Archive of Our Own ^beta

“I really hate you.”

“And I really hate watching you tip four balls in a row, but here we are.” Sangyeon digs his feet into the red dirt and tosses another ancient looking baseball into his glove. 

Eric huffs, throwing up a middle finger while he positions his bat under an arm to re-adjust his batting gloves. He can’t deny the Captain that he’s been off his game, though. Four weeks, one solid month, of missed pitches, dropped catches, and base touches that cut it a little too close for comfort. 

“Three more, and if you miss, you give me five laps around the field.” Sangyeon calls out from his place on the pitching mound. 

Eric sighs, knowing that the hours of practice they’ve done today won’t help his chances of cracking this last pitch anywhere decent, in fact they’ve probably worsened them if the exhaustion in his bones says anything. He throws a thumbs up anyway; it’s not like he can fight his Captain on a justified punishment. Sangyeon is a fantastic arm too, so it’s no fault of his own that Eric can’t bat a simple throw. 

“Picture the ball as Sunwoo!” Haknyeon calls from nearby, having left his catcher’s spot an hour ago to watch Eric fail from a better angle. 

“Hello?” 

“Sorry, babe, but he needs all the help he can get.”

A pause from Sunwoo, “Yeah that’s fair.”

The rest of the team sit behind the backstop, perched in the stands of their university's tiny baseball field. They’ve all worked on their weaknesses, ran through their plays, and somehow started braiding Jacob’s hair while Eric’s been working on his stupid batting. 

“You got it, Eric!” A voice calls from the dugout where the managers have been cleaning up from practice. A voice connected to the downfall of Eric’s glory this season.

Juyeon Lee was a new addition to their team this season after their second manager had left the university last fall. He had sparkly eyes, big hands, and a list of encouraging compliments to spill out at any given time. He was inadvertently pushing Eric’s baseball career into quicksand. All thanks to Hyunjae’s great idea. 

₊ ⊹

“Guys, I found us a new second manager!” Hyunjae beams, showcasing a muscular black haired boy smiling and awkwardly waving next to him.

“Hi.. I’m Juyeon.”

Sangyeon turns his STALLIONS cap backwards and looks the new guy over with a broad grin, “Hi Juyeon.“

“Cap, we need him. Seriously. You can trust me on this, I’ve known Juyeon for ages!” Hyunjae cuts in, jumping up and down on the tips of his feet.

“We met in Bio three months ago.” Juyeon supplies when Sangyeon raises a brow. 

“Sure, if you wanna be technical. Either way, can we keep him, pleeeease?” 

“Hyunjae, he's not a cat.”

“He’s better than a cat. He has thumbs.” 

₊ ⊹

Eric looks back to watch Sangyeon smirk and if he listens hard enough he can pick out Kevin and Younghoon snorting next to each other. Having a crush on the new water boy was bad enough, it was worse knowing every one of his teammates knew it too. 

He almost groans at the sweet enthusiasm in the other boy’s voice; instead he looks at Juyeon with what he hopes comes off as an appreciative smile. Chanhee, their first manager, stands next to him with a grin that offers no comfort. 

Chanhee wasn’t given the position of professional college baseball player wrangler for being nurturing, though. That’s what they have Sangyeon for, or hell, even Eric himself on a good day. 

₊ ⊹

“Chanhee.. why do they call you ‘New’?”

Chanhee sighs at the question while Hyunjae jumps to answer in his place. “Dude, a lot of players and staff get a nickname or two; y'know how they call me Hyunjae? Got that because there were too many Jaehyun’s on the team freshman year. For New, he was just such a newbie, Juyeon. You should’ve seen him back then; he didn’t even know what a bunt was!” 

“Is it too late to say I also don’t know what a bunt is?”

“Well, yes.”

“Jaehyun,” Chanhee cuts in, “we don’t all spend our free time masturbating to Baseball Digest.” 

“You wound me, Newbie.” 

“Not deep enough.” Chanhee mutters, folding the mostly unused sweat towels into a duffel bag. Practice was long, but the weather was still mercifully cool with winter’s claws still digging into the thick of spring.

“So.. why do we call Changmin ‘Q’?” The fence separating them from the field rattles and a sweaty Kevin stands on the other side. 

“Last time I asked he told me it’s the letter they gave him in the lab he was made in.”

Chanhee laughs, “He told me when he was a kid he got a can of alphabet Spaghetti-O’s filled with only Q’s”

“Said it was the traditional family letter, whatever the hell that means.” Hyunjae adds.

Sunwoo, who had wandered over at some point to pick up his water bottle, pauses, “So it’s not the letter he uses as a secret agent to take down rogue aliens?”

They stare at him in deafening silence, waiting for a lone brave soul to take one for the team. 

“Babe,” Haknyeon calls gently from the on-deck “that’s the plot of Men in Black.”

“Man, what the fuck!”

₊ ⊹

Eric can’t focus on slamming the ball past the chain link fence if he’s too busy thinking about how Juyeon’s hand would feel engulfing his own. He scuffs his cleat into the batter’s box and mentally prepares for the laps he’ll be taking soon. 

“Give him a cock-shot, Sangyeon!” Changmin screeches. 

“Nah, give him a rainbow pitch, Cap!” Hyunjae adds in, somehow louder in volume.

“Maybe we should give him a second to think.” Eric snaps back, shooting a glare back to his teammates who seem less chastised and more amused.

