XP: More Kuramiyu for us fangirls. Thanks for the reviews thus far! It's a great suggestion that one of you brought up to bring in more of Kuramochi's past.

**Start**

"Kuramochi, don't you have class?"

"I'm skipping for three days," Kuramochi said simply as he connected his game console wires in Miyuki's room.

Miyuki smirked at him from his position on the bed. "Well, I would tell you to go, but I'd be so fucking bored without you."

Kuramochi snorted, passing Miyuki the other controller.

After that, Kuramochi draped himself over Miyuki and they read manga. Then they had lunch on the bed. And napped a little.

"Man, is this the life of an otaku? It's not so bad," Miyuki smiled. "But I feel so goddamn lazy..." This time, he was lying on Kuramochi's stomach. They were treating each other more like furniture the more time passed.

"Miyuki senpai! Do you need anything?" Sawamura asked loudly as he barged in. Class seemed to have ended.

"Icecream..."

"I want some potato chips."

"No one asked you, Kuramocchi!" But he went to buy both anyway.

"Ugh..." Miyuki reached over for his phone. Deciding it was too far, he gave up and dropped onto Kuramochi's chest, throwing his left arm across Kuramochi's and obnoxiously dropping his right over Kuramochi's face. Kuramochi grumbled and pushed it off.

Sawamura came back with a few senpai in tow, who wanted to check on Miyuki.

"Well, he seems fine. Other than the fact that he looks like he has no bones and took Kuramochi as a prisoner," Ryosuke commented.

"Help me..." Kuramochi whined. "This fatass refuses to move."

Miyuki allowed him to get up. But only so he could lean on his back and eat icecream. The other regulars hung around and played cards to wait for practice to start.

"Hey Miyuki. I have to go practice now."

Miyuki wanted him to stay. But he knew that was him being clingy and bored. "Come back with pudding. And my dinner."

"I'm sure you can walk to the cafeteria even with 'bedrest'," Kuramochi snickered. "I'll come get you later."

"Don't go..." Miyuki whispered as the door closed.

He sighed and scratched his head. He was getting really dependent on Kuramochi. He had to stop. Not that Kuramochi seemed to mind. Miyuki was pretty sure Kuramochi would stay if he asked aloud.

"Miyuki! Do you need a massage?"

Well. Maybe he wouldn't be bored afterall.

"I'm not sure you're supposed to massage a bump, but you can massage my shoulders since you seem so eager."

"Alright!"

The little hothead was actually pretty good at it.

"Miyuki, I'll help you clean up your room as well!" Sawamura said enthusiastically. He began dusting and kicking up a storm. Both of them started coughing, and in his coughing fits Sawamura knocked over a whole bunch of items on the desk.

"Oh shit I'm so sorry!" Rushing to clean up, Sawamura slipped on a stray baseball and fell over Miyuki.

Right on cue, the door opened.

"Sawamura is attacking me when I'm defenseless," Miyuki joked dryly as Sawamura flushed a bright red. He pulled his hand away from Miyuki's crotch as though burned.

"It was an accident! Chris senpai, you believe me right?" Sawamura asked desperately.

"Hmm," Chris put on a disapproving face, pretending to be upset. Miyuki snickered at the show he put on.

"No, Chris senpai! I was cleaning and I tripped! I swear! Miyuki, tell him!"

Furuya was quietly staring at the scene. He eyes flickered from Miyuki's crotch to Sawamura's hand.
"Relax, Bakamura. We all know that. We're just teasing you," Miyuki laughed. "So why did you guys come to my room?"

Chris held up several tapes. "I thought I could hold a theory lesson in your room since both of the pitchers are too worried about you to concentrate on pitching."

Miyuki smiled. "Well, set it up then." They sat down on the floor, after cleaning up some of the items Sawamura dropped and putting them back to their original places.

Chris periodically paused the tapes to explain different techniques and elaborated some situations in which to use them. As he explained in his deep, calming voice, Miyuki was slowly lulled to sleep, and soon his head hit Chris's shoulder. Chris continued regardless, speaking in a slightly softer voice to not rouse the other catcher.

"Sawamura, change the tape."

"Yes, Chris senpai!"

Always so eager, Chris mused. Only then did the other two pitchers realise that Miyuki was asleep. Chris was glad about it, because this meant they had been paying full attention to the lesson. Sawamura covered his mouth as Miyuki mumbled in his sleep, shifting. Chris smiled affectionately at the younger boy.

So headstrong. He never relied on his senpai and always seemed so strong and infallible. Chris knew sometimes it was all a pretence, but Miyuki never revealed a single weakness or allow anyone to baby him. He was glad Miyuki allowed Kuramochi to help him in the very least. Chris used to be a little sad that his fellow catcher took everything upon himself and never confided in him, especially when an error occurred in the game that Miyuki always blamed himself on. He wanted to offer advice and handhold Miyuki through his high school baseball, but he knew he should not. Not like what he was doing with Sawamura. Miyuki was a little too proud, a little too independent, and if his assumptions were right- too broken to accept help and affection without a precursor.

They continued to watch the tapes. When Miyuki's head started to slip down Chris's shoulder, Chris gently lowered Miyuki to lie on his lap. He was aware of the occasional curious glances from Sawamura and the jealous ones from Furuya, and suddenly the situation made a whole lot of sense. Kuramochi had asked him to separate Furuya from Miyuki as much as possible. That accident in the bullpen, Miyuki in a daze in the cafeteria...

