Chapter 3 *****
Chapter Notes
     This chapter is about as long as the first two combined!! It also
     changed the rating to what it is now, so I hope you enjoy it...
     As always, also_on_tumblr! And in the future, watch for a Sawamura
     version!
See the end of the chapter for more notes
Friday came and went, and unspectacularly at that. Sawamura sat in the
bathhouse, the last one once again (was this an established trend?) to do so.
He sat there, resting his chin on folded arms on the edge of the bath, staring
at nothing and just thinking to himself in the steamy quiet. Miyuki wasn't at
practise again today, which was expected - yesterday's upset continued on into
today, so said his roommates to Kataoka. Miyuki had, apparently, dry heaved
early in the morning before finally crashing in bed again. Sawamura considered
stopping by later tonight, but what would he do? What would he say? He lightly
touched his lips with fingertips, thinking back about how soft Miyuki's cheek
was…
 
"Agh, why did I do that!!" Sawamura yelled at himself, turning over and
splashing water everywhere. He grimaced, and blamed Miyuki. He was the one who
did it first when his lips, though dry, pressed against Sawamura's forehead,
giving him some sort of affection that also felt like gratitude. And genuine
gratitude at that.
 
And it's not like Miyuki wasn't…attractive…no, it would be lying if Sawamura
said he hadn't acknowledged Miyuki's looks like basically everyone else had in
the world. Though in his defense, Sawamura never really thought about it beyond
casual notice, and now he was being forced to! At least he could empathise with
the players and coaches of opposing teams now.
 
God, Miyuki was irritating.
 
Sawamura opened his eyes, looking up at the ceiling, at the light that was
behind a plastic covering. He was irritating. And mean-spirited. And full of
himself. But he was also skilled, and capable, and observant…and maybe he was
even caring, in his own way…Sawamura wanted to see him. He closed his eyes
again, taking a facecloth and draping it over his face.
 
There, Sawamura admitted it.
 
So, finally gathering himself after nearly an hour of relaxing in the hot water
and every so often waving off the janitor who would come by to see if he could
shut the bathhouse down, Sawamura toweled off and got dressed and left. However
he wasn't going to go see Miyuki, of course.
 
It was no less humid tonight than it was during the day, and Sawamura welcomed
it. He loved the summer and warm nights. Poor Furuya was probably off somewhere
hiding under a damp, cool rock. He especially loved that if you were quiet
enough, you could hear the insects alive in the grasses. Damn, he should have
brought at least a couple containers for bugs…he could have caught a few
beetles to keep as pets. If it were allowed, of course. Maybe Kuramochi would
even be afraid of them. Speaking of Kuramochi…
 
"You're late!! We were about to lock you out and make you sleep outside!"
Kuramochi's high voice came crashing down on Sawamura, wrestling him into the
ground the instant he stepped into the dorm room.
 
"Because I almost fell asleep in the bath! So let me go!" Sawamura answered, as
if his reason for tardiness was a valid excuse. Kuramochi only twisted his arm
around from one position to another. Naturally, Sawamura's arm bent into
position easily, his joints providing smooth, almost liquid-like resistance
when anyone else's may have dislocated or worse.
 
"That's no excuse!! If anything, that only makes me madder!" Kuramochi scolded,
then Masuko spoke up.
 
"One of Miyuki's roommates came by, which is why he's giving you hell." Masuko
said, watching from his bed.
 
"What'd…he say??" With his chin pressed into the floor, Sawamura struggled to
speak. His bag of personal toiletries had long since flown across the room when
he was driven down.
 
"Something about watching Miyuki for the night," Masuko shrugged and turned
away.
 
"He can't deal with Miyuki's dry heaving all the time, and both of them wanted
to spend the night somewhere else - somewhere where they would actually be able
to sleep through the night," Kuramochi recited. Sawamura had to tap out then as
he actually started to feel the burning pull on his muscles and his ligaments.
 
"W-wait, why me?!" Sawamura asked, sitting up against his bed and moving his
arm in circles after Kuramochi backed off.
 
"I dunno, how should we know? Maybe because you spent the day there with him
before??" Kuramochi shrugged, padding off to resume whatever he was doing
previously. He gave Sawamura an evil eye before turning away.
 
"I need to get sleep as well!" Sawamura said exasperatedly. They didn't seem to
care though, as no one answered him. So he just picked up his shower bag and
put it away and lied on his bed with a book he was almost finished with. It was
a rare quiet in the room then. He peered over at Kuramochi and saw he was
actually at the desk working. Oh well, rarities are to be appreciated. So
Sawamura resumed reading.
 
It was half an hour past 11 when Sawamura finished his manga and rolled over
onto his belly. He wasn't really paying that much attention to what he read, he
realised once he turned the final page and found that he remembered nothing of
what happened…he would have to read it again later, he sighed. Tossing it
aside, he decided to get ready for bed; he threw his shirt aside too and found
his pair of pajama bottoms, flopping back onto bed and looking out the window
of their room. He didn't feel all that tired, but maybe sleep would help him
get back in order. Was he even out of order? He continued looking out the
window until the curtains were drawn.
 
"Is something bothering you, Sawamura-chan?" Masuko asked, looking down to him
from the side of the window, curtain drawstrings in hand.
 
"Huh? Why do you ask?" Sawamura blinked and sat up.
 
"You're not really yourself," Masuko replied simply and went back to his bed.
Sawamura frowned, utterly lost as to what Masuko meant. Then an eraser his him
square on the forehead.
 
"He means you're feeling distant right now," Kuramochi snapped. Sawamura looked
at him with big confused eyes, and Kuramochi couldn't help but sigh and lower
his head. "Stand up,"
 
"…Wh-what? Why?!" Sawamura leaned back and put his arm up, expecting to be
murdered at any moment now.
 
"Just stand up," Kuramochi said and did so himself. Against his better
instincts, Sawamura obeyed. Kuramochi walked over, not stomped or charged,
grabbed Sawamura's pillow, and in less than two seconds shoved it in Sawamura's
face, pushed Sawamura out the door, and locked it.
 
