Author's Note: Another request fic! Abe and Mihashi are too adorable and sweet. :3 A small part of me wanted to write a dirty story about those two, but it turned out really sweet and fluffy instead. Who knows, I might make a sequel one day since this couple is so cute. ( There's also a little Shun/Tajima if you squint). :) Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Characters not mine, but story sure is.

"A-Abe?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I…Can I get you anything? Water? Or maybe something to eat? Maybe you'd like me to rub your shoulders?"

Abe glanced up at Mihashi over the sports magazine that he had been reading. He looked like he was about to snap at the smaller boy, but he caught himself at the last moment. Sighing, he settled back into his chair. "Look, Mihashi, I really appreciate you coming here every day to make sure I'm alright, but I've just got a hurt knee. In another two weeks, you'll see, I'll be fine. You don't have to come here every day just to take care of me."

Mihashi looked shocked and started to blink rapidly. He looked from one side of the room to the other, even the ceiling and floor, just to avoid looking directly at Abe. It was a habit of his when he was flustered and thought he was in trouble. Abe knew this and he sighed, setting his magazine down on the table. It had not been an angry move, but Mihashi's small body flinched none-the-less.

"I think you didn't understand my intentions, Mihashi. When I said you don't have to come here every day just too take care of me, I meant I like you coming over just to keep me company. Does that make more sense?"

Mihashi seemed to think over what Abe had just told him before his eyes went wide with understanding. Nodding his head quickly, he sat up straight. "I won't come over to take care of you anymore, I promise! I'll just keep you company!" he declared, his hands in his lap.

Abe, content with Mihashi's understanding, took his magazine again as he went back to reading. He figured Mihashi would take one of the other magazines on the table eventually, but that seemed to be asking too much. Mihashi just sat on his legs as he watched Abe, hands in his lap He obviously did not know what to do when just keeping someone company. He had not moved an inch since promising not to take care of Abe. Abe was not sure which was worse: Mihashi running around trying to take care of him, or Mihashi sitting there, borrowing holes into Abe's body with his expectant eyes.

Setting the magazine aside, Abe looked at Mihashi, trying his best to give him an easy smile. "So, Mihashi, how have you been? Is practice going alright? I should at least be able to come see you in practice soon, so you better not have slacked off."

He had meant it as a joke, but Mihashi look precious little of what Abe said in jest so he sat up even straighter and shook his head vehemently. "No, Abe! I haven't been slacking off at all! I've been eating well and resting like you said, but during practice, I'm there to get better! Tajima has been nice enough to practice with me most of the time, so hopefully when your leg is feeling better, you'll see improvement in my pitches." When Mihashi said this, Abe was happy to see that he did not look scared or intimidated anymore. He looked genuinely determined.

"You've really changed," he blurted out to Mihashi without thinking. Mihashi's determination disappeared as soon as he heard Abe's words, not quite sure what to make of them.

"What d-do you mean changed? Have I done something wrong?" Typical self-depreciating Mihashi, Abe thought to himself.

"No, that isn't what I meant at all, Mihashi. In fact, it's the opposite. Remember when I first met you? I thought you were a real skilled pitcher, but you had a weak personality. You practically shook in your shoes whenever I spoke to you. Even when I tried to be nice, you would just cry. Remember that first practice game against Kanou and the rest? I wasn't sure if I should have hugged you or throttled you after you started to wail." At the memories, Mihashi looked down and then away, obviously embarrassed. His cheeks were bright red and his eyebrows back to looking perpetually worried. Abe, however, was not quite done. "But, since then, I think you've changed a lot. "

Mihashi looked at Abe in surprised, eyes widening. "A-Abe?"

Abe felt his own cheeks heat up as he looked away. "What I mean is that I think you've gotten a lot stronger. Not just as a pitcher, either. As a person. I've really grown to like you," he muttered. Mihashi actually slowly began to smile hopefully. "Though sometimes you get on my nerves," Abe quickly added, the whole situation causing him to get a little embarrassed.

Either Mihashi did not hear the last part of Abe's words or he just did not let them get to him. Looking directly at Abe, the young pitcher had a strange, happy smile on his face. He was not saying anything, but Abe could practically hear Mihashi thinking, "Abe complimented me! He actually complimented me! Hehehe!" That just made Abe want to laugh and groan. He must really be spending too much time with Mihashi if he could pick up on his thoughts just by looking at his expression. Who knew, in a few more months he might be just as good as Tajima when it came to translating Mihashi's nervous gibberish.

Reaching out with a huff, he grabbed some restaurant menus and tossed them on the table. "You hungry Mihashi? You really should eat to try and keep your weight up. It won't be good if I do all this hard work just to recover, but you're too emaciated to play."

"A-alright Abe! I'll eat!" he chirped out, taking the menus, examining them. "Beef bowl…no, eel. Oh, maybe chicken. Beef, eel…chicken. Beef? Eel? Chicken?" Mihashi repeated over and over again. Abe felt a little dizzy from the repetition, so he was sure that Mihashi was probably just as confused.

