"You need to bend your knees more and raise your left elbow more."

"Shut up! I know what I'm doing!" Chanyeol wouldn't admit that the other was right. He has been swinging his baseball bat several times, but it seems that he was starting to slack off because his knees weren't as bent as it was when he started practicing.

A lot of people expected Chanyeol to be playing basketball because of his tall height, but it turned out baseball was actually his main sport. He was especially good with batting.  It's rare for him to miss a ball which is why he earned the nickname Hawkeye.  His problem just relies on the strength and the direction of his swing.  He still needs practice on the strength and control of his swings.  The same goes for catching.  He never fails to catch a ball, but unfortunately, he's not good with throwing the ball as he once again lacks the strength and control.

Besides afterschool baseball club activities, Chanyeol made sure to do some extra practice at the park.  Every time he did his practice at the park, Mr. Know-It-All would show up and watch him.  Then he would give him an advice or point out what Chanyeol was doing wrong.  Chanyeol hated the Know-It-All attitude which is why he would never admit to the other about being right, but deep inside, he was actually grateful for the guidance.

~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Chanyeol, you've improved a lot in a short span of time! Because of you, I think our team actually has the chance to win the regional championships and have a shot at the nationals!" The caption praised Chanyeol after a practice game.

"Chanyeol hyung, I hope you can guide me so that I can be as good as you!!!"

"Sure, dongsaeng!" As Chanyeol helped his teammates to improve, he found himself giving out the same advices and instructions as Mr. Know-It-All.  Maybe it was finally time to admit that the other had been right all this time and to finally express his gratitude.

~*~*~*~*~*~*

"You're not practicing today?" Mr. Know-It-All was surprised that Chanyeol wasn't swinging his bat when he arrived at the park.

"My team won the regional championship today, so I figured I could slack off a bit and not practice today." Chanyeol delivered the good news to the stranger.  He deemed that the stranger was important enough to know about the good news.

"Really? Congratulations!" Chanyeol liked how the stranger didn't have the usual smug expression and instead had a sincere smile.

"I want to thank you for helping me.  Everything I learned from you, I passed them onto my teammates.  I told them about you.  They want you to join our victory party."

"I'm sorry.  I can't..." The stranger left in a hurry.  Chanyeol wanted to go after him,  but he also had a feeling that it would be better to leave the other alone.  That was definitely not the kind of reaction that he was expecting from the stranger.  For the first time, he saw something akin to fear and vulnerability in the stranger's eyes.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

It was their first game for the national champsionship, but they were off on a rocky start.

"Chanyeol, you were off almost the entire game. Luckily, you managed to pull yourself together during the critical moments. We almost lost today.  I can't let you play in our next game if you're not back to your usual self."

"I understand."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Chanyeol has been feeling troubled because the stranger hadn't showed up since he invited the other to the victory party.  Fortunately, they were fated to meet again at the hospital.  During their practice, one of Chanyeol's teammate fainted  Though he had regained consciousness, he was still rushed to the hospital for a checkup.  When Chanyeol was about to leave the hospital, he saw the stranger about to enter the hospital.

"Hey, you!" Chanyeol held the stranger's arm.  "I need to talk to you. Please!"

"I have a doctor's appointment. Feel free to accompany me. We can talk afterwards."

Chanyeol remained silent as he accompanied the stranger. It was then that he learned that the stranger's name was Kyungsoo because the doctor's secretary called out his name when it was his turn.  It was during the doctor's appointment that Chanyeol learned that Kyungsoo has a shoulder injury which was recovering well.

"At this rate, you may be able to get back to your regular daily activities."

"Baseball used to be a part of my regular daily activities." Kyungsoo pointed out.

"Just not baseball," The doctor emphasized. "You know very well that you are not fully recovered yet. You need to get used to daily activities first."

"But he will be able to return to playing baseball someday, right?" Chanyeol couldn't help but ask.

"Yes, but his level of play might not be the same as before."