"Wha- hey!!" Sawamura choked on pillow when he tried to speak and suddenly
found himself outside on the ground. He stood up, having tripped, and banged on
the door. "What are you doing!! Let me in!"
 
"No! We're going to sleep, so good night!" Kuramochi called back, almost
singing. Sawamura held his head in distress - shirtless and all.
 
"I want to go to sleep too! S…sorry for being distant!!" Sawamura tried the
doorknob desperately and as if in response, the lights in the room went out.
 
.
 
.
 
.
 
"Is he still there…?" Masuko asked Kuramochi, the two indeed in their own beds.
It had been a full twenty minutes now.
 
"Yeah, I think so - he's dumber than pile of bricks," Kuramochi snickered,
seeing Sawamura's silhouette sitting against the wall outside their room.
 
"I hope he figures out what he has to do," Masuko said, turning over.
 
"He better, it's his only option! Either that or actually sleep outside, and
with only a pillow at that! Kyaha!" Geez, Miyuki catches a flu and suddenly
Sawamura's world is in such disarray. Well, that's a pitcher for you - knocked
over by the slightest breeze. Kuramochi stretched and moved around, getting
comfy again and closing his eyes in satisfaction.
 
Outside, Sawamura tapped his foot softly, wondering when they would let him in.
When he finally resolved that they weren't going to, he stood up with his
pillow and glanced around. He mentally recalled a map of the school grounds,
wondering where there might be a comfy bench to sleep on. Regardless, he
started walking towards the main sports building. Maybe it would be open, and
he could hang out there until he thought of something? Or until morning, as he
was drawing blanks at this rate…
 
When it came into view, he was devastated to see all the lights off there as
well, as well as all the doors closed and locked. "Aaaah what will I do now!?!"
Sawamura yelled, trying to pull the front doors open - to no avail, of course.
 
Then, he perked up because the realisation of an idea hit him.
 
"I'll ask Chris if he can get them to let me back in! He always stays up late
studying!" Sawamura said, grabbing his pillow and skipping off in bliss. He was
nearly there when he saw one of Miyuki's roommates walking his way.
 
"S-Sawamura??" The roommate said, and Sawamura froze in place.
 
"W-what is it?" Sawamura asked, ready to run and escape at a moment's notice.
What if they were still mad about Sawamura falling asleep on them and locking
them out of their own room for a few hours!?
 
"It is you! Good!" He came up to Sawamura and put his arm around him. He then
began to walk and lead the two. "Why are you shirtless-- never mind, are you
doing anything…?"
 
"N…no…why…" Sawamura leaned away a little. He felt like he should have said
yes, that he was busy, though…
 
"Ah, excellent, excellent. Come with me, I'll explain when we get there." And
the two wandered off. They came up the stairs and around to Miyuki's, and the
roommate's, room. "See, Sawamura, we just kinda need you to…well, we tried
coming by earlier but you weren't there," he began explaining. Sawamura stopped
in place a couple feet in front of the door.
 
"Y-yeah! I heard. So…so what…" Sawamura eyed him, Sawamura's pillow still in
tow. He held it to his chest.
 
"Soooo we want you to spend the night and hold down the fort, since we have
things to do. Yeah. We were told not to leave Miyuki alone if at all possible
and we're busy. Soooo…" the roommate opened to door and invited Sawamura in.
Sawamura peered in and saw Miyuki was asleep in bed.
 
"I don't wanna do this! I still need to find myself a place to sleep…!"
Sawamura turned around and saw that the roommate was gone. Sawamura whipped
around, looking in all directions. Damn was he fast…Sawamura chewed his lip,
unsure of what to do. Finally looking in the room again, he felt a sense of
dread. He probably should have just stayed in the bathhouse for all that
happened.
 
"M-Miyuki! I'm coming in…!" Sawamura whispered, stepping in lightly and turning
to close the door as quietly as possible. Miyuki didn't stir, but Sawamura
immediately saw the trash bin beside his bed. He peered in and was both
disgusted and strangely pained to see both old and fresh bile. The least they
could have done was change the bag for him.
 
He neither sighed nor felt lament when he dug around for a new garbage bag,
tying up and replacing the old one with Miyuki's sickness in it. Stepping out
and bringing it to the dumpsters, Sawamura in truth thought nothing of it. He
remembered once when his best friend back home was sick and Sawamura had to
bring a bucket of water from the old fashioned well to help clean up vomit on
the bathroom floor. It's not like they hadn't done the same for him at times
too.
 
Stepping back in the room (and thanking the heavens that the door hadn't
miraculously locked itself), he saw Miyuki sitting up, his hair in a bedhead
mess. Sawamura paused, wondering what he should say. That's when Miyuki looked
back at him, looked at him like he had before: absent and most likely still
delirious.
 
Miyuki closed his eyes for longer than what could be considered a blink and
opened them again. He looked like a zombie, and was sure as hell behaving like
one too. Sawamura only let out a breath through his nose, his lips drawn back
in both pity and duty. Miyuki's eyes weren't even focused on him.
 
"Shh, it's just me, Sawamura," the boy said gently as he eased Miyuki back into
a lying position. Miyuki only nodded with closed eyes and fell asleep once
more. It was as if he were never even awake to begin with. Looking him over
once more, Sawamura turned to the other beds and quickly deduced which one was
likely cleaner and climbed into that one, hugging his pillow. Instinctively he
lied on his side to face Miyuki. If anything should happen, Sawamura might as
well try to be there for him, right?
 
Yeah.
 
.
 
.
 
.
 
The clock read a little before 3 AM when Sawamura stirred. He was sleeping
lightly, he noted, and felt accomplishment that when someone might need him, he
could pull through his habits - in this case, sleeping deeply. He opened his
eyes to see Miyuki looking at him.
 
"Hey there," Miyuki greeted. His voice had the rasp of illness and just waking
to it.
 
"H-hey…" Sawamura greeted back, and then jumped a little in place. "You're
awake!?"
 