He turns back to Sangyeon, tightens down into his stance with muscle memory, and nods that he’s ready. Hopefully. 

Sangyeon winds back into a form that some would call modern art. His thigh muscles tense and arms raised high above his head in a position that could only be obtained through years of steady practice. Eric usually loves batting for the Captain, the easy push and pull they play is fun and competitive. It reminds him why he enjoys the sport in the first place. 

Today is different, though, because Eric can’t get a read on Sangyeon’s mind or his aim, too preoccupied thinking about the way Juyeon’s eyes smiled at him. The ball is released from his fingers at a breakneck speed and it’s only when Eric thinks he’s pinned it as a cutter does the pitch veer down and away from him. A fucking slider. Eric has a fraction of a second to change his game plan, but it’s too late. By the time he’s finished the arc of his swing the ball has slammed into the fence behind him.

Eric curses quietly to himself while his teammates hound him in the background, but he blocks them out. He looks down to tap his bat on the plate. In the corner of his eye he can see Chanhee leaning next to Juyeon’s ear, whispering something conspiratorially. 

Juyeon’s face blooms a vibrant red from whatever Chanhee’s told him, but Eric doesn’t even have time to ponder what could have the older boy blushing so endearingly when another ball whizzes just past his face. 

“Hey!” He yells when he whirls back to face his Captain.

Sangyeon has cocked a hip out, eyebrow raised and shoulders shrugged, “Second strike.” 

“The— no way! I didn’t even tell you I was ready; that can’t count!” 

“It can when I know you’re not paying attention to me or the ball whatsoever,” Sangyeon sighs, “I don’t want to be the bad guy Eric, but if you can’t hit a single pitch at practice how am I supposed to trust you to bat at the game this weekend?” 

Eric deflates. He knows Sangyeon is right, and that he’s being just as fair as he would with anyone else on the team, but it doesn’t keep the helpless pressure from stinging him. 

“One more chance, ok?” Sangyeon’s smile is one of sympathy as he re-adjusts the faded cap on his head. 

“C’mon Eric let’s fuckin’ gooooo!” Kevin cheers from the bleachers. Eric smiles weakly. He knows his teammates are there for him when it really counts. 

“USA! USA! USA!” Changmin chants in an effort to boost morale. 

“Dude, you're Korean.” Hyunjae interrupts. 

“And you’re stupid, so where do we go from here?”

The bickering between Q and Hyunjae has loosened a bit of the worry weighing down his bones. He’s got this. He just needs a little something else to click him into the zone. 

“Um- Captain, can I say something to Eric real quick? Before you, uh, throw that ball through my head.” Juyeon speaks out meekly through the ruckus of the players. The noise doesn’t stop but Eric thinks he could hear a pin drop in the seconds following. 

“‘Course Juyeon! And thanks for asking beforehand; I’d hate to fracture another skull.” Sangyeon grins wide, even though Eric knows he’s never even clipped someone’s helmet before. 

Juyeon pales, oblivious to the joke, but coughs out a weak laugh and still makes his way over to home plate where Eric has frozen. He grips his hands open and close in the way he watched that weirdly hot guy in Pride and Prejudice do. They really should stop letting Younghoon pick on movie nights. 

“Eric.”

Eric blinks up into warm, sparkly brown eyes that shine in ways that make him want to tattoo them on the inside of his eyelids. 

“Juyeon.” He croaks.

₊ ⊹

“Ok team Juyeon’s been with us for two weeks, and I’d like to think he’ll be sticking around for a while.” Sangyeon’s voice projects across the field, his playful gaze landing on their fidgety second manager. 

Juyeon blushes and nods under the eyes of the team. The players are sat in various positions on the grass, save for Chanhee and Changmin who stand at the back playing tic-tac-toe with their shoes in the dirt. Sunwoo and Eric rest against one another, back to back, while Haknyeon lays his head on his left fielder boyfriend's lap. Kevin, Younghoon, and Jacob sit next to each other, leaning their body weight on their arms behind them and knocking their cleats together every so often. Hyunjae has laid down completely with his hat laying over his face, the only sign he’s not passed out being the beat he’s playing on his stomach. 

“So I think it’s time we offer a nickname!”

“MR—“

“Haknyeon, we're not calling Juyeon ‘Mr. Sexy’.”

“Pu—“

“Puppy isn’t an option either, Sunwoo… and for the love of God keep your kinks away from the field.” 

“You’re no fun, Cap.” 

“What about Juyo?” Jacob offers amidst the bickering. 

“Mmm I don’t know,” Younghoon cuts in, voice soothing over the team, “sounds too similar to Juhak.”

“What if we call him Juyomi?” 

Several heads swivel to a wide eyed Eric. He slaps a hand over his mouth and quickly waves the other in front of himself.

“Unless that’s stupid! That’s stupid right? You know what, just ignore me.” His teammates grin at the blood in the water. 

“I think you’d much rather call him boyf—“ Hyunjae dry heaves at the foot suddenly jammed into his stomach. Eric is glad he picked his new cleats today.

“I like it!” Juyeon is smiling softly when they turn back to him. The team pauses, unable to tease the smile off of their manager’s face. Juyeon was like a cat; you could poke and toy with him all day until he turned his smile at you, one that took up every muscle in his face, and you’d be turned to nothing but mush on the floor. 

“Oh,” Eric’s eyes hang onto the other boy’s, “that’s.. that’s great then.”

