Curveball [BL] COMPLETED

5

Three days after Juda's birthday, Nico wakes up oddly. Lemon Boy sounds from his phone, loud in the seemingly silent room, but it sounds muted to Nico, his erratic breathing drowning it out. What the f**k, he rubs his hands down his face, calming his racing heart. It sounds loud to him, thumpthumpthump echoing in his ears.

Unlike his normal mornings where he stares balefully at the wad of paper stuck on the ceiling while contemplating all his life choices, Nico swallows thickly. The moon casts a dim light through their blinds, seeping through the edges and creating untouchable lines across the wall.

What the f**k? His palms rub into his eyes, trying to make sense of the dream he just had. What the f**k- what the f**k?

There's a kick against his bunk - Juda. He grumbles for Nico to turn his alarm off, and Nico only realizes then that his alarm's still going, singing the cheery yet surprisingly depressing song.

Silently, he turns it off- or maybe he mumbles an apology, he doesn't remember. He should get up, he knows, but his body feels heavy against his mattress, unmoving as he stares at nothing.

Growing somewhat more conscious, he sits up and pats around for his glasses. When he finds them, he doesn't put them on right away, let's them sit in his palm as he blinks tiredly. His vision's blurry from sleep and the lack of it he was born with - but he's somewhat grateful. Doesn't know if he can properly look at Carmen or Juda right now.

That's.. he can't stop thinking about his dream.. something. It's definitely something he has no intentions of unpacking.

What is this? He chastises himself. Middle school? Having a wet dream at this age, really? He pushes his hair back with a sigh, finally putting his glasses on. There's an undeniable tent in his boxers, showing the efforts of his wet dream. And yeah, that's great and all, except he got turned on from a dream about his best friends.

And Nico's unsure what's worse - having the dream in the first place or feeling frustrated that he couldn't see it fully play out.

He wets his lips and pulls the blankets back, trying not to think about it. But it's not so easily done. Thoughts of Juda and Carmen rush through his head, obscene in the filthiest ways. There's hands. They're roaming his body, touching his most intimate parts, and he can faintly feel someone kissing him. It's nice- the softness of someone pressed against him. He's touching them too, arching into their hands as his body begs for more, so willing to accept everything they're offering.

Fuck, he ruffles his hair again.

Before his mind can finish the dream itself, he's stepping down the ladder. Nico's no strangers to boners, knows it'll go down on its own. He doesn't have time to take care of it, not if he doesn't want Coach to be on his ass all of practice. Running extra laps isn't worth getting in a quick, unsatisfying orgasm.

By the time his feet touch the floor, Juda and Carmen are already getting dressed.

Tucking his shirt in, Carmen's eyes flick to him. "Nico- woah." His face lights with surprise, taking in how disheveled Nico looks. Unsubtly, he eyes his boner, looking surprised and impressed all at once. "No need to hold me at gun point."

If Nico weren't sexually frustrated, maybe he would've laughed. But he is, so he only grumbles to himself and starts digging through his side of the dresser. And maybe he just doesn't want to talk to them right now - thoughts of their naked bodies pressed to him unhelpfully flashing in his mind.

He tells himself to snap out of it, easing into his baseball mindset.

⚾️

Nico's always tackled baseball with a single-minded passion. Baseball had been his first love, the driving force in his life that practically raised him. He knows the sport inside and out, like the back of his hand. It's the one thing in his life he's always been sure of. Not even his commitment to the same gender came as easy as baseball did.

There's this distinct sound he craves when he pitches. It's unmistakeable to his ears - the exact moment his pitch spirals into Juda's glove, perfectly centered without the catcher moving an inch. It's his favorite- he could go on and how about how satisfying the sound is, and he has.

Nico knows he'd be helpless without baseball, constantly overshadowed by his brother. He desperately doesn't want to go back to those years, fighting for his parents affection and feeling so insignificant somewhere that was meant to be home.

Nico doesn't like feeling helpless.

So he's not exactly sure what to do to stop this anxiety crawling up his throat, choking him from the inside and making it hard to breathe. He doesn't know what's wrong with him today- or more, it's everything combined into one that's wrong.