"Oi Miyuki, I've come to get you!" Kuramochi opened the door to see the pitchers and catchers. He blinked, obviously not expecting them. "Miyuki."

"Hmm...?" Miyuki opened his eyes groggily, and saw Chris smiling down at him kindly. He realised he was lying on Chris's lap, and sat up immediately, a light pink dusting his cheeks from embarrassment.

"Sorry, Chris senpai," Miyuki apologised.

Chris felt a little sad again. He wished Miyuki would just depend on him more. Miyuki was perfectly fine with physical contact with Kuramochi, but why not him?

"Dinner time! I'm starving!" Miyuki beamed, rushing over to his friend's side to put on his shoes outside the door. As he wore them standing up, he leaned on Kuramochi for balance. The other trio streamed out to put on their shoes as well, but did so sitting down.

Kuramochi slung his arm over Miyuki as soon as he was done, dragging him along. Once they reached the cafeteria, the other baseball players voiced their concern for Miyuki one after another.

"I'm fine! Really, I'd play baseball now if the coach and captain weren't so strict," Miyuki laughed light heartedly. He sat down at the table upon Kuramochi's insistence that he help Miyuki take the food.

Chris thought about it a little. Perhaps the way was to force help on Miyuki, since Miyuki never asked for any even in need. That seemed to be the trend in which Kuramochi helped Miyuki. He sat down in front of Miyuki, and the younger catcher seemed a little shocked by that, widening his eyes. Chris frowned a little. Was Miyuki really so uncomfortable in his presence? Even Kuramochi seemed displeased by his appearance.

Kuramochi piled his vegetables over on Miyuki's plate.

"Oi, what are you doing?" Miyuki grumbled.

"I don't like those."

"You're so picky," Miyuki snorted as he heaped his beans on Kuramochi's plate. Kuramochi snorted in amusement. Pot calling the kettle black much?

"Miyuki, do you like this?" Chris held up a fried tempura.

"Eh? I do..."

"I'll give it to you then."

"Mine too!" Sawamura chimed.

"..." Furuya gave his as well. Miyuki sweatdropped. Then somehow all the regulars joined in to give something or another to Miyuki. With well wishes of 'get well soon!'.

Yuki gave him beans- saying he needed a nutritional balance in his meals and he should not be picky if he wanted to be healthy.

"How can I finish all this..." Miyuki groaned at the mountain in front of him.

"I'll help!" Kuramochi said cheerily.

"We gave those to Miyuki, not you," Jun complained.

"Meh, Miyuki or me, it's the same thing. We share virtually everything," Kuromochi said cheekily, digging in to all the goodies.

"Hey... Don't just eat the good stuff, help me eat the beans," Miyuki whispered.

"I heard that, Miyuki," Yuki growled from three tables away.

"Geh."

Dinner was fun, and at the end, both Kuramochi and Miyuki felt like exploding from how full they were. They decided to hang out at the field, lying down to stare at the starry sky. Their room would surely be loud and noisy right now with all the regulars.

"It's almost been two years huh..."

"Mm," Miyuki mumbled, eyes half lidded. He felt sleepy again.

"I remember how we were both late on the first day and tried to sneak into the line... We made a gamble to go from different sides to increase our chances. You got caught."

"And I ratted you out so I wouldn't be punished alone," Miyuki snickered.

"You're such a jerk."

"We had to run until it was dark like this, and we collapsed at this exact same spot," Miyuki laughed. "Was that when we became friends? We're lucky that we were both good enough to immediately make first string. Unlike Sawamura."

Kuramochi smiled. "I dunno. But once I saw you in class I wanted to make friends with you."

"So you decided to choke me in a headlock and steal my baseball magazine," Miyuki snorted in amusement.

"It worked didn't it?" Kuramochi laughed softly.

They fell into companionable silence. Kuramochi started humming a song. Miyuki laughed once he realised it was Mario's theme.

Miyuki was glad he met Kuramochi. He was so thankful that Kuramochi was different- that day where he was weak and afraid, Kuramochi didn't kick the beaten dog. He accepted Miyuki for who he was, flaws and jerk personality and all. He had cried for Miyuki- no one did that before. Yes, he was so grateful for Kuramochi being by his side, because he wouldn't have had so much fun in baseball and even out of baseball. In fact, despite him being such an asshole, Kuramochi never laughed at or made a joke out of him, not like what Miyuki did to everyone sometimes.

"Kuramochi, thank you."

"Huh? What for?"

"For being you."

"Yeah, I'm amazing, I know."

"You'll get a cold staying out here."

"Coach!"

Both of them sat up in a fluster. Kataoka however, gave a small, barely noticeable smile. "It is a nice night. One of my favorite sights here." He looked up at the twinkling sky.

"Yes..." Miyuki exhaled. Kuramochi looked at Miyuki under the pale moonlight, and felt something in him clench. Miyuki was undeniably beautiful. He wanted these nights to continue on forever.

"Go in soon," the coach eyed him knowingly, and turned to leave.

"Well, it is getting late. Let's hit the showers and sleep!" Miyuki grinned.

They stood up, walking back quietly, enjoying the night breeze ruffling their hair.

"Are you... Not going to class tomorrow as well?"

"Yup," Kuramochi turned to see a slightly vulnerable expression on Miyuki. He pretended not to see, slinging an arm around Miyuki. "Class would be so boring without you afterall."

"Haha, of course!"

Kuramochi didn't dare to look at the bright smile he knew Miyuki had right now.

***end**

XP: Thanks for reading :) Tell me what you think!