Juyeon’s blush returns, seemingly shocked by his own exclamation, and he nods in agreement, “Yeah I’ve never actually had a nickname before, but I think I like Juyomi. It’s simple, cute!” 

“Cute?”

“Cute.” 

“Oh.” 

₊ ⊹

“This is stupid. I don’t know what Chanhee’s thinking, honestly, but you’re having a hard time with all this,” he winces, gesturing to the open field and the Captain waiting behind him, “and well, he seems to think that if you have the right incentive that maybe it’ll help you, what did he say, eh, ‘work your shit out’?” 

Hearing the curse fall from the sweet mouth that Eric’s been staring at daily sends a bolt of something whip through him. Juyeon either doesn’t notice, or doesn’t care, but given the way he’s rambling Eric has to believe it’s the former.

“Juye— Juyomi, breathe.” 

The older boy pauses with his eyes the size of a small dinner plate, but continues, articulating the words like they burn his tongue.

“I’ll kiss you if you hit this ball.” 

₊ ⊹

“Hi, Eric, can you tell me where the water fountain is?” 

Juyeon stands at the entrance of the dugout hoisting the two water bottle carriers in his large hands. Hands that would probably feel like heaven running through Eric’s hair, down his back, over his co—

He shakes his head to derail his train of thought. He will not be the guy that got hard at practice. He gets too much joy making fun of Sunwoo for that very thing to have the tables turned on him.

“Sure. There’s actually no water fountain though.. it broke last season and millions in tuition money isn’t enough to fix it, apparently.”

Juyeon scrunches his nose, “So where do we fill these up? Chanhee was supposed to help me out, but I think he’s stretching Younghoon out.”

“Wouldn’t be the first time.” Eric smirks to himself.

“Oh my god! That’s- no,” Juyeon stutters and Eric almost feels bad for poking fun at the cute new guy. Almost. “I meant he’s like— laying on him- on the field! Clothing on! 

Eric tries to conceal his laughter, his body shaking with the effort. He wonders how Juyeon has failed to notice that Younghoon and Chanhee are in plain view of both of them, running through stretches together as he said. He can’t find it in himself to regret teasing the other when he sees the flush of pink splash across his cheeks. 

“You’re the worst.” Juyeon hmphs. 

Eric finally lets loose a fraction of his amusement and raises a hand for one of the carriers. The other boy hands it over easily, albeit pouting, and follows Eric when he walks past him out of the dugout and towards the bathrooms nearby. 

The March wind is as brutal as ever, and even though the players have accommodating practice gear, the chill of it still strips Eric down to his bones. An involuntary shiver wracks his body. He’s never been good with the cold, having been raised in the Los Angeles sun his whole childhood.

Juyeon jogs a bit to walk next to him, blissfully blocking out the worst of the weather’s bite, and Eric wonders if he did it on purpose. The thought warms him from the inside out, like hot chocolate sliding through his veins. 

“We’re not using toilet water to fill these up, are we? I don’t think that’d make a good impression on my first week.” 

“Y’know, that’s funny, back in freshman year we had this manager, Bobby or something. Anyway, he had been dating the reserve pitcher for a while and the guy cheated on Bobby-something, right? Real shitty guy. Shitty pitcher too but that’s not important here. Long story short; Bobby finds out, waits until we get to the championship game, fills the guy’s bottle with laxatives in toilet water, and quits the team and the guy.”

Juyeon winces, clearly intuitive to the conclusion of the game. “That’s…..”

“Kinda epic right?” Eric grins at the memory, “We lost the game obviously, and I never told anyone this, but I preferred seeing that asshole shit himself on the field than winning.” 

“I was going to say gross, but sure, epic is good too.” 

Eric waves off the comment with his free hand and reaches for the bathroom door handle, “To actually answer your question, no we’re not using toilet water. Chanhee’s just been using the sinks to fill them up.” 

“Oh. That makes sense.”

“Yep,” He replies, popping the P at the end, “it’s lukewarm and probably filled with some prehistoric dinosaur virus, but it gets the job done I guess.” 

Juyeon laughs openly and Eric feels his mouth widen into a grin without thinking about it. The two of them place the bottles on the counter and begin the menial task of filling all twelve bottles up. They work in silence mostly, and Eric finds he doesn’t mind it; doesn’t feel the need to fill the quiet with any jokes or stories like he might with someone else. 

Chanhee is trudging up the hill when they exit the bathroom. He looks annoyed, but that’s probably due to the small hike he had to take to reach them. 

“There you two are!” He huffs, “We thought Eric had stolen you to live out his fantasy of recreating the Dirty Dancing lift scene.” 

“Hey!”

“He was just helping me find the water source. No stealing involved.” Juyeon smiles, ignoring the slander against Eric. 

“Yeah, yeah, come on lovebirds. Sangyeon wants to run through some new pitch or something.” Chanhee is walking back down the hill before he’s even finished the sentence, Juyeon scurrying to follow him before Eric can see if that pretty pink flush has found its way back to his cheeks.

Without Juyeon’s body as a cover, the wind whips at him again and he hisses at its harshness. He misses the muscular boy's presence immediately. 

“Lovebirds… hm.” 

₊ ⊹

“I’m sorry I think I misheard you. Could you run that by me one more time?” 

“I- uh, I’ll kiss you?”

“You’ll kiss me.”

“Yes?”

“Are you asking me or telling me?” 

“Telling?”

“Juyeon!”