After his startling wake up this morning, everything else has been going relatively the same. The cafeteria was out of his favorite coffee, lord knows he needed it, and when he went to go brush his teeth, someone used his toothpaste and left it to ooze on the bathroom sink. Safe to say he immediately threw it away. And to make matters worse, he has a paper due tonight that he's been procrastinating.

While he can admit the last one's entirely his fault, it doesn't help relieve any of his other misfortunes.

Before he has a chance to swallow his anxiety and barrel through, Coach is calling for a water break. Nico feels relief wash over him in tall waves, mentally assuring himself that he'll make up for his flukes after the small break.

All practice, nothing seemed to be going right. His pitches weren't landing where they're supposed to, Juda having to reach out to catch them, and Nico could tell that Juda's progressively growing annoyed with him.

He'd be annoyed too.

Again and again, he tries to pitch what should be so easy for him. It's natural for him at this point. A straight fastball down the center shouldn't be veering down like his are. There's only so many times he can apologize to Juda before it means nothing - so he eventually stops, only presses his lips in a thin line to hide the disappointment in himself.

Shaking his hands out doesn't work, it only reminds him how stiff his fingers feel.

"Nico." Coach Barrel stops him. "You stay."

His anxiety comes crashing back in full force, heavier this time. Legs coming to a stop, he waits on top of the mound, desperately wanting to wipe the sweat prickling his forehead. He doesn't, choosing to watch the rest of the first string filter into the dugout for water instead.

Coach stops next to home plate, eyes boring into Juda who's still squatting. "Give me your gear."

Juda blinks, "What?"

"Give me your gear," Coach repeats.

Juda stands and sheds his catchers gear within seconds, offering it out to him, and Nico realizes with a dreadful feeling that Coach is going to catch for him. f**k, he mentally curses, wishing he could just redo the whole day.

For how much first string calls their coach an old man, he's barely in his late thirties. Years worth of muscle line his body, generous in the most outstanding places. Playing in the Majors for over eleven ko years, Barrel only retired when a stolen base went wrong. The opposing player slid right into his ankle, knocking him off his feet and shattering the bone in five different places. Just the thought makes Nico cringe, wishing over and over he hadn't watched the video on youtube.

If there's a man Nico would never want to face on the field, it would be Barrel. Twice the size of Nico, he's an absolute power hitter and experienced catcher, much like Juda.

Juda gives him an encouraging stare, lingering by home plate instead of retreating to the dugout. Coach let's him.

Settling into position, Coach Barrel squats down and holds out his glove. Then silently, he holds down three fingers, calling for a curveball, and Nico exhales softly, hand squeezing around the ball. His nerves spike, but it's not the familiar adrenaline he feeds off from in games. It feels like something much worse.

Winding up, Nico can immediately tells its not going to land after it rolls from his fingertips. Something close to dread fills him when the ball spirals into Coach, hitting his padded chest. He doesn't even try to catch it, glove still open and eyes boring into Nico. The ball rolls to the ground, sound deafening to Nico.

"Again."

Again and again and again and again and again and again, again, again, again, again- Nico's breathless by the time Coach stands up. Sweats drips down his neck and stains his undershirt, but he can only focus on how shitty he feels. He wants to bend over and catch his breath, but refuses to seem even more worthless than he looks.

Nico landed some, he landed a lot in fact, but not nearly enough. Known for his curveballs, it's an embarrassingly low number that he lands. He knows he's right when Coach takes off the gear and settles his gaze, "That's not how an Ace pitches."

Nico knows- f**k- he knows.

"Is that how you're going to pitch in a game?" Nico doesn't reply, fingers digging into the ball. It's usually such a comforting weight, but right now it feels unfamiliar. "Will you excuse this kind of pitching with an 'off day'?" No, Nico doesn't say. Maybe in high school he would've - but not anymore.

He's unable to reply, chest rising and fall unsteadily.

Like all pitchers, he's front and center, all eyes on him.

Coach nods his head towards the dugout. "Grab something to drink and then I want you running laps the rest of practice." Nico jerks his head once, nodding. He feels like s**t, pissed with himself over his performance. As he passes Barrel, "After practice we'll work one on one. Meanwhile, get your head out of your ass and think about if this were a real game."

