Work Text:
Stained. Dark, visibly spreading, seeping deeper into the fabric. It had happened recently enough to still be getting worse, but no one looked to be around to take responsibility. The other cages were empty, the only echoes and cracks of metal hitting leather coming from the one Shinada still occupied. The woman at the counter wasn’t even paying attention to the goings on of the place, she would be of no use to ask what had happened. He should have just kept his suit on.
Mine was here in Kineicho on business, taking up the torch for Daigo who had prior engagements he couldn’t miss. The majority of the task had been easily taken care of, not much effort nor critical thinking required for it, chinpira could have done it without struggle so it was a wonder as to why it was even something Daigo had needed done. That is, until Mine crossed paths with him .
A past acquaintance of Daigo’s who just so happened to have batted for the Wyverns.
Shinada Tatsuo, Tatsuo Shinada. From what Mine had heard from Daigo, they weren’t meant to interfere with this man's life, he doubted that this check-in was an exception and maybe that was why Mine had come instead of Daigo. Shinada didn’t know Mine’s face. His train of thought had inevitably been wrong though, what with Shinada coming up to him and correctly clocking him as one of Daigo’s men. …Though that wasn’t that difficult of a feat considering Mine had neglected to wear something other than his usual suit.
That was four days ago, somehow their paths had crossed each day since. Nothing more than a coincidence of being in such a small ward.
Less of a coincidence, was how Mine had been wanting to speak to him about baseball, more than vaguely interested in how his life fared prior to the scandal and following Daigo’s interference last year, refraining from doing so as he was still here on business. Only for Shinada to once again initiate and ask if he had spare time to go to the batting centre with him.
“Please, Mine-san? I can see you light up a little when you pass by the place. You leave today so just this one time you should have some fun.” Shinada had a shine to his actions, asking so sincerely if a yakuza, when he clearly didn’t want them involved in his life, would go bat just because he saw some subconscious want. A desire not so easily pushed aside. “Please? Think of it as a going away present from me?” The fact that Mine had never told him he was leaving today breezed completely by as he sighed an agreeance, turning on his heel to make way to the batting centre.
He should have said no, then his suit would still be wearable.
Mine set his bat down with a dull echo in favour of lifting the fresh eyesore up to inspect it further. It looked like it was going to dry sticky, he definitely couldn’t be seen in public with such a prominent stain adorned to his chest. A check of the time told him he didn’t have time to get it cleaned before he had to leave either, if there were, Mine wasn’t sure there were even any dry cleaning places nearby.
Another crack of baseball hitting bat, followed by the trill of the ball hitting the homerun zone. The door of the occupied cage opened, shut with a scrape of metal on metal. Scuffing of shoes against the tiling as Shinada made his way from the advanced course over to the bench near the beginner course where Mine still bemoaned over the stain. His bat mimicking the echo Mine’s had given off, though more muted, treated with more care.
Mine let his gaze flick over to him, quickly taking in his demeanour and the state of his form. A bit sweaty, enough to have the fluorescents make his skin shine. No doubt he had passed the course. He looked back at the stain again before speaking. “You seem to be on a winning streak.” Barring the first try when Mine had been watching him so intently his stare had ended up throwing him off.
“Hehe, maybe just a little.” Shinada leaned in, joining him in looking at the stain. “Eh? Mine-san you spill something? I didn’t think you’d like any of the drinks here.” A hand came to poke at it… incredulous.
Mine pushed him back, setting the suit jacket back onto the bench. “No.” He looked around again, still no one besides the two of them and the woman at the counter. “Someone must have come in and spilled without the courtesy to say something to anyone about it.”
Shinada hummed and stepped over to peer through the counter window. “Mi-chan? You remember who else was in here?” Ah, Mi-chan, that was who she was. Mine hadn’t honestly been paying attention to her exchange with Shinada when they had first come in. Evidently he hadn’t paid attention this time either, not hearing her response and only coming back into focus when Shinada was on the other side of him, eying the contents of the vending machine and sighing. “Sorry Mine-san… It must've been one of the delinquents with his own drink, nothing in here would leave that kind of stain…”
…He couldn’t say he liked when Shinada looked apologetic for something he couldn’t be faulted for. “Forget it already, I’ll have it cleaned easily.”
“Really? Ahhh, but it's started to rain! Won’t it spread if it gets wet like that?”
“I won’t be wearing it. It won’t get wet that easily from here to a taxi.”
Shinada thought it over, hands unzipping his jacket the rest of the way before he started speaking. “You should wear this still, it's only gonna get colder and rain more, that shirt doesn’t look like enough of a barrier.”
A charming act bordering more on idiotic. With it completely off Shinada was left in solely a tank top, even less of a barrier. “Are you an idiot? I don’t need it.”
Shinada looked at him, arms half stretched out to hand him the jacket, he was shining again. With a tsk Mine took the garment. “Don’t worry about me, I can just run over to see Milky-chan until the rain stops.” He wasn’t worrying, he was baffled at how Shinada had no thought of how he would be getting this back any time soon.
“I’m leaving Nagoya once I leave here, you won’t be getting this back if you insist on me wearing it.”
“You can give it back next time you see me.” What made him so sure there’d be a next time?
Ten minutes and Mine was still glaring into his closet, his usual jacket he wore on his runs not there. Warily, he glanced at the brown one hanging two away from where his usual would be. It wasn’t practical, it didn’t pair with his track pants. He would become annoyed at the cuffs rubbing against his forearms and it wasn’t suited for working out, no matter how much wear it had to it. It wasn’t his. An overbearance of reasons why he couldn't just slip it on, racing in and right back out of his mind as he took it from its hanger, its own designated spot for the past few days its been here.
Sliding his arms into the sleeves, the fabric was nice, better now that it was touching his skin directly. The weight of it was comforting, pushing his shoulders down, unwinding their tense state. The jacket had constantly been in the back of his mind since returning from Nagoya, along with the man who made him take it to Minato. Shinada’s certainty that Mine would go see him again still made no sense to him, he didn’t want to return this to him which gave him no reason to.
The zipper teeth caught against each other wrong, causing him to tug them back into place, hesitating on zipping it up the rest of the way, then doing so before he could change his mind and take it off. A glance in the mirror on his way out proved how undesirable this combination was, but still, he didn’t want to give the jacket back.
He might entertain the idea of having to do business in Kineicho again though, relying on coincidence once more to have them meet up.