catch me (before i fall) [fem!bbh x fem!kjd] [baekchen]

fin

A/N:

Do I have another work in my draft? Yes. Did I start and finish another fic in the meantime? Yes. For those of you that do not know, I am more active on my AO3, sometimes porting over fics to this side of the internet. I apologize to those waiting for the full version of bilygmt (a fic I posted on said AO3). The angst in that fic makes it difficult for me to finish it at a stopping point where I am comfortable with it. Rest assured, I have most of it written. I just need to stop overthinking the logistics. It doesn't help that school likes to kick my ass, but I digress.

In the meantime, please enjoy these relatively angst-free bread crumbs! If you want, you can join me in the EXO comeback waiting room :'D.

As a quick reminder, anything written within this work DOES NOT reflect any real-life person or event. This is a work of FICTION. Any similarity is a coincidence. At the end of the day, please respect the privacy of all people referenced within this fic. Artistic liberties were taken for the ages of BBH and KJD's brothers. For simplicity's sake, I did not change the names of BBH and KJD to be more feminine. However, they are cisgender females for the purposes of this ALTERNATE universe.

Also, I would love to thank H for being my beta for this fic! The encouragement while editing this work really helped, and thank you for reminding me to ultimately write this for myself, rather than other people.

Without further ado, please enjoy!

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catch me (before i fall) - an introspective

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Of all things, it started with a ball in the face. It was an accident, of course, but preteen girls often did not care about the specifics. At least, preteen Byun Baekhyun did not care about the specifics.

Baekhyun had been playing softball ever since she grew aware of her own life. In fact, one of her first memories was of her older brother teaching her how to hold a bat properly. She had been watching her brother practice hitting on the tee with their father, growing jealous of the attention. After all, she wanted to be involved too. In typical four-year-old fashion, she toddled her way to the tee after their father stepped out to call their mother about dinner, making an effort to swing like Baekbeom. (If their father came back to see his son teaching his daughter with disgruntled, but determined looks in their eyes, that's between him, his wife, and their message history.)

When she became older, rather than grow out of the sport like her brother, she continued to commit to everything related to softball. She learned how to pitch once her youth coach saw her look of longing toward an older girl practicing at the mound, her cleats stained with dirt as she stepped into her pitch. The resounding smack as the ball was caught, and the girl's subsequent triumph solidified Baekhyun's decision.

It was to be expected that Baekhyun would play travel once her youth team could no longer accommodate her skill and desire to play. She knew she had the talent to at least be on the team, even if she could not be on the starting lineup. As tryouts approached, Baekhyun's resolve steeled. No matter what happened, Baekhyun expected to play softball with extremely talented girls by the end of the day.

What was not expected, however, was the annoying catcher at tryouts.

Frankly, Baekhyun did not notice the girl until they were paired up for an exercise. Specifically, a pitching exercise. Coach took note of Baekhyun's accuracy and power when pitching with the nets. Wanting to see how she would fare with a catcher rather than a net, he paired the two girls for a couple of pitches on the field as the rest of the players followed another coach for more drills.