⚾️

Nico's still out on the field long after practice wraps up. Coach stays out with him for another hour, and in that hour, Nico hangs onto his every word, trying to make up for his s**t show earlier. Once they get past Coach reaming his ass for his performance, he actually offers helpful advice that Nico needed.

Barrel makes Nico step back and watch him pitch. Talking him through each step, Nico is given a new perspective on pitching, and copies exactly what he does. He adjusts some things to fit his own pitching style and eventually finds a new median that fits him more. He's genuinely surprised by this, didn't expect the ball to roll from his fingertips as smooth as it did.

There's always room for growth, Coach told him, right after he asked if it's really okay to change a pitching style this much. Limiting yourself is the biggest weakness a player can have.

Nico discovers he's right - didn't truly realize how much more potential he had until he hears that sound, that distinct sound closing around Coach's glove. Landing his curveballs again and again and again, Nico feels his body lighten, his previous anxiety melting away.

It's still nowhere near perfect, but with some time and practice with this new form, Nico thinks he can pitch even faster than before. He's excited to show Juda, wonders what he'll say. Mentally, he hopes it's enough of an apology for pitching to him so horribly earlier.

Coach eventually leaves, right after telling Nico they'll have a better day tomorrow. Nico nods earnestly, promising they will. He can't promise he won't disappoint Coach again, because he's sure he will at some point, but he'll learn from that too.

Nico doesn't head inside, not even when the sun's nearly set. The field lights are bright enough for him to keep pitching, over and over and over. He doesn't let himself forget this new form, pitching through the night until it's muscle memory. The net catches each one of his curveballs, and when he feels like he's remembered the exact feeling, he moves onto his fastballs and repeats the whole process.

He's so absorbed in pitching that he doesn't hear Carmen calling his name in the distance. Doesn't fully hear him until Carmen's only a few feet away. "Nico~"

Nico startles, hand tightly clenching around the baseball as his head whips to the side. "Jesus- you fuckin' scared me." And Carmen laughs brightly, apologizing.

"What're you still doing out here? Is this punishment?"

Shaking his head, "I ran laps earlier, this is just extra practice."

"Extra practice," Carmen muses quietly. He looks around at all the baseballs littering the field. It's gonna be a b***h to clean, Nico knows, but when he tells himself it's punishment for earlier, the thought's not as taxing. "You still need to eat, Nico. Especially in summer, you could faint."

Nico's fingers itch to keep going, wanting to cement this new form in, but he knows Carmen's right. He agrees with a soft noise, letting the ball in his hand roll to the ground. It immediately smudges with dirt, but Nico ignores it and heads to the edge of the fence where his water bottle lays.

He can't help but collapse against it, allowing himself just a few minutes of rest. His white pants grow orange from the dirt, but he pays it no mind as he chugs his water. "Slow down." Carmen gives something close to a giggle. "It's not going anywhere."

Panting softly, Nico wipes his lips and let's his head tip back against the fence. With a quiet sigh, he stares up at all the stars. Wonders if he's possibly looking at any constellations. Maybe Juda would know- he's a nerd. "Today sucked balls," he admits.

Carmen sits next to him, staring at the same stars. "A little," he agrees. "I don't think it was as bad as you're imagining, though. Sure - you missed the glove now and then but you were still really good, Nico. Coach is just a hard ass."

While Carmen thinks Coach is more lenient when it comes to a pitchers position on the team- individually, it's not the same case. Carmen could get away with some things that Coach would hound Nico about, and he overall expects more out of the pitchers.

"I was bad," Nico deadpans. "Horrible, even. I don't know why. Today's just been kind of bleh, y'know?" He gives another sigh, "It was good in the end, I guess. I think I improved my form a little with Coach. I'm gonna try using it tomorrow and see how it goes with Juda."

Carmen's gaze is curious as he asks, "You haven't had a good day? I know practice wasn't great but earlier too?"

Shrugging a shoulder, Nico admits, "Kinda. It was just, like, a lot of little things that combined into one big thing, y'know? And this morning.." he trails off, hand waving around.

"This morning," Carmen drawls, teasing smile pulling at his lips. Nico rolls his eyes, but he feels his lips twitch too.

"Yes, 'this morning'."