"Thank you very much for your time, doc." Kyungsoo said respectfully before leaving the doctor's office.  Once they were outside the hospital, Kyungsoo lead Chanyeol to the park where they always meet.  "My dream of becoming a professional baseball player was crushed because of this injury. I stayed away from baseball. I gave my collection of baseball cards to my cousin. I quit the baseball club. I stopped watching baseball games or news. Then one day, I saw you practicing. I couldn't stop myself from pointing out about your bad form when you practiced swinging your bat. Honestly, you are the only connection I have to baseball now."

"From now on, I'll play for the both of us. Please come and watch our team play for the inter-highschool national baseball championship."

"I don't think I can..." Kyungsoo hesitated. He felt he wasn't ready to face a baseball game yet even though he wasn't going to play in it.

"Promise me you'll come." Chanyeol held both Kyungsoo's hands. "I promise I'll let you taste victory."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Kyungsoo's heart was beating fast as he saw the baseball field in front of him. It wasn't his first time to be here, but since it has been a long time, the place seemed larger than he last saw it.

"You looked even more nervous than I am."

"Chanyeol! What are you doing here? You should be changing into your uniform by now," Kyungsoo scolded his dongsaeng.

"I will. I just wanted to see first.  Kiss me for good luck."

"What?!" Kyungsoo blushed and didn't make any move, so Chanyeol leaned in to take his good luck kiss.

"I'll see you after the game." Chanyeol walked away to get himself ready for the game.

The good luck kiss was brief and chaste, but it left both their lips heated throughout the game.

~*~*~*~*~*~*

There were players on each base.  Chanyeol was the hitter.  All of them were hoping for at least two players to safely reach the home plate.  Chanyeol never misses a ball, but the strength and the control of swinging a bat has always been a problem.  He wasn't supposed to be a hitter for this game, but his teammate who fainted the other day turned out to have an illness and wasn't allowed to play today. Whatever the scenario was, he really wasn't expecting to be a hitter at all, but his coach deemed him to be suitable enough for this.  

"I can do this," Chanyeol muttered under his breath.  His gaze landed on Kyungsoo who was watching him intently from the bleachers.  He became more determined to show Kyungsoo how much he improved.

And so his bat hits the ball...

Chanyeol managed to hit a homerun.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Congratulations! You played wonderfully." Kyungsoo congratulated the baseball player who approached him after talking with some university baseball coaches who wanted to recruit him, answering interviews, and finally showering and changing out of his baseball uniform.

"It's all because of your good luck kiss," Chanyeol teased the other, causing Kyungsoo to blush. "But seriously, it's all because you disciplining and guiding me all these months."

"I didn't want you to end up like me." Kyungsoo touched his injured shoulder. "I also want to thank you for making me face baseball again. I've avoided it for so long, feeling bitter about my lost dreams of being a professional baseball player, but now I'm just happy to see you playing, and I'm looking forward to being able to play again too even if not on a professional player.  I know that it's possible to play again someday."

"I think you'll make a good baseball coach, and then I'll be jealous that you'll have other favorite players," Chanyeol pouted playfully.  "You have to watch every single game I play even if you'll have new future favorites, okay?"

"Of course. You need my good luck kisses after all.  Speaking of which, I didn't think my first kiss experience would be a good luck kiss, but it's nevertheless going to be memorable. Hey, you forgot your promise."

The only promise Chanyeol remembered was giving Kyungsoo a taste of victory. Oh! Chanyeol figured it out. "No, I didn't," He replied, giving Kyungsoo a slow, wet, and deep kiss of victory.

THE END

A/N: Omigosh~ the last time I updated a fic was like 4 months ago!!! I am definitely deprived of reading and writing fanfics (I had to deal with real life stuff), but anyway, I'm just glad that I got inspired to write this fic. Hopefully, I will have more free time soon and will be able to go back to my beloved fic writing hobby.  Please comment and tell me what you think of this fic!!!

Can you guess the next rare EXO pairing? Hehehe~