"Hahaha, you're still…still slow on the uptake, I see, no matter where and when
it is." Miyuki's grin was tired. "I've been awake for a while now - how long
have you been here?"
 
"Since midnight, more or less…" Sawamura said after easing back down.
 
"Where's those bozos of roommates?" Miyuki didn't once bring his languid gaze
off of Sawamura, which, without his glasses, felt strangely inviting despite
being a little unnerving as well. It was more inviting though. "Don't tell me
they dumped me on you,"
 
"N…no, not really…" Sawamura said, glancing away. He couldn't find a
comfortable place to look, wanting to both stay looking away and even more so
to go back to meeting Miyuki's relaxed eyes.
 
"Ah, so they did," Miyuki finally let off of Sawamura and rolled onto his back.
 
"But it's no bother! I was kicked out of my room any ways, again…" the last
word was said under his breath, but Miyuki heard it nonetheless and chuckled,
then coughed.
 
"Well, whatever, you're here now I guess," Miyuki hacked phlegm together and
spat it in the trash bin.
 
"Do you remember me entering the room?" Sawamura asked. Seeing the bin reminded
him that Miyuki was (sort of) awake when he returned from changing the bag.
Miyuki paused, thinking back.
 
"Yeah, I think so…not really though," Miyuki answered.
 
"Huh…you were just kinda sitting up and I put you back to bed, so I guess you
wouldn't," Sawamura was still curled around his pillow with some of the blanket
bunched in his hand and brought up to cover his mouth.
 
"You make me sound like a child, wording it like that," Miyuki joked. It was
comforting that he was conscious and aware now; just too bad his appearance was
as disheveled as when he wasn't.
 
"It was the same with the other times too! Which I guess you don't remember
either…" Sawamura spoke first to Miyuki then more to himself at the end there.
 
"Oh god, there were other times…?" Miyuki lifted his pillow and put it over his
face. Sawamura shot a dagger or two at Miyuki with his eyes.
 
"Just…just on that one day I hung out with you," all his good and civil service
was going unappreciated. Sawamura didn't get an answer for a bit.
 
"I don't remember." Miyuki then said finally, and somehow the plain and candid
tone slipped past Sawamura's daggers and disarmed him. "Not even yesterday…it's
all a blur."
 
"You were delirious for a while…" Sawamura offered as meagre explanation. That
Miyuki's tone was so plain and candid made Sawamura feel odd, almost off tempo.
Where was the sarcastic remark? The daring reply that tested the patience of
others?
 
"Yeah, so I've heard…" then it was quiet again. Sawamura looked at him, drawn
by curiousity to examine him. He noted that Miyuki was breathing through his
mouth still, that breathing was labour.
 
He saw that sight a lot these past days, it seemed: Miyuki's long, drawn
breaths coming scratchy through his mouth. How his shoulders visibly rose with
each breath, and how when no one was looking his eyes would lull as if to rest,
just for those few moments. Sawamura couldn't blame him for exerting so much
effort though; for not resting when he should have. He understood, or rather,
thought that he understood how it felt to not want to give up and rest. That's
how he felt about his dreams and goals here, surely Miyuki felt the same if not
more strongly. Sawamura would only stop to rest if it was absolutely needed, so
surely Miyuki was unrelenting despite…
 
"Oi, Sawamura," Miyuki's voice cut the silence and surprised Sawamura, "did you
fall back asleep?"
 
"What is it?? No, I'm still here," Sawamura responded and was ready to get up
to retrieve whatever was needed, reminded that Miyuki was sick and only hours
ago was probably puking up nothing, his body betraying him.
 
"Do you want to go to the store?" Miyuki had yet to lift the pillow from his
face.
 
"Uh, yeah! Sure, what do you need…?" Admittedly tired, Sawamura got up any
ways, pulling the blankets off of himself.
 
"I want something to eat. Dinner didn't go over so well yesterday," Miyuki rose
too after offering a washed up version of his usual killer smile.
 
"A-are…are you coming too?! I could go by myself!" Sawamura said, nearly ready
to shove him back down into bed.
 
"Uh, yeah, that's why I asked if you wanted to come. I was going to go whether
you were awake or not," Miyuki said and found his glasses, sitting at the edge
of his bed in his boxers. The shirt he was sleeping in was damp with a little
bit of sweat at the neckline and back. Miyuki must have noticed this too as he
soon changed it.
 
"Well…all right…" Sawamura assessed him. He seemed to be doing much better than
he was last time Sawamura saw him…he was even moving less dazedly, and with
regained liveliness, though he did still seem clumsy.
 
"…Do you want a shirt or a sweater or something?" Miyuki asked when he finally
registered Sawamura's shirtlessness. Miyuki himself slid into a pair of
sweatpants.
 
"A-ah, no! I'm okay," Sawamura felt a little bashful for some reason, but
didn't have enough shame to hide his body.
 
"That…that wasn't an offer, actually. They won't even let you in without a top
on." Miyuki shook his head, getting up and going to his closet. He pulled out a
light zip-up hoodie and held it out to Sawamura, who put it on.
 
"Th-thanks…" Sawamura muttered. It smelled like Miyuki…suddenly a hat was
shoved on Sawamura's head too.
 
"Here, this too," Miyuki was smiling at him. Sawamura jerked away and put his
hand on it, ready to take it off, but stopped at the very last moment. Despite
himself, he turned the cap to an angle, like how Miyuki would wear it.
 
"Isn't this how it's supposed to be worn…?" Sawamura asked tentatively, trying
to joke for once, and Miyuki blinked a couple times before barking a laugh.
 
"You're a funny guy, Sawamura," Miyuki didn't cough this time, but phlegm could
be heard in the back of his throat. Sawamura pursed his lips, looking down a
little. "Oh, and don't forget these," Miyuki brought out a pair of flip flops
and dropped them on the floor before Sawamura.
 
"Are…are you going to give me a pair of glasses too…??" Sawamura tried to joke
again, and Miyuki chuckled.
 
"Hah, yeah, and ruin those eyes? I'd prefer you keep your perfect vision,"
Miyuki slapped him on the shoulder and made for the door. "Come, let's go."
 