"Maybe if you had jerked off your day wouldn't have been so bad."

Nico breathes out a laugh, letting his mind wander back to this morning. He thought about it - and for a split second almost caved into the obscene desires, but knowing he'd be late to morning practice wasn't worth it. It was tempting, though, if he's honest.

It's not as jarring as earlier - thinking about Carmen and Juda in a s****l way. Stealing a glance at the blond, Nico's reminded again how attractive Carmen really is. Carmen's the type of boy you wanna call.. pretty. He's masculine in every way possible, but there's something oddly feminine when you look closely. Nico can't quite place his finger on what it is, but it's so Carmen.

Nico stares for too long, somewhat intrigued with how truly pretty Carmen is. Maybe it's his lips, he thinks, only now noticing what a gentle pink hue they are, looking soft in the most plush ways. Carmen's got one of those smiles, one others would kill to have.

And maybe even kiss.

Or maybe it's his eyelashes, they flutter against his cheekbones, much longer than Nico's. But then Nico thinks it might be his hair. The blond strands gently brush his shoulders. He knows Carmen's basically got his own religion for his hair, obsessed in the weirdest ways about taking care of it.

Nico comes to the conclusion that it's not just one thing that makes Carmen so pretty. He's just pretty, and it's odd how Nico didn't truly realize the extent until now.

He's staring enough for Carmen to raise his eyebrows, silently asking what. And Nico shakes his head, gaze shifting away.

Wetting his lips, Nico's not sure why he says what he says, but, "Last night I had some wet dream like a little kid. Isn't that weird?" He attempts a chuckle, trying to come off as casual. It's not hard, not when they already talk about s*x so much.

"A wet dream?" Carmen quietly muses. "I don't think I've had one of those since high school." He almost looks jealous, making Nico huff in amusement. He can only imagine Carmen's thinking about Gia. "I haven't gotten laid in months, tell me what it was about. Let me live through your surreal experience~"

"It's boring," Nico complains, "You wouldn't care."

"I think I could get hard thinking about Juda's thighs. I haven't jerked off in weeks and am this close to watching porn when you guys go to sleep. I'm sure I won't find it that boring."

Nico snorts despite himself. "You're that desperate? Really?"

"What can I say? I've got a high libido. It's one of my many talents."

Silently, Nico weighs his options in telling Carmen about his wet dream. Truthfully, he knows Carmen won't care and will probably just joke about it for a few minutes and move on, but he still hesitates. "You're only allowed to make fun of me for a few minutes if I tell you. And you can't tell Bear, he'll tell everyone."

Carmen's eyebrows raise. "It's that bad?"

"Not bad. Just- not my proudest moment." He plays coy. "Promise you won't tell Bear."

"Can I tell Juda?" Nico pauses, thinks about it, and eventually nods. "Okay, I promise."

"Like I said- not my proudest moment, and the body wants what the body wants, y'know? Not saying I want you or anything, I'm not saying I wouldn't either, but-"

"I'm snoozing over here."

"Right, right." Nico clears his throat, fingers tapping against his thigh. "It's not a big deal or anything, but I guess it was about you and Juda," he admits, acting as casual as he can. "I don't really remember all of it, but the stuff I do was.." His voice tampers off, leaving the rest to Carmen's imagination.

Carmen's expression doesn't light with shock, but interest instead. "Me? And Juda? Really?" And Nico hums with a gentle nod. "What the hell? You had me thinking it was something way worse. Like- Bear."

Nico's nose scrunches. "Ew, what the hell? He's, like, five in my head. Why would you think that?"

"You said not to tell Bear." Carmen points out, and Nico guesses he can see where Carmen came to that conclusion. But even so, he's mildly offended. "That's.. I mean- I'm kind of surprised about the whole.. me and Juda thing, but it's way better than Bear."

Nico grunts, agreeing.

Carmen's watching Nico, but he refuses to look back, pretending to be more interested with the stars. "Do you think that's a constellation? Or just-"

"I don't think it's weird," Carmen blurts. Nico pauses. "I've never had a wet dream about you guys, but I've, y'know," his hand waves around, "thought about it a few times."

Nico's gaze shifts to him, eyes meeting Carmen's dark pair. "You've thought about it..?"

