Being the main catcher in a powerhouse like Inashiro could be extremely tiring, but so gratifying when results started showing - and things really did start looking good recently, Itsuki mused while absent-mindedly chewing his dinner. Practice always left him tired and breathless, limbs aching and stomach growling, but every time the coach praised one of his calls he felt like all that effort had been worth it. Most importantly, his partnership with Mei-san had slowly started coming together, and Itsuki was determined to keep getting better and better.

He was so deep in thought that it took him quite some time to notice someone had been watching him. He turned his head and gazed around the cafeteria, only to find Mei quickly averting his gaze, engaging in an intense staring contest with the omurice that was originally supposed to be his dinner. Itsuki frowned, perplexed. He wouldn’t go as far as to say he could understand his senpai well (far from it, most of the time his reactions were absolutely impossible to interpret) but he had been acting strange for days, constantly trying to sneak glances without being seen, looking at him like he was trying to solve a particularly mysterious riddle, and Itsuki couldn’t help but worry. Did he do something inconvenient, did he unintentionally hurt Mei-san? If he did, he had to clear the air between them: a quarrel right when things had started looking good was the last thing they needed, both as a battery and as…Whatever they were off the field.

.

"Senpai, can I ask you a personal question?"

Shirakawa lifted his gaze from the book he was reading, eyebrows raised and lips pursed in a way that seemed to say “I hope you have a good enough reason for interrupting me”.

“It’s about Mei-san. I figured I’d ask someone close to him” 

That got Shirakawa’s attention, although he didn’t seem pleased about being considered “someone close to Mei”. Itsuki had a hard time holding back his laughter - he’d noticed a long time ago most people on his team fit the standard definition of tsundere, so that reaction wasn’t at all surprising. Still funny.

“What about him?”

“I was wondering…Did he talk about me recently? Like, did he mention something I did, did he whine about my performance, anything?”

“Nothing of the sort. Not that I know of” Shirakawa shrugged, then “why do you ask?”

“He’s kinda…been staring at me a lot recently. Looking angry. I wonder if I offended him in some way…”

Shirakawa raised his eyebrows, a knowing look on his face, but he didn’t offer any explanation. Instead, “you know, you should talk about this kind of thing directly with that guy. Aren’t you two dating? Communication is important in a relationship.” 

Itsuki could practically feel the heat radiating off his cheeks as he vehemently yelled that no, of course they weren’t dating, Mei-san made that quite clear, and yes, he was going to talk about this with him eventually, but he just thought he’d try asking Shirakawa senpai first, that was all. Shirakawa looked at him, pretty unimpressed. “What’s going on between you two is not really my business, but winter break does start in 2 days, so you’d better clear things up before we have to leave the dorms. We wouldn’t want this tension to affect your performance as a battery, right?”

Shirakawa went back to his book, a clear sign that the conversation was over for him, leaving Itsuki to reflect. He knew his senpai was right, of course. He had to confront Mei-san directly about this, even at the risk of acting paranoid and getting it all wrong. Heading back to his room he tried to think of a way to approach his senpai, find an appropriate moment to face him and talk things out. He definitely didn’t expect that opportunity to come so soon, but when he opened his room’s door he was faced with the vision of none other than Narumiya Mei, staring at him like a deer caught in the headlights, trying and miserably failing to hide something behind his back.

"…Mei-san? What are you doing in my room?"

“What are you doing in your room! Isn’t this your usual bath time?”

“I was gonna head to the bath now, I just need a change of clothes”

Mei didn’t seem pleased with his answer and just scowled at him, still trying his best to hide something from his view - some kind of package, from what Itsuki could see.

“You’re not going to tell me why you’re in my room?”

“As your senpai I’m under no obligation to answer this question!”

“…And you’re not going to tell me what you’re hiding either?”

A pout, low grumbling, then Mei gestured towards Itsuki’s bed, inviting him to sit. Itsuki sighed, already resigned to following Mei’s weird demands - he didn’t mind, and his curiosity was already piqued anyway.

“This was supposed to be a surprise, but of course you just had to forget your change of clothes and ruin it! My plan was absolutely perfect: sneak into your room while you were in the bath, leave it in your bag and then run away. But I guess I’ll let you open it now, so be grateful!”

Mei grinned from ear to ear and handed him the package he was so busy hiding moments before. Itsuki studied it, trying to fight back the stupid grin he knew he was sporting in that moment. A gift from Mei-san! He was so happy he momentarily forgot his worries and just hurriedly ripped the package open.

“I don’t get what’s so great about those idols of yours, but I had Shirakawa help me pick up the album. You like this artist, right?” Mei looked far too pleased with himself for someone who just admitted he had to ask for help to pick the right gift, but Itsuki was just too happy to make him notice.

“This was really sweet of you, Mei-san, thank you” Itsuki started, eyes bright and earnest, and Mei scoffed, saying “there’s no need to get so stupidly excited over a gift, you idiot!”

“But I’m happy! Actually, I’m relieved. I thought you were angry with me for some reason, but you even went and got me a gift!”

“…And what made you think I was angry with you, exactly?”

“You were always staring at me recently! And you looked scary!”

“I was just trying to figure out the perfect gift for you! You’re surprisingly hard to read for a cheeky kouhai. I wasted a whole week for this, be grateful!”