The manager squeaks and the blush that appears on his face at any given time is coupled with a crimson that rises up his ears. Eric can’t believe anything happening right now is real. 

Sangyeon stands sixty feet away, tossing a ball like it doesn’t hold the weight of Eric’s future in it. Sunwoo and Haknyeon, always off in their own world, have started scrolling through what he can only guess is a compilation of funny cat videos. The rest of his teammates are using various degrees of subtlety to eavesdrop onto the conversation that Eric is currently debating is even actually a real, actual, factual thing.

“I- the- why?”

“Well,” Juyeon looks anywhere but at Eric’s blown out eyes, “like I said it was Chanhee’s idea, but I mean, I thought maybe it would help? Maybe um, give you a goal to work toward… if you’d like that goal, I mean.” 

The silence between them stretches thin, threatening to wrap around their necks and choke out any words they could use. Juyeon still hasn’t looked Eric in the eyes since he made his offer, but Eric hasn’t looked anywhere else. He sees the way Juyeon’s nose scrunches with nerves and the way he’s biting the inside of his cheek, an anxious habit Eric had noticed during his first week. 

“Oh God- just forget I said anything. I read this so wrong. I’m gonna go jump off the gym roof now.”

Eric’s hand shoots out to grip Juyeon’s, forcing him to stay in his spot before he can actually go anywhere. The sudden move has Juyeon looking into Eric’s eyes, finally seeing the darkened iris’ and dangerously large pupils; similar to that of a cat ready to pounce on helpless prey.

“I would.”

Juyeon furrows his brows, “Huh?”

“Like that. I- uh,” Eric wets his lips. Juyeon tracks the motion. “I would like that goal. A lot.”

“Oh… oh!” 

₊ ⊹

“I swear to God, Sunwoo, if you even think about spinning that bottle anywhere near me—“

“Oh boooo, that’s no fun! What happened to the guy that packed a strip of condoms to the fucking tournament games.”

“Or the guy that wore the girl’s cheerleader uniform,”  Haknyeon smirks from the couch where he sits behind, “that guy was pretty fun at the team mixer a couple years ago, right baby?” 

Sunwoo leans, head tilting back from his spot on the floor between Haknyeon’s legs to look up at the older boy. They share matching grins, barely concealed snickers hidden behind tight smiles and wiggling eyebrows. Chanhee sits across from them in the circle they’ve made, opening and closing his mouth in offense.

“We don’t talk about that!” 

“Relaaaax, New. Younghoon knows all about how you got bent in half for me and Sangy—“

“LALALALALALALA-FUCK YOU-LALALALA.”

Haknyeon cackles while Sunwoo simply snorts into his soda; even Younghoon, who sits perfectly content next to his boyfriend, giggles a bit. The guy had joined their team last season as a transfer, sweeping in with honey glazed hair and a smile no one could ignore. Especially not Chanhee, if the way he dropped his fuckbuddies to turn into a housewife said anything. 

Sangyeon is off studying with some friends from his frat so he isn’t with them today to join in on the teasing, but even if he was Younghoon wouldn’t bat an eye. The man seems to have the confidence of a God and a next to nonexistent level of jealousy or possessiveness. Good traits for dating someone who’s hooked up with enough baseball players to make his own roster. 

Eric sits at the end of the ratty couch they moved into their team meeting room years ago. The room itself is tucked into the back of the school's stupidly big gym, right across the hall from the batting cages they use for practice when the weather is against them.  

“In half?” Jacob whispers to himself in awe.

Kevin is there to answer the rhetorical question, leaning over to whisper unsuccessfully, “Honey, I can do that too. Remember the party Mark Lee threw last year?” 

Eric tunes them out for the sake of his inner peace. Luckily, Hyunjae and Changmin enter the room, arms full of snacks, with Juyeon trailing behind them, sufficiently managing to grab his attention more than the snacks. 

He’s wearing a cut off tank top and joggers that hug his thighs in ways Eric’s been struggling not to think about. When he raises his hands to run through his hair and replace his STALLIONS hat back on his head, toned arms shift with underlying muscles. Eric’s mouth suddenly feels dry despite the Sprite he’s been nursing for half an hour. 

“Sorry, someone just had to find the Cheeto Puffs.” Changmin drops an open bag of Jolly Ranchers on his lap and rolls his eyes at the tiny scoff Hyunjae gives. 

“Okay, so we’re just forgetting about how you hunted down the Twizzlers like a rabid bloodhound?”

“I did not.”

“Did too. I remember ‘cause it kinda turned me on,” Hyunjae shrugs, flopping down between Haknyeon and Eric, “and because it happened 20 minutes ago. Back me up here Juyeon.” 

Changmin’s neck turns red, but Eric can’t be sure if it’s positive or negative. He gave up trying to figure out their dynamic after he found them drunk, sloppily making out, and crying in each other's arms at a party thrown by Mark Lee. Different from the one that Jacob bent Kevin in half at; knowing these party details from the unfortunate habit of walking in the wrong room at the wrong time. 

“How about I agree that both of you were very persistent?” Juyeon speaks like he’s talking to children, which really isn’t that far from the truth. 

“Hmmm,” Hyunjae pretends to think it over, tapping a finger on his chin, “I’ll accept. Someone pass me a DP- no Sunwoo- a Dr. Pepper.” 

Changmin makes his way towards the couch, and Eric decides he’d rather not sit next to whatever foreplay they’ve got going on for the next hour. He gets up, making sure to grab the Jolly Ranchers, and heads over to the loveseat Juyeon has wiggled on. 