'Keep your temper in check,' Abe mentally told himself, 'He's finally starting to relax around you. Can't screw it all up now. Be nice…be nice…' Picking up the phone, he smiled at Mihashi, or at least tried to keep his smile unwavering. "How about I just order some beef bowls for both of us?" With an exaggerated nod of his head, Mihashi agreed to Abe's suggestion.

After the food had been delivered, dinner was relatively uneventful. Mihashi was chatting excitedly about everything that was happening at school and Abe, finding Mihashi's exuberance to be a nice change of pace, said very little.

When they had both finished eating, Abe turned on the television so that they could both catch the last half of the current baseball game. Neither school playing was of particular importance to either boy, but the background noise was nice. Abe had picked up his magazine, intending to finish reading the article he had been on before dinner. Mihashi, relaxed from their talk and from eating, also grabbed a magazine and sat near Abe. He was not as good as Abe was when it came to splitting his attention between two things. Mihashi would read a little in the article before something from the television distracted him. He would then watch a little bit of the game until it settled down in which case he would go back to reading his article.

Abe found the fact that Mihashi was so easily distracted outside of games to be a little endearing, though he would never admit it out loud. He had to be careful what he said around Mihashi. Any little comment could be misconstrued and it could negatively affect his game. He had said that Mihashi had come a long way, and that was true, but he still had a long way to go before Abe would risk confusing him. Abe was so absorbed in his thoughts that he almost jumped when he felt something soft against his arm.

Looking down to see what it was, he sighed. At some point, Mihashi had drifted off to sleep and had slumped against Abe's arm. Rather than wake Mihashi, Abe figured he could let him sleep just a bit more. He had not wanted to mention it earlier, but it looked like Mihashi had not been sleeping well. He had not asked 'why' because he already knew the reason. Even though he had told Mihashi not to worry about his injuries, he doubted Mihashi was even capable of just willing himself not to worry. It would explain why Mihashi seemed to feel compelled to come over each and every day. Grabbing the magazine that loosely resting in Mihashi's hands, he tossed it on the table.

Mihashi slept peacefully through all of it, just mumbling softly under his breath as he nuzzled against Abe's warm arm. Abe was almost sure he heard Mihashi murmuring his name. Even as Abe tried to convince himself it was all in his head, he felt his cheeks warm. "You're… such a weirdo," he muttered, reaching out a hand to softly pet the top of Mihashi's head as he tried to go back to reading.

About an hour later, there came a knock on the door of the Abe residence. Shun, who had been out back in the small yard practicing his swings, ran inside to open the door. His face lit up when he saw who it was. "Mr. Tajima!"

Yuuichirou Tajima reached out to ruffle Shun's hair in greeting. "Hey, come on! You're Abe's little brother. No need for all that mister stuff."

"A-alright Tajima!" he said, pleased.

" Good! Now, do you know if Mihashi is here visiting your brother? He isn't picking up his phone and Momokan asked me to give him his copy of the practice schedule. "

"Oh, you're here for Mihashi? Let me see… he was here earlier to see my brother. I think they might have had dinner together. Come in," he said, letting his idol into the house. Shun lead Tajima to the room that Abe was using, stopping at the doorway.

Tajima practically ran into Shun when the younger boy stopped suddenly. Looking over the top of Shun's head, he glanced into the room. Inside, both Abe and Mihashi had fallen asleep. Mihashi had slumped against Abe's arm and Abe's cheek as resting on the top of Mihashi's head. There was a magazine, still opened, resting in Abe's lap. Tajima snickered a bit as he stepped into the room. "Well, it looks like those two already had their fun. Shun, can you go grab a blanket for those two?" he asked.

Nodding his head, Shun ran off to the hallway closet, coming back with a blanket, giving it to Tajima. Walking over to his two sleeping teammates, Tajima draped the blanket over them. Mihashi murmured softly as Tajima slipped the blanket over one of his shoulders and shifted closer against Abe. Tajima could not help but smile as he saw how relaxed Mihashi looked. Ever since Abe's accident, Mihashi had not been getting much rest, though he tried to hide it. He was happy Mihashi was finally taking things easy. Glancing at Abe, Tajima chuckled a bit. It looked like Mihashi was not the only one that benefited from their visits every day: Abe's face was smooth and free from worry lines or his normal scowl.

Walking back over to Shun, Tajima put an arm around his shoulder in a friendly manner. "Well, why don't we let those two guys sleep for a bit? How's your batting, Shun? Maybe I can help you out? If you want, that is."

Shun's eyes widened as he nodded. "Would you really help me Mr. Ta-er, I mean Tajima? I've already got all my equipment out in the back!" Shun said as he lead Tajima outside. Tajima chuckled as he let Shun lead him out, leaving Abe and Mihashi sleeping peacefully side-by-side.

He had biked a long way to finally find Mihashi, but he figured it was not a complete loss. Tajima's more impish side figured he could get even by teasing Mihashi a bit when he finally woke up. For the time being, he would let them get some well deserved rest.

-THE END