.
 
.
 
.
 
"So I was that delirious, hm? Did I say anything incriminating…?" Miyuki asked
Sawamura as they walked down the path through the nearby park. The brook beside
them provided ambience.
 
"Nah…" Sawamura responded without thinking, busy looking at the tall grasses
near the river bank. Miyuki's sweater was a little big on him, naturally, and
he left it unzipped. He still had Miyuki's hat on too which was funny because
Miyuki wasn't wearing a hat himself despite his unwashed hair. Maybe he was
still really sick. Then, Sawamura realised the gravity implied by Miyuki's
question. "I mean no! Why? You didn't share any big secrets or anything…!!"
 
"So then I just shared little secrets…??" Miyuki added a tone of seriousness to
his voice, and saw Sawamura back away in apprehension. A sense of success
washed over Miyuki but he stifled his smile.
 
"Aaaah no! I mean you shared no secrets! You didn't tell me anything!" Sawamura
held his head. For the second time tonight he thought that he just might die at
the hands of one of his seniors.
 
"Haha! Good! Seidou won't be down one pitcher come tomorrow!" Miyuki laughed
and Sawamura wailed quietly.
 
The early, early morning was still very warm, and from the grasses the
cricketing of bugs cheered on Miyuki and Sawamura as they walked. Miyuki
himself left his paper face mask around his neck - he'll put it on when they
get to the store. They had already talked about Sawamura's training after
leaving Seidou grounds, and they went over how Miyuki was feeling, so after the
exchange they had just now, it went quiet again. Miyuki glanced over at
Sawamura and saw he was mostly looking at the ground, but would occasionally
look over to the brush off the path.
 
"So," Miyuki began, already knowing both the answer to the question he was
about to ask and why the tall grass was so interesting to Sawamura, "What would
you do back in…wherever it was you come from? On nights like these, that is."
 
"Eh…?" Sawamura looked over at him as if Miyuki had guessed exactly what was on
his mind, which he did (not like it was difficult…), "I like to catch beetles
and stuff, and tonight's a good night, because it's humid and warm! That's what
I would do…"
 
Miyuki had long since acknowledged that it was endearing how enthusiastic and
genuine Sawamura was, and how useful this was for the baseball team, but even
in little things like this, Sawamura had a certain personable aura. "Well, why
don't you show me? Are there beetles around here?" Miyuki asked and Sawamura
perked up.
 
"Yeah! There is! There's a river right there, of course there's some…watch!"
Sawamura said, suddenly gaining a focused face as he trudged off the path, onto
the grass, and into the thigh-high bush. Miyuki kept walking, though he watched
Sawamura, and Sawamura generally kept pace over there. He took long steps so as
to walk over the little shrubs and not trample the tall grasses. A minute
later, he pounced down into the brush.
 
"You get one…?" Miyuki called out, facing aside to spit out pale green mucus
and phlegm. Over where Sawamura was, a large black beetle with what appeared to
be pinchers zipped towards Miyuki. His eyes widened and he ducked even though
its flight path was actually about a metre or so off from him. It flew past
him.
 
"Almost…!" Sawamura watched it from the grass. Turning back away, he continued
looking to flush some buggies out. On the path, Miyuki frowned. Catching
beetles more dangerous than he'd known.
 
They were out of the park now, and Miyuki had stopped to look back at Sawamura,
who was putting a glossy green beetle meticulously on a tree.
 
"Did it really have to be that tree?" Miyuki asked once Sawamura jogged to
where Miyuki was standing.
 
"Yeah! That genus of tree is one of the natural habitats for that beetle…"
Sawamura seemed serious, which may or may not have interested Miyuki in what he
said simply by virtue of his passion.
 
"Any other tree couldn't have sufficed?" Miyuki saw the 24 hour corner store
come into view down at the intersection corner a block away. He slid his mask
into place.
 
"Well, I could have put it anywhere, but that species of beetle just likes
those trees better," Sawamura shrugged, sticking his hands in his pajama
pockets. When they came up to the store, Miyuki turned to Sawamura.
 
"If you want anything, grab it now," Miyuki said as the automatic door slid
open.
 
"Actually, can I wait outside? I don't really want anything," Sawamura slowed
down and Miyuki looked at him.
 
"Uh…okay, yeah, I'll just be a minute then," Miyuki said and stepped in,
leaving Sawamura to lean against the wall in waiting. He drifted in past the
check out and in and out of the aisles until he found the foods section. He
scanned them over before deciding on a variety package of ready-to-eat rolls
and a plastic carton of western style sandwiches. It would have to do until the
cafeteria opened, and, well, Miyuki kinda wanted some junk food right now.
Going over to the fridges, he pulled out some vitamin water and went to pay.
 
"No joke! In fact, why don't we go now…? My house is literally just down the
street, and I could lend you them," a man's voice could be heard beyond the
doors, and Miyuki walked out see Sawamura leaning against the wall of the next
building over. Said man was leaning towards him.
 
"But I'm waiting for my friend," Sawamura said, his brow furrowed. The idiot
still had his sweater unzipped. The man put up his hand, taking a step towards
Sawamura.
 
"Eh, are they a good friend? Will they miss you if you're gone like five
minutes, tops…?" The way that man was smiling at Sawamura…
 
"Buddy, what are you doing?" Miyuki was suddenly between Sawamura and that man,
causing him to step back. Sawamura himself jumped.
 
"M-Miyuki!" He said, standing up.
 
"Hey, easy, what's your problem? I was just talking to him," the guy said, his
surprise leaving now and replaced with anger. It only made Miyuki stand firmer.
 
"There is no problem, because we're leaving," Miyuki was glaring at him openly
and fiercely. The guy only looked Miyuki over with disgust. "Come," Miyuki
said, and put his hand on Sawamura's back to lead him away down the street.
 
"Oi, Miyuki! What are you…the path's over there-- why are you pushing me?!"
Sawamura asked, having to walk quickly to keep pace with Miyuki. Behind them,
they guy shouted something at them.
 
