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“Why are you calling me?” Kazuya asks, his phone balanced between his ear and his shoulder, making him lean awkwardly to one side. His hands are pretty full, carrying bags from the supermarket. It’s a big haul, restocking most of the kitchen all at once, and honestly the phone call is just another distraction from getting home sooner. He’s not sure why he picked up.
From the other end, he hears Kuramochi laugh. “Just checking on you. Making sure you’re still breathing. Don’t be ungrateful.”
“But I am,” Kazuya retorts, even though he’s not at all. It is sweet that Kuramochi is poking him like this, but of course the rules of their friendship dictate that Kazuya will never say that aloud.
“Ryou thinks you’re caught up in newly-wedded bliss and I should leave you alone.”
Silly though it may be, Kazuya does actually feel his face get warmer at the comment. It’s a joke, obviously, and it’s not true, but still… There’s enough plausibility to it that Kazuya’s still kind of mortified.
“We’re not married.” That’s really the only defense he has, which is sad. He is a little caught up in Mei, if he’s honest, but it’s truly mostly because of baseball.
“Yet,” Kuramochi says, snickering, and Kazuya’s glad he’s by himself so that no one can see the way a little heat flares up in his cheeks.
“I’m hanging up,” he announces, not denying what Kuramochi’s said, but not justifying it with a real answer, either. “I have groceries to deal with. Go back to your own domestic bliss and tell Ryousuke-san I said hi.” Kazuya doesn’t even wait for a response; he sets some of his bags down on the ground in order to have a free hand to end the call.
He pockets his phone and pulls out his keys instead, then picks up his bags to continue the rest of his walk home.
The thing is, no one is really entirely off base with their teasing.
They’d graduated high school and Mei had told him quite firmly, with his heels dug in, what team he was going to. He’d said that he knew Kazuya had also gotten an offer. “Are you going to say yes this time?” he’d asked, and truth be told, before that moment, Kazuya still hadn’t been sure.
Just because they had reconciled their personal relationship and given dating a try again didn’t mean that Kazuya was going to tie his baseball career to Mei’s. They’d actually carefully avoided the subject, or perhaps Kazuya alone had. Mei tended to talk about those sorts of developments, but Kazuya kept any offers and considerations close to his chest. He wasn’t consulting his peers, only his coaches and Rei. His father would support whatever choice he made, Kazuya was comfortably sure of that, but he intended to stay close by anyway, not venture outside of Tokyo.
It wasn’t really a surprise, then, that Mei had presented him with that question, something like a demand, not quite an ultimatum, but close to it. It was, ostensibly, a question about Kazuya’s intentions with baseball, but it was also about his intentions with Mei, how Kazuya intended to approach their relationship now that they were out of high school, and whether being on the same field together was something Kazuya was ever going to want again.
For two people who definitely had baseball as their primary love language, that wasn’t really surprising.
Neither of them needed each other. They both knew that quite well. They’d succeed on any team, with nearly any teammates, though Mei did like to have his vetted and approved to make sure they were up to his standards.
Playing with Mei still felt good, though. The invitational had proven that, showing that they still had chemistry.
Something Mei said that day had kept nagging at him, too, all this time. It wouldn’t leave his head, even though they were fine, texting like normal, still the same level of affection.
‘There is no next time’.
Was that true? Did it have to be that way? Did either of them want that?
It didn’t sound like it. So did it weigh on Mei? Was he angry? Hurt? After he’d pushed Kazuya so much when they were younger, mostly unintentionally, Mei had taken to keeping some of his hopes and wants quiet when it came to their relationship. It was better, he’d learned, to let Kazuya broach things, just in case. Being treated sort of like a skittish animal was somewhat insulting, but it was hard to fault Mei’s logic when Kazuya knew he’d spent several years being resistant to that sort of emotional intimacy.
So he’d answered, sounding more sure and confident than he’d felt in that moment: “yeah. I’m going to.” The look of surprise on Mei’s face had really been worth it, too, even though making the decision had left Kazuya a little shaky. In a way, telling Mei felt more binding than telling the actual team.
His surprise had given way to something like wariness, like Mei couldn’t quite believe his own ears. Kazuya was kind of tired of that, of Mei not feeling sure, of something being ‘too good to be true’.
“I did say ‘next time’, right?” he’d asked, his smile wry. Mei had furrowed his brows in confusion for a moment, not quite recalling what was meant, and then he’d practically lit up.
The satisfaction that that brought Kazuya was something he was still getting used to.
He felt it a lot more often now that they had moved in together, simply because he had more opportunities to make Mei happy. The roadblocks of school and distance had disappeared now, and while practice certainly took up a good majority of their time, he was pretty much in charge of pleasing Mei there, too.
The effort wasn’t one-sided, though.
Before moving in together, Kazuya had made sure they had a frank conversation about expectations. Bluntly speaking, Mei was spoiled and they both knew it. Being the youngest child, he was used to getting his way at home and being doted on, which meant that Kazuya had little faith Mei was accustomed to keeping up on chores. The stark contrast between his own experiences at home with just him and his father and Mei’s bigger family probably taking a lot of work off of his hands made him a little wary.
To his shock, Mei had furiously blushed and tried to wave the topic off, mumbling about how his mother had already warned him about it. The Narumiyas had mixed feelings about him, Kazuya knew. He’d broken Mei’s heart once and that didn’t exactly leave him in their good graces, so it was surprising that they’d taken the time to chastise Mei about how to be a good roommate.