"I thought we all have," he admits. "I mean- we all like guys. We see each other naked, like, daily, and we're pretty close as friends. I don't think it's weird to think about now and then."

Nico slowly processes this new information. He can't says he's surprised, it's more like.. interest? Sure, his gaze wanders now and then when the three of them are changing, but he can't remember a time where he thought of them actually have s*x with him.

Oddly enough, he doesn't mind the thought.

"Unless it is weird..?" Carmen drawls, taking his silence as a bad sign.

Immediately, his head shakes. "No- sorry. I was just thinking." His hands twist together in his lap, suddenly unsure what to do with them. "I don't think it's weird either. You guys are pretty.. good looking, and like you said, we see each other naked a lot.." His voice trails off, not even sure what he's saying.

Nico's suddenly aware of how close Carmen is, their thighs almost touching. He can smell Carmen's body wash, and can only come to the conclusion that he recently showered. Nico doesn't know why he feels flustered all of a sudden, unsure what to do with his body.

"Um.." He expects something to pop into his head, but no, it's left completely and utterly blank. f**k.

Carmen wets his lips, palm pressing into the dirt. He also looks unsure what to say, but eventually, "You wanna try making out or something?" And Nico blinks like an i***t. "See if it's actually like your dream or not?"

Nico feels speechless at first, but quickly recovers. What the hell, his eyes drop to Carmen's lips, almost thinking he's joking. But no, Carmen's completely serious, and Nico finds himself grateful, wondering if they're as soft as they look. "Yeah," he breathes out. "Just- yeah."

His questions are quickly answered, and he finds out with a quiet moan that yes, Carmen's lips are as soft as they look. They're somehow even better than he imagined, covering Nico's so, so gently, as if Carmen was afraid of scaring him.

Nico leans into Carmen, shuffling closer as if to silently say I want this too.

Their thighs are touching, but Nico barely notices, feeling Carmen's hand come up to cup his cheek. His fingertips aren't soft like Nico might've thought, not after batting for all these years, but they skim Nico's cheeks so softly, showing just a small glimpse of how gently Carmen would take care of him in bed.

It's just their first kiss out of many, Nico discovers. They share a look after pulling back, only a whisper of space between them, but Nico's short glance must say it all. More, his eyes beg.

He exhales once, and then Carmen's kissing him again.

His lips part all on their own, or maybe Carmen's coaxing them open - he's not too sure, but he doesn't care, getting lost in their kiss. Nico feels himself moving closer, gravitating towards Carmen's body heat, and Carmen's so, so welcoming. His hand falls to Nico's thigh, gently squeezing.

And oh, it's not just making out anymore.

There's a full moon tonight and just because he can, Nico blames his s*x drive entirely on that. Because why else would he be getting horny just from some making out? He's not a little kid- except he feels a lot like it when his d**k twitches in his pants, feeling Carmen's hand creep higher.

Carmen gently nips at his lip, coaxing a quiet moan from Nico, and Nico's suddenly believing Carmen's exaggerated s*x stories a lot more right now. Is he seriously going to try and do this right here? Nico doesn't wait long for an answer, feels Carmen's hand trail up to his belt buckle, easily undoing it with one hand.

"Carmen," he breathes out, and Carmen drawls a soft hum, kissing him again. His answering what is innocent, much too innocent for his hand snaking in Nico's pants but f**k- Nico can't bring himself to protest.

His d**k stirs in his boxers, reacting to Carmen's touch. "You're hard," Carmen mumbles against his lips.

"No shit."

His lips twitch up, "M'just saying~ If you want me to stop, I will."

Nico doesn't even think about it. "No," he denies quietly. "Keep going." He's only had a small taste, but he already can't get enough of how Carmen feels. His lips, his hand, their bodies pressed against each other - it's almost intoxicating.

Carmen swallows Nico's moan when he cups his d**k, squeezing over his boxers. "You're so sensitive," he muses with delight. "That's cute."

Nico grunts, silently telling him to shut up.

Carmen doesn't seem to want to tease, not when they're still outside, and f**k- Nico's grateful. Genuinely believes he might've started begging if Carmen didn't hurry up and properly touch him.

And Nico's too hot for begging- hot people don't beg.