“Candy?” He offers once he’s sat down next to the other. Juyeon turns and flicks his eyes up to Erics before beaming and accepting. The smile takes up his entire face, curving his eyes into smiles as well and sending a blanket of warmth over Eric’s body. 

Juyeon tells him about the trip to the gas station at school, and how the two other boys nearly knocked down the pizza display with a fight over what kind of M&Ms to get. Juyeon chose peanut butter in the end.

“Oh sick,” Eric interrupts, “those are my favorite, man.”

“Yeah, I figured. I see you eating them a lot.” 

“Oh. Thanks, Juyeon.” 

Juyeon pauses before swirling his Jolly Rancher over so he can reply clearly, “Juyomi.”

“What?” Eric blinks, confused, both from the statement and the way Juyeon’s tongue is stained bright red 40 from rolling around the candy over and over. 

“You can call me Juyomi. I mean, it’s like, my nickname, right?” Juyeon’s ears are tinged scarlet, but he shrugs like it’s no big deal. 

“Right. Thanks Juyomiii.” Eric hopes he doesn’t sound as breathless as he feels, dragging the last syllable out cutely to cover up how his throat has closed up.

Neither of them mention that no one else on the team has used the nickname, or that Juyeon has never made it a point to use it before. They just lay there together on an old loveseat, arms grazing, gnawing on hard candy, and watching their friends argue over a game of spin the bottle that neither of them seem eager to join. 

₊ ⊹

Eric stares at Juyeon, unsure of what to do now that everything’s out in the open. Honestly, he’s been unsure ever since they met, but it seems to have intensified tenfold. Despite that, he feels like a weight has been lifted off his shoulders. It doesn’t really matter if he hits this ball or not, even though he really hopes he does, because Juyeon wouldn’t have offered this to him if he didn’t want to. 

There’s no way Juyeon would go along with Chanhee’s suggestion if there wasn’t already a kernel of willingness to do it in the first place. Juyeon, sweet smiley Juyeon, wants to kiss him. Eric sees light from the clouds and church bells sounding in the distance. He might be hallucinating. 

“Okay,” Juyeon breaks the silence first, taking backwards steps from home plate. His face doesn’t give much away, too aware of the peanut gallery behind them, but his eyes smile and glint as he backs away, “let’s see what you’ve got then, Eric Sohn.”  

Eric coughs a startled laugh at the boy and the balmy feeling that he leaves in his wake. Sangyeon whistles, sharp and loud, eyebrows raised with impatience. 

“I don’t have all day to watch you paint the white picket fence in your head. Let’s get this show on the road.” 

Eric shakes his head, grin stamped on his face, and falls into a position that feels as natural as breathing. He hasn’t felt this comfortable on the field in weeks, too preoccupied with every move and sound coming from the dugout, but the ease of the game climbs back into his skin like it never left. 

Whatever noise his teammates are making fades into nothing and the sound of his own steady breathing permeates everything. He adjusts his fingers, getting a feel for the grip of the handle. He nods to Sangyeon, taking a deep breath when the Captain rears his arm back, and lets his instinct take over.

₊ ⊹

Later, Kevin will tell him that he managed to hit an aspirin from Sangyeon Lee; a fastball from the man whose top velocity had recently peaked at 87 mph. Jacob will say he could barely even keep track of the ball and Haknyeon, their catcher, will agree reluctantly. Hyunjae will say it was kind of hot, Sunwoo will agree wholeheartedly, and Chanhee will smack the back of both of their heads. Sangyeon will roll his eyes, just happy that Eric is back in the game, and Younghoon will take a five dollar bill from an irritated Changmin.

That doesn’t happen yet, though. What happens now is the soundless crack of the bat hitting the ball so hard that Eric feels it vibrate through his body. What happens is the crash of his teammates bodies against him as they cheer in relief that their second baseman has gotten his mojo back. What happens is Eric zeroing in on Juyeon standing with Sangyeon and Chanhee, safely a few feet away from the commotion, looking on with a small private smile that only the two of them, and maybe Chanhee, know what for. 

Eric beams and joins in on the celebration, jumping up and down for a few more moments until Sangyeon calls for them to break it up. 

“Alright, alright we get it and we’re all very happy for you Eric. No one more than me, seriously, but this practice should’ve been over half an hour ago and there’s a hot shower in my dorm calling my name,” The team stares at him, still infused with leftover adrenaline. Sangyeon stares back blankly, “So go home.” 

“Aw man, I wanted to take a swing at that pitch too.” Hyunjae mutters as he follows Kevin and Jacob, who are all too eager to go home, off the field. Haknyeon and Sunwoo give him matching thumbs ups before strolling back to the stands to retrieve their things. 

“Wanna conserve some water, Captain?” Changmin slithers up next to Sangyeon with a smirk and a backpack. 

“Q I’m going to put ants in your glove when you least expect it,” Sangyeon answers, still looking at Eric, “I’ll see you tomorrow Eric. We still need to work on your footwork.” 

Eric nods, listening but fully aware of Juyeon, who was left by Chanhee and Younghoon with a wink, still standing a few feet away. 

“Cap, I don’t think he’s processing a single word you’re saying.” 

Sangyeon sighs, “Yeah whatever. Go get your man, lover boy.” 