Because Kazuya was the de-facto cook, in part due to the fact that he actually liked it, Mei had gotten lessons from his whole household on how to handle cleaning. The sight of him pouting while doing the dishes or laundry was actually pretty endearing, despite the fact that Kazuya didn’t really like to indulge any of Mei’s childishness.
It was things like that, how Mei was obviously trying not to take things for granted or let Kazuya be the only one working hard, coupled with how he did take care to pay special attention to the things Kazuya liked. He cared, and wanted to show it, and even when it made them both feel shy, Kazuya found himself smiling because of it.
Mei did silly things like come home with a Rilakkuma plush because he’d seen one in a new outfit that he was pretty sure Kazuya didn’t have. When he made the bed in their room, he’d line up all the bears against their pillows even though they’d inevitably have to move them that evening to actually get to sleep.
It was cute.
Kazuya had ice cream in one of these grocery bags just to return the gesture.
So they weren’t married (yet), but sometimes Kazuya thought about it, wondered what it’d be like. It didn’t seem like it’d be much different than what they had now. The main difference would be what their jerseys said and how they’d get talked about if one of them changed their last name.
It could wait. It should, anyway, until they were more ready for something that Kazuya knew was huge. He still felt young, a little bit intimidated by adulthood and the prospect of saving for something like retirement, but it was sort of comforting to think that Mei wasn’t awful to have as a partner in the more mundane things in life, off the field.
By the time he reached their apartment and managed to shove his key into the lock, Kazuya’s head was a jumble of fond, embarrassed, and unexpectedly heavy thoughts. Hopefully none of it showed on his face so that he could be spared the interrogation from Mei about what had flustered him.
“I’m back,” he called inside, setting the bags down in the entryway and yanking off his shoes. He took the step up into the apartment proper and grabbed the bag full of the colder things, stuff that needed to be shoved right into the freezer especially, and made his way right for the kitchen.
Mei was curled up on the couch, eyes on the TV, watching something that sounded like a period drama to Kazuya’s ears. He reached for the remote to pause it, though, and got to his feet once Kazuya reached the kitchen.
“Hey, welcome home.” Half a year had gone by of them living together and yet saying that still felt significant. “Did you get into any fights over the sales?”
Kazuya scoffs, opening up the freezer and shoving Mei’s treat inside. “Not a lot of competition for rum raisin, no.”
He can hear Mei’s footfalls, getting closer to the kitchen, and when he peeks inside there are bags in his hands and a grin on his lips. “They don’t know what they’re missing out on.”
“Your taste buds are just broken,” Kazuya shoots back, but as he turns back from the refrigerator, Mei steps into his space. He looks smug, which is never an expression that Kazuya really feels comfortable seeing on his features. Not for any real apprehension, but only because Mei’s sure to be saying something conceited or willful any second.
“Don’t knock my tastes, that reflects on you, too, you know! Now kiss me, since I’m helping put away the groceries.” Kazuya rolls his eyes, but he’s equally fond, and they both know it. Mei’s playful and expectant attitude is just part of the banter that really is at the core of their dynamic. Now that they’re a couple, it hasn’t disappeared, only gotten less biting.
“You haven’t put anything away yet, though.”
A little scowl looks cute on Mei, so Kazuya doesn’t regret putting it there. Mei reaches into the bags and pulls out some vegetables, hurriedly stowing them in the fridge, then shoving some bags of snacks in a cabinet, too, for good measure.
“I’ll take my compensation now. Double it, actually!”
Kazuya leans in, and he’s pleased that Mei still turns a bit pink, his breath still hitches. Very deliberately, to be a brat, he doesn’t aim for Mei’s lips, only his cheek. The scowl is real now, and Kazuya doesn’t even entirely blame him.
“There’s still other stuff to put in the freezer. You don’t wanna clean up after anything that melts, do you?” It works, of course, because Mei’s not that willing to do chores no matter how much he loves Kazuya. Probably the only time he’s going to voluntarily take on more without griping is on Kazuya’s birthday.
Naturally, Kazuya laughs at him for how displeased he looks, darting in again to kiss his other cheek. This time, rather than teasing, his voice is just low and affectionate. Warm. The sort of tone he’s only slowly gotten used to letting slip. “Just go sit. Watch your show. I’ll be there in a bit. Think about what you want for dinner so I can get it started.”
Mei shoves at him gently, the flush in his cheeks having gotten a little worse. Whether that’s from the kisses or from the implied offer to spend a little time cuddling before Kazuya actually sets to work on dinner, he isn’t sure.
“At least you’re not gonna waste all of one of our days off with errands and stuff,” Mei huffs, slinking out of the kitchen, sufficiently flustered.
Kazuya really doesn’t plan to, though. He fully intends to enjoy it, along with a good meal. After dinner they can talk, maybe go over some strategies, or keep tabs on some of their rival teams, check stats online… They can do that curled up in bed together, and when Mei falls asleep with his head on Kazuya’s chest, Kazuya might even let him stay like that for a bit before he starts complaining.
That’s probably what being in love is about, he thinks. A shared enthusiasm, some willingness to put up with a bit of annoyance, and the warmth he feels when Mei falls asleep first, snoring softly.