He curses when Carmen pushes past his boxers, grabbing his d**k. He's completely hard by now, but somehow he grows even more stiff in Carmen's hand. The shortstop wraps his hand around Nico's d**k, using his precum as lube, and Nico barely contains a moan.

His legs fall open, head tilting back against the wire fence. Carmen easily follows him, seems to have a thing for kissing. Nico does too, so he's more than willing to accept Carmen's lips on his. "You're a good kisser," he breathes out.

"I know." Carmen kisses him again, and again and again. Nico feels like he could get drunk off his kisses.

He can't suppress his moan when Carmen's thumb rubs over his tip. His moan's soft and breathy, easily muffled by Carmen's mouth. And Carmen gives an answering moan, seems to be getting off on Nico's pleasure as he rubs that spot over and over. "Feels good?"

Nico nods, mind growing blank. "Yeah- f**k, it feels good right there." His thigh twitches as he wets his lips, barely containing another groan.

Carmen gives an interested hum, head tilted down to watch himself jerk Nico off. His strokes are slow and calculated, and it's somehow just so f*****g good, Nico can't get enough. "I'd go down on you if you weren't out here for hours."

Despite himself, Nico huffs in amusement. "Thanks, I guess."

"Maybe next time."

Nico twitches in his hand, c**k pulsing as he drips more precum. Carmen's hand grows slicker by the second, making the slide even nicer, and Nico's head tips back against the fence, letting himself soak in the pleasure. His eyes flutter before closing altogether. "You're close? Seriously?" Carmen breathes out a laugh.

"f**k you. I'll c*m when I want."

The thought of Carmen going down on him and sucking his c**k definitely doesn't help sedate his orgasm. Nico thinks he's got a things for lips now- or at least Carmen's. He pictures it perfectly, imagines Carmen's head bobbing up and down, lips sucking every inch of his c**k down his throat until Nico finally cums in his mouth.

"Shit." He gives a whiny, drawn out moan. "Yeah- I'm close."

Carmen strokes him faster, squeezes him a little tighter, and kisses Nico's jaw. His finger digs into Nico's slit, making him hiss in pleasure and press his hips into Carmen's hand. "f**k-" He's breathless, soft pants falling from his lips as he feels his orgasm steadily approaching.

His balls eventually grow tight as his orgasm washes over him, cumming into Carmen's hand. And Carmen encourages him softly, whispering how good it must feel to let go while he jerks him off and let's Nico ride out his orgasm.

His c*m spills onto Carmen's fist, rope after rope of c*m sliding over his fingertips, and Carmen loves it. Loves knowing that he caused this. He doesn't let go until Nico's groaning that it's enough, and almost thoughtfully, he stares at his hand. "That was hot."

"Shut up."

"I just gave you an incredible orgasm and you tell me to shut up? You've got no fuckin' manners."

Nico grunts, still recovering from the orgasm. "Thank you," he exaggerates. "It was 9/10. It could've used some more lube though."

"Yeah," Carmen says, "Let me just pull some lube out of my ass for you, that's my bad."

Lips twitching up, Nico ruffles his hair back into place, and he takes the time to straighten his glasses. After tucking his soft d**k back in his pants, his gaze shifts to Carmen. "Should I.." His hand waves around, gesturing to Carmen's erection. "I can suck you off if you want."

"Tempting, but no." Carmen wipes his hand in the dirt and his nose wrinkles when the c*m doesn't come off like he wanted. There's just dirt in it now. "Gross - I'll just wait for it to go down. We probably shouldn't have done this outside anyways."

He's right, but Nico doesn't really give a f**k. "Wanna, like - I don't know.. do this again sometime?"

Carmen already assumed they would. "Yeah," agrees nonchalantly, like his shorts aren't being threatened with a boner. "Maybe in a bed next time, showered."

Nico lifts his arm and smells himself. Fair, he nods. "Juda's usually in our room," Nico mumbles. And maybe it's an excuse for- "Should we ask him too..? I don't think he'd be creeped out."

Carmen nods. Truthfully, he wanted to bring it up himself, but is grateful Nico did. "Friends with benefits?" he asks, confirming.

"Roomie bonding time," Nico corrects.