"Just walk," Miyuki said and his tone of voice silenced Sawamura. After a
while, Miyuki slowed down and took his hand off of Sawamura.
 
"Hey, Miyuki…what was that all about…?" Sawamura asked once he felt it was
safe. Miyuki had not once stopped looking forward with a deep set frown.
 
"You don't know anything, do you!? You don't notice anything!" Miyuki turned
around, causing Sawamura to stop and stumble back a step. Sawamura looked
suddenly so confused and lost.
 
"Wh-what?? Why are you…what's wrong! What'd I do!?" Sawamura put his hands up.
Miyuki was looking him straight in the eye, and all he could do was put his
hands up. After a moment's pause, Miyuki clicked his tongue and looked away.
 
"You…you're so much work to look after," Miyuki said. Sawamura's hands lowered
a little, and he inched forward a tiny bit.
 
"What are you…saying…?" Sawamura asked and Miyuki looked up to the distance.
 
"I'm saying, no matter what, you still find a way to make others care for you,"
Miyuki could see Sawamura's head tilt a tiny degree in consideration, "even
when they're the sick one and you said you would look after them," Miyuki
finally looked at Sawamura and it seemed like the connections were being made
in that mind of his, behind those golden brown eyes.
 
"I don't really understand, but…" Sawamura began, making a visible effort to
piece his sentence together carefully, "I'm sorry for making you worry, or
whatever it was I did,"
 
"Nah, forget about it," Miyuki waved it off and even smiled at Sawamura, the
majority of it unforced. Miyuki realised he was getting mad at Sawamura way
more than he deserved, but it's not like he'd admit that outright…so instead he
just threw his arm around Sawamura and began walking a leisurely, almost
cheerful pace. "I wouldn't have it any other way, Sawamura!"
 
"I…I see," Sawamura said, leaning away from Miyuki a little. He still seemed
confused, but at least he was relaxed now.
 
"It'd be weird if the day ever came that I didn't need to care for you," Miyuki
said, looking down the street at where they needed to head. Sawamura only
commented on how weird HE was being, which Miyuki laughed at.
 
.
 
.
 
.
 
In the room, Sawamura took off Miyuki's clothes (that he was wearing) and put
them away as Miyuki did the same. The two only turned on the desktop lamp, and
put it to a dimmed setting at that.
 
"Do you want any?" Miyuki asked as he sat on his bed, tearing the tape and
opening the packages of food. Sawamura shook his head, climbing onto the bed he
claimed for himself. "All right, suit yourself," Miyuki shrugged and began
eating it down.
 
"Do you think you'll be good enough for tomorrow's practise…?" Sawamura asked
as he watched Miyuki go at it - he really must have been hungry…
 
"Eh, I might ride out the break for one more day," Miyuki shrugged. Sawamura
got hot about that.
 
"But you're fine!!" Sawamura said in a voice approaching a yell, yet somehow
kept his voice at an acceptable volume.
 
"Hahaha! So I am!! But I'm still tired, you know, and I'll be even more tired
tomorrow considering how late I'm up right now," Miyuki was smiling.
 
"It's your fault that we're awake though!" Sawamura said with exaggerated
reaction.
 
"Hey now, I didn't force you to come to the store with me or to even stay
awake! You're only up now because of you!" When Sawamura could only growl in
frustration, Miyuki felt that sense of accomplishment again.
 
"Well, fine…gimme a roll, I want some now," Sawamura grumbled vindictively.
Miyuki waved a hand at him.
 
"I'm not getting up - you come get it," Miyuki said, taking another bite of the
decorated sandwich and watched as Sawamura trudged over and sat on the other
end of the bed. Just as he was reaching out to one of the rolls, Miyuki
suddenly shot out, "Wait!" and Sawamura looked up at him in shock.
 
"Here, like this," Miyuki said teasingly and used the plastic fork that was
included to pick up a roll and hold it out for Sawamura to bite. Sawamura fumed
at him, but surprisingly he leaned forward and opened his mouth, so Miyuki fed
him with an almost excited smile.
 
"What's that look for…??" Sawamura asked between chewing.
 
"I didn't think you'd actually go for it! You've been so obedient lately! Are
you losing your spark?" Miyuki laughed and Sawamura grumbled to himself yet
again. Eventually they finished the food, Miyuki feeding Sawamura one more roll
after he was finished the first, so they shut off the lights, threw out the
rubbish, and lied in their beds. It was all very orderly considering how they
behaved around one another.
 
Lying in bed, there was no noise now, but it was half past 4, so what was
Sawamura expecting? He laid there looking up at the bunk above him though,
considering if he should bring THAT up or not…he wavered between yes and no as
he touched his lips lightly with his fingertips and when he decided to scope
things out first, the nervousness subsided a little.
 
"H-hey, Miyuki…are you still awake…?" Sawamura turned over, looking at Miyuki.
He saw Miyuki look back at him.
 
"Yeah, why? You need someone to hold your hand on the way to the bathroom?"
Miyuki said easily, and Sawamura whisper-shouted back.
 
"No! I was just going to ask if you could remember anything from Thursday, you
know, when I came over a second time?" Sawamura huffed.
 
"Mm, yeah, sort of. It's still hazy though. Why do you ask?" Miyuki brought his
hands out of the blanket and held them up, making shapes above him as he looked
at the ceiling.
 
"Oh, I was just wondering if you made me eat out of your fork to get back at me
or something…" Sawamura explained, and it was true that he did wonder that.
 
"Get back at you? For what?" Miyuki looked over at him again. He was shuffling
through his memories as he awaited Sawamura's answer.
 
"You know! For the chicken noodle soup thing. Because you were so dizzy, you
couldn't eat, and I ended up feeding you…" Sawamura trailed off at the end.
 
"…Oh," was all that Miyuki said.
 
"What do you mean by that, 'oh'…?" asked Sawamura.
 
"Eh, I didn't remember that until now. But I guess we're even now, then,"
Miyuki shrugged, and then it was his turn to ask things. "Is there anything
else that happened that I don't remember…? The last I remember is…going to the
cafeteria for soup I think." Of course Miyuki would remember that, though,
because Sawamura had angered him then.
 
