Title: You Have My Attention / Like You've Had All The While
Fandom: Oofuri
Characters: Hanai/Mihashi, appearances by Tajima, Kimobe, and the rest of Nishiura
Rating: PG for kissing. Ooooh, kissing.
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Notes: Written for
oofurikink, so once again un-anoning. In which run celebrations get a little out of hand, and Hanai is awkward.
Spoiler Warning: I don't think there are any direct spoilers, but it's probably best if you've seen Season 2 of the anime.
It's all Tajima's fault, but then again, most things are. Hanai concedes in his mind that technically, celebrating his first home run by kissing Mihashi in the dugout can't be blamed on Tajima, but still, it can all be traced back to him and the day he put his stupid hugs for runs policy in place.
*
It had been a practice game, and Sakaeguchi had successfully bunted to get a run in, and Tajima had congratulated him by essentially molesting his back. Nobody else on the entire team had seemed to think this was in any way an odd sort of thing to do, except maybe Abe, who was giving Tajima and Sakaeguchi a creepy sort of look, but then Abe was always giving everyone and everything a creepy sort of look, so that didn't really amount to anything at all.
So it came to be that because Tajima was a freak, high fives were discarded for hugs, and upon Hanai's next run, he was greeted with Mihashi, twitching and blushing, his hands darting from his sides to the air in front of him and back down again, his face reddening and contorting in ways that really shouldn't have been possible. What was Hanai supposed to do? He hugged Mihashi, of course, and when he felt a little jump in his chest he assumed it was from the glare Abe was throwing his way, which Hanai didn't understand then and still doesn't- he hadn't squeezed Mihashi's throwing arm or anything- and when Mihashi smiled, a full bright smile Hanai had never seen before, Hanai assumed his face heating was from how he still wasn't used to the way Mihashi found normal interaction so special.
The next time he hugged Mihashi was another practice game, another run, another walk back to the dugout to find a waiting Mihashi, all jerky movements and glowing pink cheeks and causing unexpected warmth in the area of Hanai's heart. It happened again, and again, and every time there was the same shyness from Mihashi, the same very real strange feeling holding Mihashi's body against his, the same stupid blush on Hanai's face after, no matter how many times it was, every practice game Hanai scored a run or bunted one in, until it got to Hanai standing at bat and maybe hoping for a run for reasons other than just the run.
Then came the practice game that Hanai was pitching, with Mihashi so quiet in the dugout and Hanai not even really wanting to pitch anyway. It was so, so tiring, and when he got up to bat he couldn't concentrate like he normally could and struck out. He walked back to the bench to see Mihashi making himself small next to the water cooler, and Momkan giving Hanai the Be-Responsible-Captain-Do-Something-About-This look, and it was true: Hanai was the captain, was supposed to know what to do in situations like this, but all he could really think about was how tired he was, how his arm was killing him, and how could Mihashi possibly want to do this every single game? He looked at Mihashi, still sitting so quietly, not even fidgeting, and suddenly he understood. Hanai took a deep breath, because understanding didn't mean being okay with the embarrassing stuff he had to do for this team, and walked over to Mihashi.
"Hey, you're still our ace," he said, and grabbed Mihashi's hand, so cold, and because he clearly needed to put this in Mihashi-language, pushed past the horrible embarrassment and added, "I think you're amazing."
And it worked. Mihashi looked up, finally, and his hand warmed in Hanai's, and he smiled. Hanai felt his face heating again, which was really becoming all too common, and cleared his throat.
"Right," he said, and dropped Mihashi's hand, which really he had been holding for too long already. "Let's get some runs."
Mihashi, still smiling, nodded, and Hanai felt something tighten in his chest.
*
And now, now it's a real game, and it's the bottom of the ninth, and it's Hanai's at-bat and the bases are loaded and he needs to bring someone home. He swings and connects and fouls off the first pitch, and the second, and he thinks he can hit this, hit this like he's been practicing with Momokan, and he fouls it off one more time and then he hits it and it flies, and flies, and flies, and it's a home run, and they've won the game. And after running the bases, and after Tajima jumping on his back like a sexual predator monkey, and after the rest of the team jumping all over him so that all he can see is arms and ears and uniform, it's Mihashi, who's hung back in typical Mihashi style. And what is Hanai supposed to do? He walks up to Mihashi, of course, and as Mihashi blinks and blushes and twitches like always, Hanai hugs him, a real hug, lifting Mihashi off his feet, and like this, Mihashi's smiling face is so, so close to Hanai's. Like this, Hanai can't even think, and so he's kissing Mihashi, and Mihashi's mouth on his is so warm, and Mihashi is kissing back.
So here they are, kissing in the dugout, and everyone, everyone is staring, and in a few moments, he'll probably realize what he's doing and freak out, or Mihashi will, and shortly after he'll have to deal with their teammates, and a little bit after that his mother will probably try to have an awkward talk with him, but right now he can feel Mihashi's smile quirk against his lips and none of it matters. He can always blame Tajima for this, anyway.