Eric doesn’t feel his feet moving, but he finds himself in front of Juyeon anyway. They stare at each other openly and maybe it should feel awkward, but it doesn’t. Instead, Eric feels a buzzing through the air and in his bones; like a live wire built up with so much under his skin that he’ll explode if he doesn’t get an outlet soon. 

“Hi.” Juyeon giggles quietly. 

“Hi.” Eric smiles, face flushing. 

The clouds wash them in a delicate light, making it easier to see one another without the sun digging into their corneas. Eric shuffles a foot into the grass and swallows the lump in his throat; he should’ve brought his chapstick today.

“So, about that goal—“

Juyeon rolls his eyes and reaches forward, fingers curling into the fabric of Eric’s top as he pulls. His eyes crinkle into crescents when he grins, “Shut up.”

And then they’re kissing.

Well, Juyeon is kissing him. Eric is somewhere between frozen and distracted, but eventually he melts and the absence of lip balm doesn’t seem so important. He catalogs the details of this moment for later, just in case he’s read this horrifically wrong and they’re not on the straight path of love, marriage, and a baby carriage. 

Juyeon kisses soft, but certain. There’s a gentle assertiveness that Eric’s never experienced in his previous kissing escapades. Thirteen year old Sunwoo kissed like a dog, seventeen year old Sunwoo wasn’t much better, and twenty year old Karina from Accounting had a secret tongue piercing that almost sent Eric cumming in his jeans from the discovery alone. 

Eric takes another leap of faith, running his tongue along the seam of Juyeon’s mouth and nipping at his bottom lip. Juyeon answers him by parting his lips and giving Eric free reign to explore the back of his molars. Eric’s hands have come to rest on the sides of Juyeon’s jaw, thumbs laying on his temples. They stand there kissing, wind blowing the smell of grass and dirt around them, until Eric feels his lungs weep for oxygen and he pulls away reluctantly. He's almost finished mapping the landscape of Juyeon’s mouth and he’s eager to finish the job. 

The first thing he sees when he opens his eyes are Juyeon’s blown out pupils, the thin rim of brown melting in with the inky blackness. He flicks his eyes past Eric’s shoulders a moment before he takes his hand, “Come with me.” 

Honestly, he could’ve been leading Eric into a burning building and he still would’ve followed willingly. Eric only has enough self awareness to interlock their fingers together, enjoying the dry slide of Juyeon’s palm against his. 

Fortunately there’s no fires around. Juyeon leads them up the small hill to the gym’s back door and uses his manager key with his free hand to unlock it to the hallway that houses a handful of rooms. Before the door can even fully shut, Juyeon has yanked Eric into the one that’s been allocated for the baseball team. Metal slams, a lock clicks, and then it’s just the two of them. 

Eric likes to think he’s a gentleman even on his worst days, but the lead up to this one moment has been eternal and he never claimed to have the patience of a saint. 

Their mouths crash together in a flurry of lips and teeth and spit. Juyeon tastes like cherry soda, a flavor Eric never thought he’d be moaning into. Hands card into Eric’s hair and tug him impossibly closer. Arms wrap around Juyeon’s impossibly tiny waist and squeeze their lower halves together. 

Juyeon whines, grinding their bodies, and Eric, whose fingers have found their way through the hair at the base of Juyeon’s neck, involuntarily yanks at the sting of arousal he feels from it. 

Juyeon pulls away gasping, giving Eric full view of his blacked out pupils and spit slick lips. He pants at the sight and wastes no time leaning back to sweep his tongue into Juyeon’s mouth. He uses the upper hand he’s been given to twist them around, slamming Juyeon’s back against the cold door. The chill from the metal fights the heated sweat that’s built up from their impatience and it makes Juyeon arch away from it. Eric can feel the hardness slotted against his thigh and it serves to make the grip in Juyeon’s hair tighten. 

“How long?” Eric asks once he surfaces for air, inches from the other boy's lips, “How long have you wanted this?” 

Juyeon whines as his face reddens, “The- fuck- the first day.” 

“So all it takes to get you all worked up is helping you with your chores? Should’ve known you’d be easy.”

They haven’t talked about this, obviously. Eric was only offered a kiss, which they’ve raced past at this point, but he can’t stop the words from spilling out of him. Given the way Juyeon’s eyes clench and his thighs jerk around Eric’s to grind his clothed dick against his thigh muscles, he feels confident the feeling goes both ways. Even still—

“Are you sure about thi—“ 

Juyeon’s eyes snap open, glazed and dark, “Yes.” 

Eric smirks, “Atta boy.”

Juyeon’s whimper cracks out into the silence as they fall together again, a mix of panting and spit that Eric never wants to end. He drops a hand down to curl his fingers just into the top of Juyeon’s sweats, just enough to graze the elastic of his boxers. The touch is probative, not hesitant; asking for acceptance of entry. 

Juyeon breaks away from their kiss, thudding his head back against the door and nodding erratically, “Yes, God yes.. just- please-”

Eric deftly pulls on the strings tying the waistband and allows his palm to lay flat against the heat of the other boy's cock through the fabric of his underwear. Juyeon hisses and arches into the touch, aching for any semblance of friction he can find. 

Eric slides the hand not shoved into Juyeon’s pants down his sturdy chest, making sure to scrape his nails along the pecs where the nipple is. Juyeon’s body shivers and he manages to gasp out barely cohesive words.

“You should speak up when you want something, Juyeon.”

Eric presses his palm harder into Juyeon’s erection and the other boy stammers in his haste to repeat himself.