"Uh…well…you ate, and I fed you…and then you sent me off to get banana bread
and when I came back, you were puking," Sawamura recalled. At that moment he
could almost feel Miyuki's mood change. "Uhm, it was…it was scary," Sawamura
said slowly as he watched for Miyuki's reaction.
 
"Hm." Miyuki said.
 
"What's wrong?" Sawamura propped himself up on his elbow - did Miyuki need to
puke again…!?
 
"Nothing. I don't like puking, is all." Miyuki was speaking removedly, as if
reporting work details.
 
"Oh, I see. That's understandable…" Sawamura began easing himself back down to
a lying position.
 
"What else?" Miyuki's tone had only changed marginally.
 
"I…" Sawamura was about to say that he ended up in bed with Miyuki, but had no
idea how to word it so Miyuki wouldn't react badly. "I rubbed your back for
you, because my mum used to do the same for me when I was sick…and…"
 
"And what…?" Miyuki asked after Sawamura didn't continue for some moments.
 
"I uhm, ended up lying down with you too - because sometimes me and my mum or
my friends would do that! And you said that it was okay, so I did…"
 
No response.
 
Sawamura was now facing the other way, towards the wall, hugging his pillow. He
was beginning to feel restful and figured he'd fall asleep at any moment now.
Tomorrow they had practise and he'd have to manage on much less sleep than
usual…maybe if he skipped the first half, he could say it was for Miyuki's
sake…
 
Miyuki. Sawamura brought his fingertips up to his lips, touching them gingerly.
He felt like he missed his chance to pursue an explanation, or anything for
that matter, and it made him feel like he was about to slip into a slump.
Longer than a day was too much for him to bear agonising and pining over
something. Worse yet, it seemed Miyuki was blissfully unaware over it. And, of
course, as if on cue, Miyuki spoke to him.
 
"Hey, Sawamura, did you fall asleep?"
 
"No, I didn't," Sawamura turned over halfway, looking back to Miyuki. He heard
Miyuki get up and saw that Miyuki looked at him too.
 
"Do you want to do it again? Share a bed," Miyuki asked. He still had that tone
of removal, that tone that made it sound like he was speaking for himself and
not because he wanted to. It wasn't a tone that Sawamura liked. "You can say
no,"
 
"N-no! It's okay, I mean…no, I don't want to say no…" Sawamura said, rising so
he could speak to Miyuki clearly.
 
"Well…?" Miyuki pressed on, and Sawamura glanced down.
 
"I…I don't know. Do you want to…?" Sawamura waited for a reply. Miyuki said
nothing for almost five seconds, which was minutes to Sawamura, who wanted to
get up and go then and there.
 
"Yeah." Miyuki said and Sawamura saw Miyuki moved over and make room for him.
So, nervously excited, he got up and walked over to Miyuki's bed. "Is that
enough for you?" Miyuki asked and lifted the blankets. His eyes were averted
from Sawamura's.
 
"Y-yeah…that's plenty…" Sawamura said and climbed in. Miyuki threw the blankets
over him and laid back down as well.
 
"So. What else did we do?" Miyuki asked next to Sawamura, and Sawamura turned
his head to face him. Miyuki was looking up at the ceiling, lying on his back
again.
 
"What do you mean??" asked Sawamura, and Miyuki let out a breath. At least when
he spoke he sounded like himself again.
 
"I mean when I was sick and didn't remember anything! You fed me soup, I threw
it up, you rubbed my back, got in bed with me…what did we do next?" Miyuki even
sounded entertained again, amused.
 
"…We just slept together," answered Sawamura and Miyuki clicked his tongue.
 
"Well I hope so! But I mean how did we," Miyuki was shaking his head
incredulously.
 
"Okay! Well kinda like…I ended up holding you from behind for a while! And then
you got up and spoke some nonsense, so I told you go to back to sleep, and you
ended up hugging me and that's how we slept." Sawamura pushed it all out at
once, and Miyuki was even stunned a little at how suddenly he replied.
 
"Huh." And there Miyuki went again, replying with only one sound not even close
to a word itself.
 
"Augh, stop doing that! It's pissing me off!" Sawamura cried out and Miyuki
shifted.
 
"What do you mean, stop doing that?!" Miyuki raised his voice back, but not all
seriously or with aggression.
 
"Doing…that, that 'huh', or that 'oh'!" Sawamura mimicked Miyuki tone at each
exclamation.
 
"Oh, hahaha! Well what do you want me to say, 'ohh, Sawamura, come, let's
cuddle some more'?!" Miyuki laughed at him, and how he got worked up for
nothing.
 
"It'd be better than just one word replies that don't let me know what you're
thinking!" Sawamura yelled, then immediately wished he could take back what he
said when he saw Miyuki rise to an elbow and look at him with some sort of
smile.
 
"Well, okay, do you want to cuddle some more then?" Miyuki asked, and saw
Sawamura turn away. "No, really! C'mon, why not??"
 
"No, I don't want to if you're just doing it to tease me or something,"
Sawamura huffed and Miyuki pushed him back and forth slowly with one hand.
 
"Awh, don't be like that, I'm serious! It worked before, didn't it?" Miyuki
smiled even more when he saw Sawamura look back just a little bit in
consideration.
 
"Are you sure you're not just doing it to tease me," Sawamura finally mumbled.
 
"Yeah, for real!" Miyuki said, and Sawamura turned over, making Miyuki
infinitely happy. Or at least that's how he acted, that damn irritating guy.
 
"…Fine," Sawamura said and was pulled into Miyuki's arms.
 
"Like this??" Miyuki asked, feeling the warmth of Sawamura's skin on his own.
It was welcomed, especially since despite a lingering fever, Miyuki felt cold.
 
"Y-yeah…" Sawamura was looking down, into space. He brought his hands up in
memory, resting them on Miyuki's chest.
 
"Haha! Are we missing anything…?" Miyuki's voice was ever aggravating, but
Sawamura himself couldn't help but be…be happy to be here again.
 