“Eric don’t tease me,” He ruts into the hand, humiliation pooling in his cheeks at his desperation, “Please, please, please.”

“Well,” Eric smiles and removes his hand from the sweats, leaving Juyeon whining and chasing for the delicious pressure, before dropping down to his knees on the brutal concrete, “I do think you deserve a treat.”

Eric curves his fingers under the elastic of both waistbands, slowly pulling down inch by inch while he asks, “Isn’t that nice of me?” 

“Yes! Yes, thank you!” Juyeon heaves as Eric peels the fabric down over his cock, allowing it to free itself against the strained torso. It’s already glistening a ruddy color, shiny at the head with precum just from making out against a door. 

“Good boy.” Eric gives, before taking the head of Juyeon’s cock into his mouth, eyes fluttering shut as he focuses on the feeling. Juyeon gasps, jolting so hard that Eric has to shove his hips back into the door. He pulls off with a messy pop! and traces his tongue along the prominent vein running up the thick cock, leaving wet open mouth kisses in his wake.

“Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God.” Juyeon pants into the empty room. Eric smirks, placing an open mouth kiss just underneath the slit, “Not God, just Eric.”

Juyeon lets out a tiny hnnng and shakily places a hand on the top of Eric’s head, urging him back down onto his cock. Eric takes the hint, diving back down to suck as much of it as he can into his mouth. 

He gags slightly when the head hits the back of his throat, but the pleasure at the feeling of cock laying heavily on his tongue outweighs any discomfort he feels from the intrusion to his esophagus. Juyeon keens at the sound, heated by the knowledge that he’s getting sucked off by Eric Sohn; that it’s his cock the campus golden boy is gagging on.

He places a hand at the base of the shaft, slicked by the drool that’s dribbled down. Eric tightens his fist and twists as he lets out a moan, reveling in the throb Juyeon’s cock gives at the vibrations. Juyeon whines above him, hand glued to his head, but not pushing. Eric continues to bob his head, letting out the occasional gag and moan that results in another delicious sound or abandoned jerk of Juyeon’s hips. 

Eric feels himself being pulled off, wincing at the air that hits his freshly used throat. Juyeon pants against the door and looks down through his lashes at Eric, “I-I wanna come-“

“That’s what I’m trying to do, sweetheart.” 

“No,” Juyeon shakes his head, allowing Eric to see the sweat that glistens along his cheeks, “wanna come together. Wanna touch you.” 

“Oh,” Eric purrs, smile turning wicked as he tightens the fist around Juyeon’s cock a bit more, “why didn’t you just say so?” 

The journey to the old couch is a whirl of messy kisses filled with too many teeth and hands traveling along every inch of skin the two boys can find. The back of Juyeon’s legs hit the front and he leans them both back until he’s sprawled out below Eric in a way that he’s only seen in dreams before. 

“C’mon Eric,” Juyeon whines into the small space between their mouths. Eric kisses up his jaw until he catches an earlobe and gently tugs. 

“What do you want, baby? What did I say about speaking up?” 

“I want you to touch me. Please, I see how you look at me, at my thighs, when you think I can’t see,” He swallows, grinding up to press their erections together. Eric’s hands grip the fabric where they lay on the sides of Juyeon’s head, “want you to fuck them ‘til they’re raw, wanna feel it hurt when I walk, need your cum on me so bad.” 

Eric’s brain short circuits at the vision Juyeon’s given him; laid out like a four course meal and offering his body to be used until he’s sore and crying. His hands fly to pop open the buttons on his pants at an inhuman speed. Juyeon eagerly pushes his sweats down off, allowing his legs to open freely. Eric crashes their lips together again and Juyeon greedily swallows down the groan he gives when he finally pulls out his cock, precum dripping down the dark red skin. 

Eric tugs once, twice, until the member is slick with his fluid and the drag isn’t uncomfortably dry. He leans back, wasting no time to look down at the sight of their cocks side by side, and collecting the drool in his mouth to spit onto the two of them. Rubbing the wet over them with both hands and smearing the excess on his inner thighs. 

It’s still not enough for Eric, who drops off the couch a bit to lean down and suck loud wet kisses over the skin. He switches between each thigh; licking and sucking hard marks that threaten to turn a deep maroon. His kisses and nips get lower and lower until Eric accidentally places a swift kitten over Juyeon’s perineum. Juyeon keens, “Oooh shit.” 

“Thaaat’s it Juyo. Be loud for me.” Eric crawls back up, placing sloppy kisses along the entire leg as he goes. Once back on the couch, he collects Juyeon’s heavy thighs to squeeze them together and throws his feet over his left shoulder. He leans back forward, bending Juyeon’s knees dangerously close to his chest, “You ready sweetheart? Think you can keep these pressed together for me?”

Juyeon nods eagerly, bumping his head against the back of the couch, “Yes, yes just hurry.”

“Cocky for someone that’s about to cum from a thigh job.” Eric tuts and slides his cock through the tight wet heat of Juyeon’s legs. From this angle Juyeon’s dick is trapped between his own stomach and Eric’s cock sliding along him over and over again.

“Ohh… fuuuuck.” Eric moans at the tight wet heat engulfing his cock; Juyeon mirrors this, arching his back to pull Eric closer. Eric’s dick pops out of the other side of Juyeon’s thighs, bumping their heads together. 