"N…no…well actually, you uhm," Sawamura began despite feeling bashful.
 
"Hm…? Go on, say it," the joy in Miyuki's own voice was obvious. It lulled
Sawamura into a false sense of security.
 
"You nestled your face into my hair, like, just above my forehead," Sawamura
said. After a bit, Miyuki did so, nuzzling Sawamura.
 
"Like this?" Miyuki asked.
 
"Down a little," Sawamura directed him and he felt Miyuki's mouth lower down to
where it was then, against his forehead.
 
"Here," Miyuki said for confirmation, and Sawamura gave a small nod. Moving
around in place to get comfy, Miyuki settled into Sawamura like that, and
Sawamura could not resist pressing into Miyuki's chest.
 
And so they laid there like that, together. Sawamura was stewing too much to
fully enjoy it, but because of how happy he was to be there, how much he wanted
to just grab Miyuki and squeeze him, Sawamura did enjoy it for what it was:
cuddling, just teammates cuddling. And somehow, rationalising it like that
didn't make it hurt less that he wanted more.
 
Oh well, he was never a rational type to begin with. Instead, he leaned into
Miyuki, pressed his body against the other's, tangled their legs together. That
elicited Miyuki to speak again.
 
"You're getting really into it, aren't you??" The breath of Miyuki's voice
moved Sawamura's hair. When Sawamura didn't respond right away, Miyuki followed
up quickly. "I am too, you know,"
 
"I thought you would have fallen asleep," Sawamura said finally for the sake of
saying anything.
 
"Hm…romantic, though, isn't it…?" Miyuki spoke a little more softly this time,
and Sawamura frowned hard.
 
"I said not to tease me…" At any moment, Sawamura was ready to untangle himself
and pull back. Yet for some reason Miyuki's embrace tightened. Miyuki didn't
speak for a while, and with his throat right there, Sawamura heard him swallow.
Down with it Miyuki must have swallowed the risks he weighed.
 
"But what if…" Miyuki began, and Sawamura could in that instant feel that this
little world was about to shatter, that whatever Miyuki was about to say would
impart change - and boy did Sawamura know what to expect was coming.
 
Miyuki moved back, using one hand to lift Sawamura's chin up. Sawamura's heart
raced. "What if I'm not teasing you?"
 
He only waited a second, Miyuki looking into Sawamura's eyes in the dark,
before taking action. He looked for approval or disapproval, for the fear
Sawamura had and the excitement and want that the two seemed to share, before
Miyuki moved forward. He leaned in, kissing Sawamura on the lips, lightly, and
almost stopped there. But Sawamura kissed him back, and a little sloppily at
that; too much force, not enough practise.
 
"I bet that…this didn't happen, hm?" Miyuki said with an easy, still sick,
still tired killer smile. Sawamura only pouted at him with misty eyes. Miyuki
kissed him again with more passion, and he found that Sawamura quickly learned…
 
.
 
.
 
.
 
Eijun kissed him back, copied the way his lips moved, and bunched his hands in
his shirt when he pulled Eijun's chin closer. And Kazuya was kissing with more
want, more desire. His tongue moved out and licked Eijun's lip, making Eijun
stiffen and let out the smallest of surprised breaths. Kazuya wanted to make
him gasp again so he could hear it once more.
 
"Do you know…" Kazuya began to ask but Eijun parted his lips, giving a tiny
nod. So Kazuya kissed him again. When their tongues came together, rubbing
together, giving way and following, Kazuya pulled Eijun ever closer. Eijun felt
Kazuya's tongue on his, and then on his lips too; pressing in, gently moving
along the inside of his mouth and pulling out again. And Eijun followed.
 
It seemed he had enough of the calm intimacy though, as Kazuya broke away from
Eijun and Eijun saw him sit up and throw off his shirt. Eijun's stomach turned
in anticipation. He looked at Kazuya through lulling eyelids as he was kissed
again. Kazuya's hands moved over Eijun's chest, and it was Eijun's turn to hold
Miyuki's face, his hands on his cheeks, and pull him in deeper.
 
Eijun could feel himself getting turned on as they kissed so deeply. He felt
the attention of his senses turn downwards, magnifying every feeling that came
when the two of them brushed together, and especially when Eijun's growing
erection brushed against something else. Kazuya kissed him deeply again, but
used the distraction of his tongue in Eijun's mouth to move his hand downwards.
That cemented Eijun's reaction and his penis was hard now. He stopped to speak.
 
"Are you going to…" Eijun said, and Kazuya looked him over.
 
"Going to what…? Touch it?" Kazuya asked him, and Eijun was too mussed up to be
angry at his sly teasings.
 
"W…well…to put it like that…" Eijun said with his elevated breathing. Kazuya
only showed a small smile.
 
"I want to, so yeah," Kazuya replied and with his hand he rubbed Eijun's
erection through his pajama bottoms. Eijun's eyes, though his eyelids were
already lowered and relaxed, narrowed more. Eijun's breath indicated his
pleasure as Kazuya rubbed with more fluid motion.
 
And as he did so, Kazuya kissed him again.
 
They didn't speak after that, not directly. Instead Kazuya pulled down the
waist of Eijun's pajama bottoms and placed little kisses down Eijun's chest to
his abdomen in preparation. Eijun was gripping the sheets, Kazuya saw, and it
was endearing. With his left hand, he slowly began to masturbate Eijun, and the
boy's breath only increased in pleasure, in excitement, and in nervousness.
With Eijun's cock in Kazuya's mouth, that reaction only doubled. Eijun's hips
moved here and there, moving forward for more.
 
He had his eyes closed though, focusing on sucking Eijun off, but he knew he
must have looked cute. Eijun's head was back as he began letting out small
noises. Eijun's hand came down, grabbing Kazuya's free hand, and moved it to
his balls, making Kazuya grab them. Of course Kazuya took the hint - it seemed
Eijun could be frisky when he wanted. So Kazuya fondled them, rubbing them
gently.
 