“You feel so good baby. Nice and wet and tight for me.” He keeps thrusting, hand tight on Juyeon’s hips to keep him from squirming out of the rhythm he’s set.

“Eric,” Juyeon gasped, voice cracking, “please.”

“Yeah?” Eric smirks through his own rising pleasure at the slick glide between Juyeon’s legs, ”I got you baby. I know what you need.” 

He leans down and forward, arching his frame over the other boy even more to slot his face just barely apart, breathing his words into Juyeon’s mouth. Every touch of their skin felt molten, every thrust felt electric. 

“You have no idea how badly I’ve wanted to get you beneath me. Every time you bent over, or took your jersey off, or- fuck- or did a practice hit. God damn.” Eric snarls his words into a kiss, claiming the moans that get punched out of Juyeon with every thrust. There’s a steady line of pre-cum added to the tacky spit, making the friction silkier once again.

“Eriiiic,” Juyeon whines out, trembling against the rough fabric, “I’m— I can’t—“

“Do you need to cum, sweetheart?” Sweat drips from Eric’s bangs down onto Juyeon’s cheek; who darts a tongue out to lick it up in a dehydrated daze. Juyeon nods, arching his neck back to moan loudly. Eric runs his tongue along the shell of Juyeon’s ear, pausing to whisper darkly. Eric can tell Juyeon’s getting close when the pitch of his voice gets higher and higher. 

“Okay baby. Be good and cum for me.” He nips the cartilage before reattaching his mouth to Juyeon’s in an even more desperate kiss than before. Spit slips out of the sides, whines and whimpers echo behind the barrier of canines and molars; neither of them care. 

Eric grasps his hand around both of their cocks, creating a tight suction for Juyeon while he continues to fuck through the even tighter heat of his thighs. Juyeon’s body arches straight, his hips weakly jerking into Eric’s hand while he releases punched out staccato uh-uh-uh’s.

“That’s it- c’mon sweetheart. Cum for me.”

Juyeon’s release isn’t a surprise to Eric. What is a surprise is the height at which he cums. White splatters along the curve of his clavicle and drools down Eric’s fingers curled around the scarlet head of their dicks. If he tried, Juyeon could probably reach out his tongue and lick up stray drops of his own cum off his chin. It feels like with every thrust of Eric’s hips, Juyeon cums just a bit more, like Eric is genuinely fucking the orgasm out of him. 

Juyeon’s orgasm wrings his body limp and overstimulated from Eric’s consistent thrusts. He whimpers, hips wriggling at the onslaught of sensation before Eric brings the hand on their cocks up to gently hold him in place. Juyeon stills, his body freezing only for a moment before he melts into the couch. 

The display has Eric snapping his hips forward, pushing harder against Juyeon’s pliant body and moving him incrementally up the couch. The feeling of Juyeon hot and sweaty and weakly clenching around him fuels him into a frenzy; chasing after a peak that’s just out of reach.

“Fuck— Juyeon I’m gonna—“

“On me,” Juyeon blinks big watery eyes up at Eric, “Want it on me.” 

Eric puts more weight onto the hand around Juyeon’s neck, not enough to cut off all air, just enough to gain the leverage to rock his hips harder and harder until he climbs over the peak he’s been chasing. 

His hips stutter as his body tenses and choked off moans catch in his throat as he watches his cock, brutally hard and dark, twitch between the meat of Juyeon’s thighs. Eric adds to the abstract collage of cum settling in the toned planes of Juyeon’s torso. 

Juyeon hums, relaxed and sated while he runs a finger along Eric’s slit, collecting a stray drop before bringing it to his mouth to suck off. Eric breathes unevenly, removing his hand from Juyeon’s throat and gently prying his thighs apart. He winces as the red marks that already threaten to bloom on the inside. 

Juyeon giggles breathlessly as he haphazardly adjusts his pants and flops next to him on the couch. Eric turns his head to stare into his big brown eyes up close. The artificial light is a heinous color, but Juyeon’s eyes somehow manage to make even its reflection look beautiful. 

“Eric,” Juyeon rasps out quietly, amused, “there’s a one-of-kind Jackson Pollock piece drying on my stomach right now.”

Eric blushes, immediately rooting around for a box of tissues they keep nearby for allergies. He makes quick work cleaning their combined mess as best he can before throwing the tissues somewhere, hopefully into the trash.

Juyeon shimmies his own pants up, even less graceful than Eric from his loose form on the sofa. When he wiggles back into place next to Eric their shoulders touch and Juyeon runs their pinkies together.

“Hi.” Eric grins.

“Hi.” Juyeon smiles back.

“I know we did this, like, backwards and all, but would you wanna go get dinner or something? Maybe?” 

Juyeon chuffs, turning his head to laugh into the crook of Eric’s neck, “We just made out on the baseball field and then I let you fuck my thighs raw and you think I’d say no to dinner?” 

“Well. You know what assuming does?” Eric shrugs, and takes a tiny leap of bravery to place a kiss on the top of Juyeon’s head.

Juyeon brings his head back up to smile his shiny, beautiful eyes at Eric, “Yes Eric Sohn, I’d like to get dinner or something with you. Maybe.” 

Eric interlocks their pinkies and his tiny shy smile grows until it hurts his cheeks. Juyeon kisses the corner of his mouth before leaning his head back on his shoulder, dragging his arms around Eric like they had all the time in the world. Maybe they do. He tries not to overthink it.

“Okay,” Eric exhales, “okay cool.”