Precum began to leak out into Kazuya's mouth and onto his tongue. It was nicely
bitter, a different taste that Kazuya found he liked. The small noises that
Eijun was making earlier, little gasps and small voiced consonants, turned into
more robust moans and breaths. It was lewd, and Kazuya kept sucking, kept
licking, kept bringing more out of him. He was moved his mouth up and down,
feeling Eijun's dick press into his mouth and into his throat. He tried to take
in as much as he could.
 
Then Eijun's breath hurried and he moaned out and Kazuya knew what was coming,
so he put as much of Eijun's cock in his mouth as comfortable and pumped the
rest. Eijun's legs tensed and with a push of his hips, he came into Kazuya's
mouth. Kazuya waited a bit, then slowly removed his mouth, making Eijun shiver.
He still had Eijun's load in his mouth.
 
"Is that…is that safe…" Eijun asked breathlessly, looking down to Kazuya with a
vague wince. Kazuya only shrugged then leaned over the edge of the bed and made
a show of spitting it into the garbage. Though, he did swallow the little that
remained coated in his mouth. It went down as smoothly as it tasted. Crawling
back up on Eijun, he kissed him again and Eijun made a bit of a face.
 
"What, don't tell me you're grossed out by your own cum," Kazuya smirked and he
could see the flush on Eijun's cheeks.
 
"Sh-shut up…I didn't think I'd be kissed so soon by someone whose mouth I just
came in…" Eijun said, huffing. Regardless though, when Kazuya just looked at
him with some sort of appreciative grin, Eijun continued, "Well, kiss me more,"
 
"Haha! That sounds more like you…" Kazuya said and they kissed a couple times
once more before Eijun paused.
 
"S-so uh…what do…what do you want…?" Eijun asked, his eyes averted bashfully.
 
"Hmmmm?" Kazuya asked, but was already excited and ready to ask for the daring.
 
"Isn't that what…would be fair or something?" Eijun was well aware of Kazuya's
own hard dick pressed against him down below.
 
"What, fair? Don't you know I'm happy enough just having you blow your load in
my mouth?" Kazuya said wickedly and Eijun glared at him, or rather, glared as
much as someone who was still feeling the afterglow of an orgasm could. As he
spoke, Kazuya removed and discarded his boxers, "But if you're so eager to do
something for me, here, just kinda…"
 
Moving so he was overtop Eijun, Kazuya brought Eijun's hand to his penis,
Eijun's own still semi-erect just under. It took a little positioning, but
Kazuya moved so his balls were on Eijun's and so that their dicks were aligned.
He moved Eijun's hand back and forth on his cock until Eijun got the idea and
began masturbating him of his own accord.
 
Letting out a breath, Kazuya brought his hand back up and put his arms on
either side of Eijun, so that he was in a sort of planking pose. Glancing down,
he moved his hips forward, grinding his junk onto Eijun's. This made him groan
despite himself, as he'd only just begun.
 
"Are you…are you ready…?" Kazuya asked, looking at Eijun. Eijun was still
slowly finding the best motions to use to jack Kazuya off, but he nodded, and
Kazuya lowered his head and began moving his hips more forcefully, with more
speed. With each thrust his balls rubbed against Eijun's, and his cock in
Eijun's hands would press onto Eijun's own. It was erotic, bringing to life
carnal and lascivious sensations. Every time Kazuya thrusted onto Eijun, he
fulfilled and brought forth more urges to continue to do so. It was made better
when Eijun spread his legs open a little more than they were before, giving
Kazuya better access.
 
And Eijun wasn't immune. He never felt something like it before, Kazuya
grinding on him, their junk rubbing together again and again. He was becoming
aroused all over, he could feel it, and the fact alone that he his hand was
around Kazuya's hard cock was enough to make him feel dizzy. But he kept at it,
he kept pumping now that he found a good pace and path of motion, and Kazuya's
breathing in his ear only turned him on more.
 
Kazuya was going fast now, at a regular pace. He breathing heavily, sometimes
making low groans in ecstasy, and Eijun felt some precum come out of his own
penis again. Just as Kazuya began to make steady low groans, Kazuya grabbed him
tight and almost growled to him to go as fast as he could. Eijun did just that,
pumping vigorously, and Kazuya thrust hard onto him as he gasped in Eijun's
ear, his cum spurting out onto Eijun's belly and smeared when Kazuya's own
tummy pressed against him with each thrust.
 
After a few seconds of holding that position, Kazuya loosened his hold on
Eijun's shoulders and arms and laid on him.
 
"You're going to be dead tired tomorrow, hahaha!" Miyuki laughed as he and
Sawamura found their previous position. They laid there for a while before
Miyuki rose and remarked on how Sawamura was hard again, but Sawamura only
flustered on about how he was too tired to do anything again right away.
 
"Aaaa, whatever!! I don't wanna hear about it!" Sawamura said in a raised
voice, but there was no bark behind it. He was snuggled into Miyuki's embrace
again, but instead of having Miyuki's lips to his forehead, Sawamura buried his
face in Miyuki's chest. After they caught their breath, Miyuki grabbed them
some tissues and they got cleaned up, though not before Miyuki scooped up some
of his cum from Sawamura's belly with his finger and tasted it. Sawamura was
sort of disgusted, but he couldn’t help but feel intrigued and even a little
turned on by even that. In the end he tasted some too, sucking on Miyuki's
finger and making him moan about how good Sawamura will be at sucking in the
future.
 
"Well, whatever, but if you get in trouble with coach, I'm not going to support
your claim that it was because of me," Miyuki said. Sawamura didn't reply, only
instead kissing Miyuki's chest. That surprised him…of course it did, Sawamura
always surprised him.
 
"Sh-shut up and go to sleep...you're supposed to be sick…" Sawamura grumbled,
and Miyuki was quiet after that. He never did bring up the fact that Miyuki
kissed him in his delirium, nor that he kissed Miyuki back, yet somehow that
seemed unimportant now. Eh, maybe he'll mention it tomorrow or some other day,
but for now, they slept.
Chapter End Notes
     As a last thought, does Miyuki even have roommates...
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